Recent events are shining a light on why tackling racism and inequality isn’t something we can ignore or consign to the too difficult box. Yes, it’s difficult sometimes to know what’s the right thing to say, or the right thing to do, but getting informed and acting with positive intent is a good thing, so we shouldn’t be fearful of that. And we’ll always call it out when we see prejudice and injustice, no matter where or when.

Sometimes it’s important to shine that light in a particular place.  I’ve heard the analogy recently that if all the houses in a street need some attention but one was on fire, that’s where you’d focus. It’s not to ignore the rest, but you focus on the immediate crisis.  I think the #BlackLivesMatter movement reflects that sentiment.

This is a moment in time to challenge inequality and, like many others, we decided not to post on social media last Tuesday as a mark of support to the voices who are calling for an end to racism. I wonder if we should have done more and I think at the very least it’s prompted us to learn more and get better informed.

We’ve always believed at Hymans that everyone should be offered the same opportunities and treated with the same respect regardless of age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or any other protected characteristic. Everyone deserves to feel they can be themselves and give their best in a welcoming and inclusive environment.

And we’re committed to building a firm that better reflects the UK population as a whole. We know we’ve got more work to do in this respect, but we’ll get there and we’ll reap the benefits of more diverse perspectives, ideas and backgrounds. The short-term focus of our D&I strategy includes improving the gender mix across all levels of experience within the firm; attracting more colleagues from the BAME communities; seeing greater representation in our firm’s leadership; as well as increasing the mix of social backgrounds amongst our people. 

Ignorance is always the enemy of inclusion, and recent events have shown that racism and inequality need tackling head on. So, we’ve shared resources with our colleagues to help build our own understanding and knowledge of how insidious racism can be, and to hear from those who have experienced it, and those who are still experiencing it today. Being better educated will hopefully make us better agents for anti-racism and inequality.