Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)  

We seek to take a person-centred rather than a compliance approach to EDI – we are striving for equity rather than equality. Our overarching objectives are: 

The community we exist for: 

• Care-experienced young people of diverse backgrounds are at the heart of Become’s work – they hold a strong and critical voice in Become’s decision-making and strategy development and enjoy transparency from Become; 

• Become supports care-experienced young people in challenging the power systems that marginalise them.; 

• Become understands and engages with those care-experienced young people who are most marginalised and whose voices are least heard. 

Our team: 

• The staff team is inclusive of people from diverse communities and reflects the diversity of young people in care. Care-experienced people from diverse backgrounds are represented at all levels of seniority within the organisation; 

• All marginalised staff feel a sense of belonging, that they can thrive, progress and have the power to shape and influence Become’s culture and work; 

• Staff develop a shared language, understanding and approach to EDI and anti-oppression that recognises intersectional identities and experiences, including of care-experienced people; 

• Become operates with clear, robust policies and processes that promote inclusive, equitable treatment; 

• Structures and resources are in place to support care-experienced staff and are co-created by them. 

Our Trustees: 

• Board members are from diverse communities and at least 50% are care-experienced, of diverse backgrounds and experiences; 

• All Board members are equally respected and valued. Trustees feel able and confident to challenge each other when needed; 

• Board members engage meaningfully with staff and each other, adopting a partnership approach and noticing and challenging oppressive behaviours and power dynamics. 

Our external partners and stakeholders: 

• Become challenges and addresses oppressive systems and behaviours from external partners and stakeholders. 

Measurement and accountability: 

• We are clear and transparent in progress made and challenges we encounter. 

Some practical steps we take during our recruitment process are: 

• We provide a Guide for Job Applicants – this is a short document to assist people with their applications to work at Become and we highly recommend it is read before applying; 

• We target some of our job advertising to enhance our diversity; 

• We undertake anonymous shortlisting (to reduce conscious and unconscious bias in our shortlisting process); 

• We provide applicants with the questions in advance of interviews as this helps them to be prepared, focus on the content, and helps everyone to have an opportunity to shine; 

• We ask about reasonable adjustments during our recruitment process and when Team Members join the organisation so that we can support everyone with their individual needs; 

• We have a flexible working environment and encourage Team Members to think about what work pattern works best for them. 

In addition to how we approach recruitment, some of the things we do to demonstrate our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion during everyday work are: 

• Frequent substantial training for the whole organisation on a range of topics in relation to EDI; 

• We involve care-experienced young people in our participation work and in delivering training to ensure that we are amplifying their voices; 

• We provide an extensive package of support to care-experienced Team Members, including a committee for discussion and support, a buddy scheme, additional wellbeing days, external counselling, and emergency clinical support if required; 

• We are a signatory of the Halo Code, which means that we champion the right of Team Members to embrace all Afro-hairstyles; 

• We are signed up as a Disability Confident employer showing our commitment to inclusion and diversity in the workplace; 

• We are signed up to The Black Care Experience Charter, indicating our commitment to improving the care, outcomes and life chances of Black children and young people and keeping them connected to their culture, identity and heritage as they journey through the care system; 

• We are a Fostering Friendly employer, signalling our support for Foster Carers in the workplace; 

• We are a Living Wage employer and always pay at least the real London Living Wage; 

• Our policies are all reviewed regularly to ensure that they are appropriate and sensitive for everyone’s needs; 

• We have a target for 50% of our Board to be care-experienced, with diverse backgrounds and experiences; 

• We are clear and transparent in what we have achieved and where challenges remain, which is why we now publish an EDI Annual Report.