As Diversity Month continues, we take a closer look at how colleagues across Elysium have been getting involved in diversity, equity and inclusion. Nicky Lintott, Head of DEI at Elysium, explains more:
As part of our drive around DEI, we have set up five employee resource groups. These are groups which bring together employees with a shared interest in advancing a DEI topic, whether as a member of a diverse community, or as an ally.
The ambition of the group should be to provide a network for support, be a collective voice, raise awareness, advance the agenda, and develop communication, learning programmes and initiatives that will lead to greater inclusion for all employees. Their purpose is to support employee recruitment, retention, development and progression.
The five groups we have set up focus on disability, women, LGBTQ+, race and ethnicity and working families and carers. Of those five, four have already met and are actively engaging, which is really encouraging. We’ve also been pleased with the uptake and interest in being part of these groups – most of the groups have 
at least a dozen members and are growing. They will, over the year, meet at least four times.
The role the groups will take is to provide an opportunity for people from under represented communities to feel more included by the organisation. They can act as a tool for fostering inclusion but they can be more than that, they can also be a resource, acting a ‘sounding group’ for the development of policies and procedures and can act as a collective voice providing insights and advice.
Each group has their own terms of reference and annual objectives of what they want to achieve. Going forward there may be other groups convened and created for which applications will be welcomed.
For all groups, membership is open to anyone working for Elysium, including temporary or contract employees and events organised by the employee resource groups will be open to everyone. The focus is very much on building awareness and solutions, acting as a representative for the collective and to be an advocate for DEI.