Educating and raising awareness
Internal Diversity and Inclusion Council
Established in 2019, our first Internal Diversity and Inclusion Council comprised 12 colleagues who met monthly to raise emerging issues and challenges, as well as explore feedback and solutions. Over their two-year tenure, they co-hosted 35 open forums with colleagues, contributed to raising awareness of global cultural moments and supported working groups in creating localised diversity and inclusion action plans that support the central agenda.
In February 2022, we expanded our Internal Diversity and Inclusion Council membership to 27 colleagues, ensuring representation across demographics, function, tenure and geography. The role of the council remains to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging throughout the organisation, while elevating our existing diversity and inclusion working groups and employee resource groups. Over the next two years, our members will be responsible for driving inclusion globally, sharing educational tools and resources, leveraging our Leadership Standards, supporting the delivery of local diversity and inclusion actions, and amplifying colleague voices.
Mentorship
At Burberry, successful mentoring is centred around principles of trust, inclusivity, openness and communication. We have created a framework of mentoring resources to enable all colleagues to create and build mentoring partnerships. This is supported by regular career development conversations to identify ways to support growth, as well as access to a network of mentors and mentoring champions. Engagement with our mentoring framework is driven through our ERGs and local Diversity and Inclusion working groups to further support the development of diverse and underrepresented talent.
Global Diversity and Inclusion Education Programme
In FY 2021/22, we rolled out our Diversity and Inclusion Education Programme. The online series released 15-minute interactive learning episodes to all colleagues; commencing with Mitigating Bias and following with an introduction to Understanding Allyship.
Our people also have access to virtual workshops hosted by our partners and a global diversity and inclusion resource library stocked with more than 350 items. The library was designed to support self-directed learning.
We have also created Demonstrating Allyship, a virtually delivered workshop programme, which creates space for colleagues to understand identity, recognise how to be an ally, and practise allyship. This is hosted by external facilitators and is accessible to all colleagues; the workshops are interactive, available in multiple languages and scheduled with consideration for organisational and commercial moments.
Such initiatives encourage our people to acknowledge and understand the variety of lived experiences and the challenges individuals may face. It is our belief that, when our colleagues are sensitive to a diverse range of perspectives, we can create more inclusive working environments.
Cultural Advisory Council
Established in 2019, our Cultural Advisory Council comprises six thought leaders from different backgrounds across the globe who collaborate with Burberry to shape and challenge our way of thinking. Meeting three times per year, the External Council plays an active role in advising on our Diversity and Inclusion strategy.
Over FY 2021/22, all members of the Council committed to another two-year term. The Council’s involvement included roundtable discussions, mentorship and engagement with colleagues around key cultural moments, such as World Mental Health Day, International Women’s Day and Black History Months.
To date, the members have helped advise on a range of initiatives, from diversity information engagement globally to truly embedding localised action plans across the business.
They have also dedicated time to raising awareness on issues ranging from psychological safety and the connection between mental health and inclusive environments, to the intersectionality of particular communities and representation within leadership.
Learn more about the Council and its members here.
