Environmental charities pledge to make workforce more diverse & inclusive
Melanie May | 7 November 2023 | News
More than 70 environmental organisations from across the UK have pledged to help make the sector more inclusive and diverse by changing their recruitment processes.
The organisations have pledged to be a ‘Force of Nature’ in a campaign led by Groundwork and calling on the environmental sector to create more accessible pathways into work for young people. It also seeks to inspire young people from all backgrounds to view jobs in nature as a career path.
Organisations including WWF-UK, Wildlife and Countryside Link, RSPB, The Wildlife Trust, CPRE, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, The National Trust, and The Woodland Trust have all signed the pledge.
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They promise to:
- Commit to an action plan designed to make their organisation more inclusive and diverse
- Adopt recruitment practices that proactively seek to address a lack of diversity in the environmental sector
- Open up pathways for diverse talent by creating entry-level positions with prospects for career progression
- Address the barriers
According to the SOS-UK, The Natural Environment Research Council and the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), only 4.8% of employees in working in the environmental sector come from an ethnically diverse background, compared to the all-profession average of 12.6%.
Force of Nature will provide resources and guidance to support improved recruitment practices with the aim of opening the door for more people to work in the sector.
The campaign builds on the New to Nature programme, which, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, has seen 96 people employed with a variety of environmental organisations from under-represented groups.
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive commented:
“The diversity challenge for the environmental sector is well documented, and being addressed through a range of complementary initiatives. Making sure our recruitment and development practices are inclusive and accessible is an important piece of the jigsaw. As a movement in the midst of a climate and nature crisis we need to be as effective as possible at engaging all sections of society in our work. We’ll only do this if our workforce better reflects and understands the diversity of the communities we’re working in and with.”
Billy Knowles, Programme Director, Youth Environmental Service said:
“For too long there have been too few opportunities for too few people to build a career in our sector. If we’re going to avert the worst harms of environmental and biodiversity breakdown, we need a new generation of confident, capable, and connected environmentalists that reflects our fantastically diverse society. Opening up new pathways to careers in the sector, with inclusive and accessible recruitment practices embedded for every role, is a critical first step towards building the workforce we need, and we’re proud to be part of the Force of Nature campaign that can make this happen.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.