Helen’s role as trustee lead for equality, diversity and inclusion
In this fascinating blog we hear from Helen about her role in helping to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the hospice’s culture and decision-making processes.
“As soon as I visited Rowcroft for interview, I could sense that it was such a special place, and I wanted to be part of its story,” says Helen. “Four years on and I still love being part of the Rowcroft family. From meeting lovely, big-hearted employees and volunteers, to working alongside the senior management team with their professionalism and determination to build a sustainable future for the organisation, Rowcroft remains special and it is an honour to be involved.”
Equality, diversity and inclusion
“As part of my role as trustee, I also chair the non-clinical committee, and I act as trustee lead for equality, diversity and inclusion (or ‘EDI’). It is so important that patients have equal opportunities to access Rowcroft’s services, and that as employees and volunteers, we feel equally respected and included no matter what our background, gender, culture, faith (or no faith), sexual orientation, personality, experiences etc….the list goes on. No organisation can get this perfectly right all the time, but it is great that Rowcroft treats inclusion and diversity seriously and is on a journey to be as inclusive and diverse as it can be. Rowcroft has recently engaged a consultant from outside the organisation, who spent a week working with us to identify the areas and priorities to focus on in this regard. We also have established an EDI steering group, made up of members of staff across the organisation, which considers equality, diversity and inclusion related matters within Rowcroft on a regular basis to identify where improvements can be made. My vision on EDI is that individually and together as an organisation we are increasingly aware of inclusion and diversity so that it forms a core part of our culture, and so that with every decision the organisation makes, diversity and inclusion considerations automatically underpin them.”
A little about Helen
“I am a business lawyer by background and I am a partner in a local law firm. My husband and I have three beautiful children aged 8 years, 4 years, and 10 months old, which also keep us busy! We enjoy travelling, eating out and walking the South West coast paths, though we are not doing quite so much of that at present!”