We have a responsibility to plan a fairer future

The theme of this year’s annual CBI Annual Conference is “Build Back Better.” In some ways the recent crisis has created positive momentum, particularly as it relates to sustainability. However, the crisis has not been good for inclusion and equal opportunity generally. This is evident in an increasing digital divide, unemployment particularly impacting the young and issues of inclusivity in the workplace.

The impact of COVID on workplace culture

Our latest survey of employees across the UK, conducted in August and September, shows that workplace culture is being eroded during the pandemic and that inequality in the workplace is rising. Before COVID-19, 23 per cent of employees with disabilities said they felt included at work, but this has now dropped to just 16 per cent.

There’s real hunger to make a positive social impact

While the impact on inclusion makes for grim reading, what we also see is increasing commitment and collaboration to make a difference. There are a multitude of organisations working together to make a positive social impact.

How we build a fair economy is something I will be discussing with fellow panellists during the CBI Annual Conference on Wednesday morning. I’ll be talking about the positive impact of joining forces with others in ‘coalitions of the willing’, like social mobility foundation Movement To Work, which Accenture helped to co-found in 2013 as a coalition of employers, civil society and government. As Chair, I’ve seen first-hand how partnership-working is helping to break the cycle of ‘no job - no experience; no experience - no job’. More than 98,000 young people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds have participated in structured work placements to date, with over 55 per cent of those completing a placement going on to gain employment or a route back into training and education.

FutureDotNow is another great example of a coalition delivering real-world impact. They launched the DevicesDotNow campaign during lockdown to help the UK’s 1.9 million digitally excluded households. Through a coordinated effort, more than 11,000 mobile phones and tablets with sims have been delivered to date, enabling people who previously had no way of getting online at home to access the digital services and video messaging platforms that many of us use every day to stay connected.

To have an impact, we must look to our own organisations

As well as the importance of these collaborations in the post-COVID world, as business leaders there are also things we can do in our own workplaces to address inclusivity. Over the past three years, Accenture’s research into workplace culture has shown that there are practical steps to create more inclusive cultures, and that in such cultures, all employees are more likely to thrive in their role and advance in their career. We also found that having an inclusive culture and diverse workforce leads to more innovation, which is vital to fuel growth.

In short, as business leaders we have an opportunity to collaborate with others to create real-world impact and prioritise inclusivity in our workplaces. In so doing we will build back better.

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Read our report on why coronavirus has accelerated the need for workplace equality and what UK business can do to achieve it to help build a stronger economy