Utility Week

30 | JUNE 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Workforce diversity Webinar Cancel culture threatens progress on diversity A Utility Week webinar held in conjunction with Workday sought to explore why more progress isn't being made on improving diversity and inclusion across the utilities sector. S tringent policing of freedom of speech risks thwarting honest and rigorous debate on diversity and inclusion, according to a senior utility figure. Speaking during a recent Utility Week webinar Will Serle, chief people officer at National Grid, insisted that people are "incredibly nervous" to have open discus- sions or share different views. "That's really dangerous. Whose job is it to set the boundaries of what's acceptable nowadays and what isn't? It doesn't encour- age people to be allowed to make mistakes. It doesn't encourage forgiveness when people have made mistakes," he said. Serle added that there is an emerging standard of what is "socially acceptable", and that those who step outside of the per- ceived boundaries of political correctness are "in danger of being cancelled". "I think it's potentially really damaging to diversity of thought and damaging to the debates that we're having today where you can encourage colleagues to speak openly, to have different views about things," he said. The Diversity: What's Stopping Us? event, sponsored by Workday, sought to explore the barriers utilities must tackle to improve diversity and inclusion across the sector. There was consensus across the panel on the importance of creating safe spaces where employees feel empowered to engage in open and honest discussions. Julie McGovern, head of people at United Utilities, revealed that the organisation has delivered a "masterclass series" over the past 12 months, inviting external guests from underrepresented groups to help lead dis- cussions in a "relaxed, safe environment". McGovern explained that the classes are targeted at leaders within the business because "what they say and do, or don't say and do, creates the culture" across the workplace. "That's been really successful. We've built on that and also done some inclusive leadership training; let's have a safe conver- sation and then let's give you some practical skills," she said. While leadership teams help to set the tone within a business, the panel questioned whether existing diversity training and edu- cation across the sector is adequate. "I think it's about training, education and awareness," McGovern said. "If I look at the journey we've been on, the biggest focus for us is actually supporting our senior leaders to start the conversation in a way where they still feel comfortable." Embedding conversations around diver- sity into business as usual is vital to ensure it is prioritised like other critical issues, such as health and safety. At Thames Water, one of the ways the organisation is putting this into practice is bringing to life stories and experiences across the workforce to give others the opportunity to understand and connect. "We used to have 'safety' moments, we then started moving towards 'inclusion' moments. Now at the beginning of our meetings, we talk about 'values' moments," explained Angela Booth, chair of Thames Water Women's Network. "It's not just an ethereal 'we've got values

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