Race, Ethnicity & Heritage at DWP

DWP has set out the objective to ensure that we are a fully inclusive and supportive workplace for ethnic minorities to work in.

Our aims are to:

• Build and sustain our ethnic minority representation to reflect the communities we serve.
• Improve recruitment processes, talent support and career pathways to ensure equal opportunities to join and progress.
• Ensure our Leaders support and inspire colleagues and everyone role models inclusive behaviours, are actively Anti-Racist and have the confidence to speak out.
• Create learning that is engaging, builds awareness, confidence and greater understanding and encourages Race Allyship.

To achieve this, we have acted across the organisation, including but not limited to:

• Enhancing our reporting and monitoring of diversity representation
• Launching Discover DWP, a scheme to support talented individuals from outside of the Civil Service who show potential and passion for a career in the Senior Civil Service.
• Testing several recruitment pilots to try different approaches to advertising vacancies, application and selection stages.
• Supporting ethnic minority colleagues in their career development through specific development programmes. Mandatory training for all colleagues on the Public Sector Equality Duty
• Promoting speaker events and activities hosted by the DWP National Race Network.
• Implementing the Ambassadors for Fair Treatment role to support all colleagues.
• Developing ‘It Starts with Me’ campaign, which offers resources to help foster greater understanding and empathy of difference and the impact our behaviour can have on others. Themes have included: Code Switching, Allyship and Mindfulness in Inclusion.

But why does all this matter?

Putting inclusion at the heart of everything we do enables us to have a better understanding of our customers and colleagues. By listening and responding with open and diverse thinking, we create and role model an inclusive culture for everyone, and that everyone works in an environment where they feel safe and empowered to be their authentic self to contribute.

We want to reflect our communities and to build on and develop individual strengths, while valuing diversity of thought and the benefits that difference brings. Building capability and confidence gives colleagues the tools to speak openly and honestly about Race and allows us to embed Race inclusion as part of everyday culture.

Civil Service Race Forum: The Civil Service Race Forum (CSRF) is a collaborative group of Civil Service ethnic minority people staff networks working towards advancing diversity and equality for ethnic minorities in the Civil Service, partner organisations and its arms-length bodies.

National Race Network: The DWP National Race Network consists of colleagues across the Country in DWP, we are committed to improving DWP’s plans to make the Department more representative of  ethnic minority communities.