Leeds Mind believes in creating an inclusive environment and being an equal opportunities employer – we believe that inclusive practices should be part of everything we do. We are committed to ensuring that our staff, volunteers and people accessing our service feel a sense of belonging at Leeds Mind that gives them the confidence to share their unique perspectives and experience. By creating an inclusive environment, we aspire to attract people who offer diversity of experience and thought. We believe this will ultimately improve the services we provide across Leeds and West Yorkshire as well as the employee and volunteer experience by making it a place where everyone can bring their whole self to work. Here are some of the ways we’ve taken action:
We made it part of our strategy – we operate under our Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Policy, and we have an Inclusion Strategy to make us accountable to it. Our Board of Trustees also have access to a quarterly People and Culture Dashboard to gauge our progress, and we regularly update all policies to ensure they’re effective.
We set up an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Group (EDIB) – all staff and volunteers (including allies) can join this group to support us in making the policy and strategy effective. This can involve organising awareness events, setting up working groups, reviewing policies, or implementing changes (e.g. quiet/prayer/meditation/breastfeeding rooms, gender-neutral toilets, or preferred term glossaries).
We encourage Voices Groups – any staff member or volunteer can join our growing community of groups, such as LGBTQIA+ Voices, Culturally Diverse Voices, ADHD Voices, and Neurodivergent Voices groups – EDIB will also support you to set up your own group if there’s any area or voice you feel could be represented that so far isn’t. These are peer support spaces that recommend positive action Leeds Mind can make to develop equity and belonging for underrepresented groups.
We support all staff & volunteers – we’ve put on a range of equity training so that everyone feels supported in their work. People are supported by the new Menopause Policy and Trans Inclusion Policy. We encourage a safe, supportive atmosphere across our organisation through introducing preferred pronouns and the name pronunciation tool in email signatures and at meetings.
We celebrate diversity – we attend Pride and mark events in our Inclusion Calendar, such as ADHD Awareness Month, Race Equality Week, Ramadan and National Inclusion Week (and much more!). We’ve held tea & talk sessions to raise awareness, and we aim to make our workplace a comfortable, safe environment to talk about our diversity.
We check how we’re doing – we’ve consulted with Stonewall about how to be more inclusive for LGBTQIA+ people, checked with the Mind Federation and Forum Central about our policies and procedures, and we’re Great Place to Work certified! We also monitor how different communities are accessing our services and use Equality Impact Assessments to look at our accessibility.
There’s always more to be done – here’s what we’re working on for 2025:
- Achieving Disability Confident Level 2 accreditation
- Support the growth of new Voices Groups and make sure all groups are supported
- Continue to make changes to recruitment and retention, to make sure we’re a representative organisation, and provide everyone with good quality inductions with a strong emphasis on inclusion
- Champion good workplace culture, with more tea & talks, awareness sessions and marking of important dates throughout the year
- Ensure every service has an Equality Impact Assessment and a plan to make suggested improvements
