At DCMS the case for a diverse and inclusive workforce is well understood. The Civil Service Talent Action Plan sets out that to build a world class, 21st century organisation, we need to recruit and retain the very best talent, irrespective of their background. It also states that that all decisions relating to the employment of an individual must be made on the basis of merit, blind to any factors other than the ability of the individual to do the job.

All DCMSers should feel able to come to work as themselves, happy in the knowledge that we as an organisation will not discriminate in any way that prevents them doing their job and progressing their careers. In short, happy people will perform well and deliver organisation and business objectives – in our case “driving growth and enriching lives”.

To that end, the DCMS Diversity and Inclusion plan is built around four themes:

Our Talent – We will identify all the talent in DCMS and help them progress, removing barriers that prevent diverse groups from succeeding.

Our Culture – We will be an open, inclusive and fair culture driven from the top. We will be leaders who look beyond bias, who constantly ask, look and reflect on our leadership style and who relentlessly seek out talent on merit.

Our Behaviour – We will have zero tolerance on any form of bullying or harassment behaviour.

Declaration rates – we will take action to increase our diversity percentage declaration rate so we can better understand our workforce.

Our Diversity Plan sets out the concrete actions we will take with key performance measures and owners which will be monitored by our Permanent Secretary.