In 2020, we released our anti-racism statement outlining Tearfund’s commitment to being an actively anti-racist organisation. We shared some of our plans to ensure that Tearfund is a place where everyone feels that they belong and that our work around the world is inclusive, making sure we reach those in greatest need.
We made ten key commitments in our anti-racism statement and we will continue to provide updates on our progress against these commitments at least once a year. We are pleased to share the progress we have made during 2021/22 and our plans for the future.
Please note: Unless otherwise stated, these commitments relate to Tearfund’s work practices in the UK.
1. Diverse recruitment and accountability structures
We said
We commit to doing more to recruit more diversely into senior leadership roles, as well as creating accountability structures to ensure we achieve this.
What we did
- Implemented the use of positive action across job adverts.
- Trained all hiring managers on the use of positive action and supported them in applying positive action during recruitment processes.
- Reported on our progress against our diversity recruitment targets every quarter.
- Set up a race and ethnicity working group, which includes staff from around the world. They will be supporting the implementation of our anti-racism action plan.
- Started the process of collecting and updating ethnicity data for all of our staff around the world to help us consider how we can set recruitment targets for our regional teams.
- Used a recruitment agency to help us find suitable and diverse candidates for key leadership roles.
- The Diversity and Inclusion Board Committee continued to provide oversight and accountability for our commitments to diverse and inclusive recruitment practices.
We will
- Continue to encourage staff to share their ethnicity data with us to help us consider how we can improve diversity and inclusion across our teams globally.
- Continue to advertise on a recruitment website that specialises in attracting diverse candidates.
What is positive action?
When an employer is faced with making a choice between two or more candidates who are of equal merit, positive action allows them to take into consideration whether one is from a group that is disproportionately under-represented or otherwise disadvantaged within the workforce. This is sometimes called a ‘tie-breaker’ or the ‘tipping point’.
This kind of positive action is only allowed where it is a proportionate way of addressing the under-representation or disadvantage. Using positive action will help Tearfund to recruit more candidates from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.2. Recognising and addressing how colonialism contributes to inequality
We said
There is a legacy of colonialism that has contributed to inequality in many of the countries Tearfund works. This has tainted the experiences of people who live, or have their roots in, these places. We have not been as diligent as we should have been in recognising this, or in understanding what it means for those who work for us, the people we serve, and the way in which we do our work.
What we did
- Continued to consider how we can strategically and practically address the impact of colonialism on the communities we serve.
- Embedded changes in the language we use internally and externally to make our written and verbal communication more inclusive.
- Communicated openly about the language we want to be using as an organisation, and offered all staff opportunities for learning in this area.
- Created an internal report to explain some of the links between poverty, colonialism and racial and climate injustice, and how our current climate advocacy work relates to these topics.
We will
- Develop inclusion standards and guides with localised country information to help us ensure that we deliver our programmes in inclusive ways.
- Continue to examine how we can take practical steps to shift power and decision-making as we review the way that we work with our regional teams.
- Review our current practices against the recommendations made in the UK Government’s Racism in the Aid Sector report to evaluate the philosophy and culture of our work.
3. Creating an inclusive workplace
We said
Even though we believe that every human being is made in the image of God, we have failed to live this out by creating a workplace where all can feel included.
What we did
- Re-emphasised our zero-tolerance approach to discrimination and ensured that staff, partners and volunteers know how to make complaints by sharing an updated Complaints Policy. This policy includes a new way to raise informal concerns about diversity and inclusion.
- Continued to have open and honest conversations in our regular staff discussion sessions about race and ethnicity.
We will
- Prioritise finalising the diversity and inclusion strategy over the next year. Currently, our day-to-day diversity and inclusion work is measured against our implementation plan.
- Develop further training and support around diversity and inclusion for senior leaders and people managers.
- Continue to have regular sessions for all staff to engage in conversations about race and ethnicity. This helps us continue to create an inclusive culture and foster understanding.
4. Understanding how our theology has failed to call out racial injustice
We said
We are committed to learning from the mistakes of the past, and we will look at how our approaches and theology have contributed to racial injustice.
What we did
- Drew upon an ethnically diverse range of global theological voices and experts to inform our theological work.
We will
- Continue to offer staff learning sessions on the theology of diversity and inclusion, including race and ethnicity, on a quarterly basis.
5. Intentionally recruit more diversity to our Board and Executive Team
We said
We are actively seeking ways to recruit more diversity to our Board of Trustee Directors and Executive Team.
What we did
- Appointed a leader from a Black Majority Church as a trustee on the Board of Trustee Directors.
- Improved representation of underrepresented ethnic groups on our Board Committees by making a number of new appointments to our Theology and International Impact Committees.
- Continued to develop our Talent Management Strategy (how we identify and develop talent across the organisation) with ongoing conversations about how we can showcase talent from communities of colour and indigenous groups.
