The idea arose from a meeting of our senior leaders’ think tank, where current Pledge signatories agreed about the value of sharing ideas and best practices. And so Pledge Prattle was born – a forum for all signatories and their colleagues, now and in the future, to help one another make more of the Senior Leaders’ Pledge. We’ll host regular short “drop-in” meetings, some of them with guest experts, on a series of practical themes. We hope they’ll encourage more people to adopt the Pledge, and at the same time increase its effectiveness.
Find out more below, and watch out for an announcement about the first get-together this autumn. [Note: this has now been arranged for Friday 14 October, 9 – 9.30 am. Its theme is the basics about how the Pledge works, who it’s for and how to tailor it to fit your organisational culture and existing EDI strategies. Please email [email protected] if you’re involved in implementing the Pledge in your firm and would like to attend.]
In the meantime, if you’re in a leadership or management position and would like to sign the Pledge, visit this page to find out what it involves.
On 14 June 2022 we held a senior leaders’ diversity think tank meeting. Its purpose was to review the impact of our Senior Leaders’ Pledge and to decide what can be done to optimise its impact. We invited HR and business support colleagues to attend since they were likely to have different perspectives around the implementation and impact of the Pledge.
We gained lots of helpful feedback during the meeting which will be key to optimising the Pledge’s future value. The main insights are set out below.
Firstly, and most importantly, most people in the meeting had signed up to the Pledge. Some attendees praised the fact that the Pledge could be easily introduced into existing processes such as recruitment, induction and training. Others had already personalised the Pledge and built it into their organisation’s values.
Secondly, attendees told us that the Pledge appears to be having a positive impact on organisations both internally and externally. In terms of external impact, many felt that the Pledge has positively affected their recruitment processes and outreach work. In terms of internal impact, attendees felt that the Pledge helps to communicate the importance of EDI throughout the organisation including at partnership/board level. One attendee even described the Pledge as an “articulation of a philosophy”.
Thirdly, the Pledge was seen to be having a positive impact beyond the organisations where it has been adopted. It was felt that it keeps the IP professions moving on championing EDI.
Finally, several ideas were raised as to how we could improve the Pledge and optimise its impact. One of the key themes that emerged here was the importance of continuing to share experiences and learn from each other. In particular, it was felt that signatories should be meeting regularly to discuss their experiences of implementing the Pledge and any challenges they have faced when doing so.
Taking this into account, IP Inclusive has decided to facilitate these open and frank discussions by setting up an informal forum for Pledge signatories and their guests (“Pledge Prattle”). These online drop-in sessions will be held regularly and will involve external experts where appropriate. By working together and sharing, we can make the Pledge and its impact even better.
The detailed 14 June meeting notes are available here. Also, if you’re interested in signing up to the Senior Leaders’ Pledge then follow this link to find out more.
Our first Pledge Prattle session will take place on Friday 14 October, 9 to 9.30 am. Its theme will be the basics about how the Pledge works, who it’s for and how to tailor it to fit your organisational culture and existing EDI strategies.
Page published on 6th July 2022
Page last modified on 29th September 2022