Be Inclusive Hospitality celebrates its fifth anniversary this summer. Here BII News’ Editor, Kate Oppenheim CBII, speaks to its Founder, Lorraine Copes, about its mission, achievements and why businesses should want to create fair and supportive work environments where all talent can flourish.
Be Inclusive Hospitality (BIH) was set-up to raise awareness and address the barriers to progression faced by people of colour in the sector. Tell us more…
The very nature of us approaching a fifth birthday speaks volumes of the appetite and interest there is in the work that we do and in joining us on our mission to advance change. Whilst we are a social enterprise, we have access to funding to support the skills and professional development of our community. We are also a service provider, working broadly across the industry as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion consultancy providing education, consultancy and partnering with businesses.
Five years on, what are the key changes you’ve seen?
I often say this business has reminded me of the best and the worst of the industry. The best because there are 1,000s of businesses doing good work to ensure that people from all backgrounds can really thrive and move forward within the industry; the worst because there are 100,000s of businesses who are aware of the problem and choose to ignore it.
But progress has been positive: we’ve supported over 500 members of our community over five years; we’ve delivered initiatives like mentorships, scholarships, qualifications and our awards; grant funding for 16-24 year olds. We’ve supported those within our community to achieve better outcomes within their businesses and with their careers. We have also trained close to 2,000 leaders across hospitality — in restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels — about all things Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), from inclusive leadership to talking about race, to help them on their EDI journey.
The reality, in any business, is that you’re either doing something about it, or you’re complicit with the problem. And while there is no shortage of the awareness of the work that we do, some businesses just choose not to acknowledge or address the issue. I’m perceptive of the fact that we are doing work that is hospitality specific, yet what we’re talking about is not an issue unique to hospitality, but a societal one. Some people care, some people don’t.
Your first report produced in 2020, in partnership with the Resolution Foundation, shows that 17.83% of UK hospitality workforce identifies as black, Asian or ethnic minority. This is comparable to the UK population figure of 18%, yet there is still disparity in the workplace in accessing positions of influence, why?
There needs to be education about what equity and inclusion looks like, because if you have representation that’s in line with the UK population, why do I still go to leadership conferences across the sector and there’s no one there who looks like me? That is systematic of a wider issue, because if all your representation — that could be gender or it could be race — are in the lower paid roles, then that’s the real issue.
Diversity has never been our focus within the industry, it’s around inclusivity and equity. And the output of inclusion and equity is about having representation at all levels.
Hospitality prides itself on being an industry where there’s a low barrier to entry and somewhere you can progress your career, but this seems to be limited only to some. It is ultimately one of the reasons we have a multi-pronged approach, because we recognise that access to skills development and supporting moving upwards and forwards is not always widely accessible across the industry.
What would you like to see more businesses doing?
People really get gender equity, why women should be in the boardroom and have a seat at the table. But there is often a disconnect between gender equity and equity for people from ethnically diverse backgrounds. In a pool of any marginalised or minority community, there will always be talented and exceptional people who should be thriving, but they are not. So, I think that the first thing is for people to acknowledge that there is a problem — because if you don’t see that there’s a problem, then you can’t address it.
Then it’s about looking at two data sets: one being a demographic of the area where you are located; the other is of your internal workforce. Ask yourself: are we representative of the community we serve or we are based within — and if not, why not? And, what does representation look like across our organisation?
You talk about change only beginning once a business understands its company culture. What does this look like?
Employee engagement surveys provide a real sense check on what your culture is really like, rather than what you perceive it to be. Look at it, based upon the types of people and the demographics. Understanding your existing team is the starting place, before building a culture that supports your team’s requirements. At that point, recruiting different types of people becomes easier.
In our workshops, we deliver something called the Trusted 10, where you tick and/or cross characteristics for the 10 people that are most trusted to you. Nine times out of 10, the leaders tend to ‘tick’ the people who are most similar to them, in terms of race, religion, ability versus disability, and so on. Who you are outside of work is who you are within work, and closing an education gap on difference is really important.
Why is creating a positive and fair company culture so important?
There’s a quote from the psychologist, John Amaechi, that says ‘culture is shaped by the worst behaviours tolerated’ and I love it, because it’s absolutely true. Whatever is ignored and accepted as the norm, defines your culture. And it’s impossible for any leader to sit there and think they can be 100% sure that their employees are on the same page as them, without having a policy, procedures and reporting in place – and ultimately monitoring them – to see if the business is moving towards or away from your values and aims.
If you don’t really know your company culture, you run the risk of recruiting people who will soon have to leave, because the culture isn’t inclusive.
Does Inclusion require a concerted effort? If so how?
When I deliver workshops, I use the example of being a wine or Champagne drinker. Up until 2020, I never saw anyone who looked like me in a wine or Champagne advert. And whether you’re a brand or service provider, why narrowcast when you can broadcast? Because you will gain access to a greater and broader demographic.
It’s the same when recruiting, why recruit from a limited pool, when there are people out there equally as talented, who can do the job, but who you are not talking directly to — if you do what you always do, you will get what you always get.
Businesses say ‘we want to recruit but don’t know where to look’. Well, let’s begin there. When I started this business, we built the community up to 300 people in 12 months by using Google, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Finally, you make the point that positive change can only happen deliberately. What do you mean by this?
Business leaders need to look to towards the progress made on gender equity and take some lessons from there. I say that, because the past two businesses I’ve sat on the boards of have been 50/50 gender split — and that wasn’t by accident.
The language used is really important too, because when you say things like ‘positive discrimination’, it feeds into the idea that a space is being created for someone who doesn’t have the skills or experience to be there, when that’s not the case.
It’s also never the case that equity and inclusion are about putting the wrong people into positions because of their characteristics. What we’re talking about is that in business nothing happens by accident. It’s that simple. You manage what you measure. There are a lot of businesses in our industry talking about the work they are doing, yet I’m not seeing progression or representation on their boards. And with EDI, a bit like with sustainability, there needs to be an impact that is visible and happening, and if it’s not, then what are we doing about it?
You can find out more about Be Inclusive Hospitality and obtain
a copy of its report, Careers In Hospitality at: https://bihospitality.co.uk
