Why we all need to be ‘Wild About Inclusion’

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By Miriam Bentley-Rose, Strategic Lead Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

It will probably come as no surprise to those of us working in the environmental sector that equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is becoming a more prominent topic in national conversations with external parties, and the public are starting to hold us to account.

a smiling person sitting in a wheelchair cuddling a black labrador that has a blue vest on — Author Miriam Bentley-Rose and her Canine Partner Laurel (Canine Partners)

Historically, working for nature and environmental organisations has been the preserve of mostly middle class, white British people – but this is changing as organisations bring EDI to the fore. However, one of the biggest challenges still facing such organisations is low ethnic diversity. The 2017 Policy Exchange Report, The Two Sides to Diversity reported that the environmental sector is the second least ethnically diverse sector. The 2022 Changing the World from Within report by Full Colour also found that environmental organisations lack the skills and resources to address this issue. Staff from minoritised groups (e.g. staff of colour) said that the biggest barrier to entry had been their lack of experience within the sector and their inability to take up volunteering or low paid jobs in order to gain that experience – as well as little or no support for career progression.

I hear some of you asking, ‘why is this important? Surely those who want to work in our sector already do?’ The reality is that a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical for charities and other organisations working to address nature loss and climate change. Yet many people struggle to gain employment with some entry-level job adverts asking for experience, previous volunteering and high-level qualifications. In addition, some people are telling us that they don’t see people ‘like me’ in those jobs, which can prevent them from applying. A large piece of work looking at inclusive recruitment has been undertaken by The Wildlife Trusts to slim down job descriptions and avoid asking for experience or degrees if they aren’t essential to the role. We advertise roles on more diverse job boards and promote our new ‘Levelling the Field’ pledge where staff with disabilities and those from minoritised ethnic backgrounds are guaranteed to get through to the second stage of recruitment if they meet all the essential criteria. We also use positive action in our recruitment process, allowing us to select a candidate with a protected characteristic (such as age, ethnicity or disability) that is underrepresented in our organisation over another candidate, where they have scored equally in the recruitment process.

The Wildlife Trusts have embedded EDI into our main federation strategy and termed this work ‘Wild About Inclusion’. We understand that becoming a more inclusive and diverse federation will help us to be more resilient and more effective. We have introduced EDI training including webinars, podcasts and bitesize videos. We also have a Wild About Inclusion Framework that focusses on five priority areas; diverse and inclusive leadership, increasing our diversity, cultivating an inclusive movement, communicating inclusively, and access and engagement for everyone. We look at the diversity of our staff and trustees and have established networks for LGBTQ+ staff, staff with disabilities, mental health conditions, young staff, staff of colour and those who identify as women. This work is helping us to become a more diverse organisation.

The benefits of the Wild About Inclusion approach for our charities are:

More people take action for nature: people from across society have better access to nature and more opportunities to play a part in nature’s recovery.
Better organisational performance: diverse and inclusive organisations have increased creativity, innovation, and employee satisfaction.
Greater support from communities: being inclusive and relevant for diverse communities attracts support from a wider range of people.
Staff are happier and healthier: an inclusive working environment means everyone has equal opportunities to develop, progress and be recognised at work.

Is it working? Yes, our diversity data shows that we are becoming a more diverse federation. 15% of our staff identify as LGB+, 0.5% as transgender, 27.8% as having a disability, 60% as women and 34% as carers. We voluntarily report on pay gaps and our gender, disability and sexual orientation pay gaps are lower than the national average. We report on our ethnicity pay gap but there isn’t enough data to create a national figure to measure ourselves against at present. The Wildlife Trusts have taken part in various Pride events to support our LGBTQ+ staff. We are committed to publishing our diversity data as we believe transparency is of utmost importance.

a group of smiling people standing in an urban setting posing for the camera with rainbow banners one saying 'out for nature' — The Wildlife Trusts Out For Nature Network attending London Pride 2024 (The Wildlife Trusts)

We recognise that the ethnic diversity of our workforce is still low, though we are working to improve that while avoiding tokenistic recruitment. The wider environmental sector is also increasing ethnic diversity together using The Route Map Towards Greater Ethnic Diversity. Some of the larger organisations are helping the smaller organisations so we move forward, as much as we can, together.

EDI doesn’t just need to be championed internally. We understand the need to connect with more diverse communities. #TeamWilder is a way of creating a community-led approach in the work of The Wildlife Trusts. The sector is shifting historical ways of working, away from a top-down approach to one that listens to communities to create positive change. This is about shifting the balance of power to help people take action for nature in authentic, meaningful ways. Our Nextdoor Nature project is empowering people to create wilder areas where they live and work. This means that projects with a #TeamWilder approach are as varied as the population of the UK, and many work with diverse ethnic groups. They include the African and Caribbean Community Initiative and the One Voice (Windrush Generation) groups in Telford, as well as projects with the Bengali community in Tower Hamlets and the Somali community in Bristol. #TeamWilder and Nextdoor Nature’s work with existing communities involves many faith groups. They include Quakers in Teesside, Surrey’s Shifa Network and Gurdwaras in Derby and Telford. The Slough Ujala Foundation, a Muslim centre, has created a garden and, in Birmingham, they held an event for young people of colour to be in nature and talk about their relationship with the natural world.

It is so important that equality, diversity and inclusion is embedded within an organisation’s central strategy. A multifaceted approach to improving diversity is needed. We need to work with communities of all shapes and sizes to understand and celebrate the different ways people engage with nature. We must work together as a sector to improve the recruitment and retention of staff from diverse backgrounds and challenge our employers to ensure all staff feel they can bring their whole selves to work. Starting with or continuing with diversity monitoring is essential to understand areas of underrepresentation and to monitor progress. And finally, we need to hold the essential belief that everyone should be Wild About Inclusion!