Diversity, equality and inclusion

We're not as diverse as we should be. We're not as diverse as we want to be. But we're making positive and proactive changes.

In 2020, like many other businesses, we had a clear wake-up call about diversity, equality, and inclusion in both Waterstons and the wider tech workforce. Though we had formed a DEI working group back in 2019, the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, carrying over to the UK, made it startlingly clear that we could no longer accept or think our lack of diversity was due to our largest office being located in the North East, or the makeup of our recruitment pool. We needed to take real action, own our problem, and become a proactive part of the solution.

Why are we doing this?

We’re committed to doing better. We want to be a diverse community where inclusion, appreciation and equality are underpinned and exemplified by positive actions.

Waterstons is a business built on smart, creative, thoughtful people and we know that smart, creative, thoughtful people are everywhere. We want to create genuine opportunities for everyone. We want to remove barriers so we can make sure that people from all backgrounds have the space and opportunity to thrive in our business.

We’re not doing this because it’s good for business. We have no doubt that we will benefit from more diverse thinking, more inclusive ideas and a broader range of backgrounds and life experience but that’s not our motivation. We’re doing this because it’s the right thing to do.

Here's what we're doing...

Now that we’ve taken our first, and most important step, and accepted that we have a problem we are committed to not just talking about what we’re going to do to improve but to actually acting. We are taking responsibility and we want to be held to account so we’re keeping the following list up to date.

We’ve expanded and given more power to our working group, which has members representative of the current minority groups within our company, to amplify their voices directly to the board
We’ve been given full board commitment to achieve our DEI goal of becoming meaningfully diverse and inclusive as well as representative of all our office locations
We’ve implemented a DEI induction for all new starters, which discusses privilege in the workplace and throughout life
We’ve run the first series of DEI sessions centred on anti-racism and will be building on over the coming months
We’ve created a dedicated site on our Intranet containing resources and recommendations for self-education on diverse perspectives and experiences
In 2024 we’ve published our first gender pay report – click here for the full report

And it doesn't stop there...

We’re conducting a full policy review to address the language we use to make sure it is inclusive, as well as to highlight our stance on discrimination, harassment, and equal opportunities
We’ve created an anonymous way to report concerns, should our colleagues feel unable to do this in person and communicated this to our people.
We’ve invited diverse speakers to come and speak to us about interesting topics and will continue to do this
We’ve hired a Talent specialist who will help us to review and improve our attraction methods
We’ve signed up to be a Disability Confident employer
We’ve kept internal conversations going by sharing the work the DEI group are doing at regular, business wide comms sessions
We’ve provided training to our leaders and the wider business in partnership with experts
We’re continuously developing our diversity champions to be able to offer training to our colleagues on a regular basis, through our internal Academy

William Foulds

Head of People & Culture

"We know we’re not perfect, but we want to be. We want to create genuine opportunities for everyone, removing barriers so that people from all backgrounds have the space and opportunity to thrive at Waterstons."

Meet Will

We’ve also committed to...

We’re reviewing our hiring practices; expanding the universities we recruit from, and talking to our recruiters about their DEI practices, looking into expanding our apprenticeship programs, as well as actively diversifying the job boards where we advertise. We’ve also removed questions in our job applications that might preclude people from applying for work with us
We’re looking at how we can partner with organisations who share our approach and values, so that we are continually learning
We’re continuing our work with Women in Tech to help reduce barriers to women in the Tech sector
We will be running our second annual survey so we can track our progress on attitudes and experiences
We’ll be producing our first Gender Pay Report
We’re actively seeking opportunities to support training opportunities and retraining programmes
We’re committing to keeping the conversation going by recognising key holidays and celebrations throughout the year

Partners and accreditations

Disability Confident

Investors in People

Mindful employer charter

Stonewall Diversity Champion

Values and culture

By building our team and business on a shared set of values, our clients tell us they can feel the difference. They can see we all care. And they know that every piece of advice is driven by a passion for their organisation; not a profit for ours.

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Our team

We’re proud of our people. They’re smart, creative, caring and switched on. And whatever their expertise, role or seniority, they all share the same passion for our clients, and the same belief in the transformational power of technology.

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Environmental and social responsibility

We know we're a fortunate bunch, so we try to help others whenever we can. Whether it’s our own charity fund, supporting schools and universities, sharing our knowledge and connections as charitable trustees or providing pro bono support to worthy causes, we're delighted to get involved.

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Diversity, equality and inclusion