CONTACT US ABOUT US SERVICES NEWS INSIGHTS CAREERS DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: OUR COMMITMENTS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT LATEST NEWS Diversity and Inclusion DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AT WATES Our people are at the core of our success. To remain successful and to have a business which can be sustainable for the long term, we must retain and recruit the best people, and provide them with an environment characterised by inclusivity, diversity, and opportunity. Our Diversity and Inclusion plan is our long-term blueprint to create a business where everyone is welcomed, included and connected. We call this #WatesTogether. Our commitments Our goals: Drive industry to be more inclusive by playing a leading role in peer and stakeholder collaboration Have a workforce that more accurately reflects society (we will be 60% men, 40% women, 20% BAME, 3% disability and 5% LGBTQ+ across all levels in our business) Positively encourage flexible working through appropriate working arrangements and benefits Ensure fairness in all our people systems, processes and reward mechanisms Be a place where everyone loves to work Our key objectives: Encourage bold leadership – our leaders at all levels are committed to embracing and implementing our #WatesTogether inclusion strategy Increase awareness through education – we provide the right tools and training to support inclusive mindsets and forums to foster debate Involve everyone – we empower everyone to create inclusive working environments and encourage them to engage in activities and partnerships internally and externally Embed inclusion into all we do – we will attract and develop a diverse workforce with an inclusive mindset and ensure all of our processes and procedures support this “We are committed to building an organisation which is more representative of the communities we serve, offering equality of opportunities to diverse talent and an inclusive work environment where this talent thrives. The bold targets we have set ourselves will take time to achieve, but we are moving in the right direction and we are committed to achieving sustainable change.” NIKUNJ UPADHYAY INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY DIRECTOR Inclusion Month Inclusion Month happens in October, acknowledging key events in the diversity calendar during the month, particularly Black History Month, World Menopause Awareness Day, National Work Life Week, National Coming Out Day and World Mental Health Day. It’s a month-long campaign packed with activities for all Wates colleagues, where our people have opportunities to come together, to learn more about inclusion and to ask questions about what it means to them and what they can do to make a difference. Watch our inclusion month video Employee Networks Our five thriving employee networks on race and ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+, parents and carers, and disability – help steer our vision of inclusion at Wates. All networks are voluntary, employee-driven and empowered to help drive our business goals by ensuring a diverse range of voices are represented and heard. Flexible Working We are one of the first companies within the built environment to support flexible working across our entire business, including employees who work on site. All new roles are advertised as flexible and our teams are encouraged to develop working patterns that take into account individual preferences, enabling everyone to perform at their best. FIND OUT MORE Family Leave Policies We have industry-leading family leave policies including generous paternity/partner leave and maternity leave, as well as carers’ leave, bereavement leave. We match enhanced entitlement for shared parental leave and adoption leave with maternity leave and pay. These policies are designed to attract and develop a diverse workforce with an inclusive mindset, as well as helping to close the gender pay gap by enabling more sharing of responsibilities at work and home. They reflect the changing expectations of talent and will enable both men and women to manage personal and professional commitments as part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle. FIND OUT MORE Latest news Previous Paul Rowan - What inclusion means to me BLOG Paul Rowan is Group HR Director, and a member of Wates’ Executive Committee. In this interview, part of a programme of activities to mark ‘Inclusion Month’ throughout October, he reflects on his experience of being part of Wates’ reverse mentoring scheme, part of Wates’ efforts to be actively anti-racist. Steve Beechey - Coming Out Day BLOG Steve Beechey is Group Public Sector Director, as well as Executive sponsor of ‘BuildOut Together’ our LGBTQ+ employee network. As part of Wates Inclusion Month in October, Steve gives his reflections on what greater inclusivity means to him and to Wates. Helen Bunch - My journey of inclusion BLOG Helen Bunch, Executive Managing Director of Wates Residential, describes her own journey to inclusion, as part of Wates Inclusion Month in October. Next Related information Change the Race Ratio We’re proud to be the first construction company to become a signatory of the CBI (Confederation of British Industry)’s ‘Change the Race Ratio’, a campaign to increase racial and ethnic participation in British businesses. VISIT THEIR WEBSITE Building Equality LGBT+ Working Group member Wates is a member of Building Equality, an alliance of construction organisations working to drive LGBT+ inclusion in the built environment through learning and sharing of best practice. VISIT THEIR WEBSITE Accredited Disability Confident Committed organisation Business Disability Forum is a charity dedicated to making the workplace more inclusive and accessible to colleagues with long-term health conditions and disabilities. This new membership will further support our inclusion journey by equipping managers with expert and specialist information around accessibility. VISIT THEIR WEBSITE A recognised Disability Confident Committed employer Wates is committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. We will anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as required and support any existing employee who requires a disability or long term health term condition enabling them to stay at work. DOWNLOAD THE CERTIFICATE Talent exists everywhere, but opportunities sadly too often still do not. Thats why we welcome the Wates Groups commitment to dramatically improve the gender balance of its workforce at all levels, including through overhauling its parental leave and flexible working policies and addressing the gender pay gap.” Joe Levenson – Director of Communications and Campaigns at Young Womens Trust We can do so much more to create inclusive work environments which get the best out of everyone. It is great to see Wates, a Build UK Member, setting out a clear plan of action to recruit, train and retain people with the ambition and skills we need to deliver projects both now, and in the future. Suzannah Nichol MBE – Chief Executive, Build UK © Copyright Wates 2021 To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Website Privacy Policy. Settings Yes, I agree