Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Rail Industry: Improving Gender Representation and Inclusivity

In this episode, Tash Thomas is joined by Dante Frederick,
Diversity and Inclusion Partner at Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)
to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the rail
industry and the important DEI work GTR has been
undertaking. 



Exploring some of the DEI challenges facing the rail industry,
Dante shares insights into the initiatives GTR has put in place
to improve diversity in their workforce, from inclusive
recruitment practices to appeal to a more diverse range of
candidates, to developing an inclusive culture where all
employees feel valued are able to be their authentic
selves. 



Tash and Dante discuss the lack of gender representation in
particular roles in the rail force, and the success that GTR’s
initiatives have yielded so far, such as a doubling in the number
of female applicants applying for train driver roles and
achieving a 50/50 gender split of new train driver
hires. 



On the benefits of diversifying the workforce, Dante comments:
“It’s not just a tick box exercise. There is so much value in
diversity of experience and perspective. If you have a team made
up of the very top of whatever the focus is, if they are all from
the same background and same perspectives, there will have the
same blind spots and they will make the same mistakes. And as
soon as you diversify, even a little bit, that really opens
things up for creative problem solving and catching things that
otherwise may not have been seen. There is tons of data that
speaks to this.”



Tash and Dante also explore the benefits of employee resource
groups (ERGs) and share tips for successfully setting them up and
how to take account of intersectionality in your approach to
ERGs. They also discuss the importance of collecting diversity
data and how this can help inform business decisions, but also
the sensitivities many may feel sharing data on their protected
characteristics. 



Follow Govia Thameslink Railway on LinkedIn.



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build a more inclusive workplace.