“We need to do better” – Webinar notes: Beyond Diversity & Inclusion

Earlier this week, I attended a webinar organised by Institute of Fundraising on equality, diversity and inclusion. As ever, my notes are below. Pleased to attend this event on equality diversity and inclusion with speakers Lena Bheeroo, Lucy Caldicott, Jaz Nannar and, Dilhani Wijeyesekera, organised by CIOF. "The inequalities that Covid19 has exposed existed before the pandemic. What were your charities doing for black & brown people like me? If now's not the time to talk about it, when is? Why do yr leadership teams look the way that they do? We need to keep asking why." Jaz "Covid19 has been a call to action for Comic Relief. We've looked at being flexible with grant partners, rolling out funding programmes to specific groups impacted, & our first major work to reach BAME groups with tailored funding. Tailoring sector response is a major challenge." Dilhani "We need to talk about power & privilege. Individuals & organisations need to recognise the power & privilege they hold before we can achieve change. We must recognise and support BAME staff. It's now time to trust the BAME voluntary sector. We were right to predict the impact." "Looking away and not acknowledging the problem does nothing to move us forward. We need to do better." Lena "I shy away from being considered a diversity expert. Every human can do open-hearted humble listening." Lucy