We will
- Ensure that when vacancies on the Board, Board Committees and Executive Team arise we actively seek to recruit from a diverse shortlist of candidates.
- Appoint each member from The Well Committee to one of the existing Board Committees to bring a wider range of views, experiences and perspectives.
What is The Well Committee?
The Well Committee is chaired by a Black Majority Church trustee, and made up of nine members, all of whom are respected leaders in the Black community in the UK.
Meeting quarterly, the committee is tasked – among other things – with helping to establish and shape new policies, processes and campaigns that are more inclusive for Black Majority Church audiences and Black Christians. Members of the committee are invited to sit on all the other Tearfund Board committees to ensure integration, representation, mutual learning and sharing of ideas.
6. Introduce reverse mentoring at executive level
We said
We will use reverse mentoring at the executive level as a way to build genuine awareness of barriers faced, initially focusing on the experiences of people from Black backgrounds.
What we did
- Started the process of identifying Black mentors for the Executive Team members.
- Developed a plan to expand the reverse mentoring programme across other senior leadership roles.
- Held learning sessions with the Executive Team, taking an in-depth look at issues of race and ethnicity.
We will
- Appoint Black mentors to the Executive Team members. The mentors and mentees will meet at least once a quarter.
- Expand the reverse mentoring programme to other senior leaders.
- Continue to hold sessions with the Executive Team to explore race and ethnicity and the relevance to our work around the world.
7. Understanding and addressing bias in the workplace
We said
We will have an unconscious bias training session in autumn 2020, which will be compulsory for all staff to complete on an annual basis.
What we did
- Launched an online learning module on unconscious bias, which is mandatory for all staff in the UK, and all staff at leadership levels globally. The module was completed by more than 1000 staff members.
- Continued to hold drop-in sessions to discuss race and ethnicity and help staff identify and address their biases.
We will
- Encourage all staff to complete the unconscious bias training as part of their own learning and development, even if they are not required to do so.
- Evaluate the staff feedback on the unconscious bias training module as we prepare for the next round of completions.
- Develop a new online learning module to help staff further explore race and ethnicity and understand how bias can impact decision-making.
- Introduce a new online learning module to help staff, partners and volunteers understand the importance of treating others with dignity and respect.
8. External reporting on race and ethnicity
We said
We are examining our internal processes to develop ways to determine how we can become more transparent about race and ethnicity in our external reporting, including in our Annual Report.
What we did
- Included information about our anti-racism work in our Annual Report as part of the Diversity and Inclusion Report.
We will
- Publish ethnicity pay gap data to ensure transparency and help us address any gaps.
- Consider best practice guidance we can adopt in our external reporting on race and ethnicity.
Collaboration with Black Majority Churches
9. Improving recruitment processes
We said
We are improving our recruitment processes to provide a more accurate and detailed picture of our diversity.
What we did
- We have considered our strategic approach to recruitment of global roles, setting our intention to fill more global roles with staff based outside of the UK.
- Successfully tested a recruitment platform that specialises in diverse recruitment to share our UK job opportunities. This has helped us to attract more diverse candidates.
We will
- Continue to use a UK-based recruitment platform that specialises in diverse recruitment to share our job opportunities.
- Research and consider the use of the ‘Rooney Rule’, a policy that ensures we have diverse shortlists before choosing candidates to interview.
- Continue to encourage and monitor the use of diverse recruitment panels.
- Develop a post-interview evaluation process to see where we can improve experiences for people from diverse backgrounds.
- Monitor our turnover by ethnicity to identify where we might have more staff from particular backgrounds leaving us and address what might be causing this.
10. Reporting progress on our anti-racism work
We said
We will pay more attention to reporting on what we are doing to embed anti-racist practices into the work that we do.
What we did
- Provided an update on our progress on the implementation of our anti-racism action plan in 2020/21 to our staff, partners and supporters.
We will
- Review the initial commitments to anti-racism we made in 2020 and update them as required.
- Continue to provide updates on our progress at least once a year.
Collaboration with Black Majority Churches
We have continued to develop The Well, which seeks to gather together Black Majority Churches to bring an end to extreme poverty. We believe that powerful things can happen when we come together as one in the body of Christ.
Our vision for The Well is to align, engage and collaborate with Black Majority Churches and communities throughout the UK in a unified, hope-filled response to issues of global poverty, injustice and inequality.
This is an exciting opportunity for us at Tearfund to continue to learn, grow and change.
What's next?
The progress of the anti-racism action plan will continue to be monitored by our CEO, Nigel Harris, and our Director of People and Talent, Karen Brown, and by the Board of Trustees through its Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
What can you do?
You can visit our diversity and inclusion hub to find out more and access our anti-racism resources for individuals, groups and churches.
