Diversity, Equality & Inclusion

Chartered Accountants Ireland is a proud supporter of the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities. In this article, we hear from those involved in the programme including Eavan Daly, who completed a very successful internship with the Institute last year. An introduction Shauna Greely, Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and a Past President of Chartered Accountants Ireland. Diversity has become an area of significant focus in the business world. Businesses recognise that having a diverse workforce with a greater variety of talents and experiences enables them to adapt to dynamic markets and be more innovative. A focus on diversity also allows under-represented groups to get their fair share of opportunity, and opportunity is a critical word in this regard. Chartered Accountants Ireland, through its Diversity and Inclusion Committee, ensures that the Institute focuses on the areas of diversity and inclusion that impact on and are important to its members. One diversity and inclusion initiative the Institute is involved with and which members may not be aware of relates to our involvement as one of the early business partners to a programme run by the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disability (TCPID). Over the past 10 years, the Institute has invited several students with intellectual disabilities to gain work experience in Chartered Accountants Ireland. During my involvement with Chartered Accountants Ireland, I have been privileged to attend many events, meetings, courses and lectures where I have learned of the positive difference the Institute makes on accountancy, business and the wider community.  However, the event that stands out for me was my attendance at a presentation in the lecture hall of Chartered Accountants House given by a TCPID student. Eavan Daly has an intellectual disability and had completed many months of work experience with Chartered Accountants Ireland. Eavan gave a presentation on her experience and I was struck by that fact that, although this was her first job, Eavan was making a professional presentation in a lecture hall to a large group of colleagues. The experience led to many firsts for Eavan, and I was incredibly proud that Chartered Accountants Ireland made this possible. I saw first-hand the benefits that participation in this programme has brought to Chartered Accountants Ireland as an organisation and the positive impact it has had on staff. Equally important are the enormous benefits afforded to Eavan and her family. The experience gave Eavan the independence and confidence to go to work each day with a staff ID card, a desk to sit at, a computer to log-in to, and buddies to have coffee or lunch with – things many of us take for granted. There are many accountancy, financial services, legal and other business organisations already partnering with TCPID to offer internship and work experience. This programme provides such wide-ranging benefits that I would urge other organisations to consider getting involved. My work placement with Chartered Accountants Ireland By Eavan Daly Eavan Daly is my name, and I completed an 18-week work placement with Chartered Accountants Ireland in September 2017. I travelled alone by train from Drogheda to Dublin on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I worked from 10am to 12.30pm on both days. I loved the whole experience of making new friends, learning new skills and facing new challenges. Most of all, I loved feeling included and being part of the workforce. In Chartered Accountants Ireland, I worked in reception as a member of the Conference and Facilities Team. It was my duty to meet and greet all visitors to the building. I showed them where to go or contacted the person they were looking for to let them know they were there. I received and signed for all deliveries and registered post. I emailed or rang the person whose delivery it was to let them know it had arrived. I visited the Publishing Department and sat in on a meeting, and I was invited to the President’s Dinner where I learned about networking. This was one of my highlights. At the end of my work experience,  I gave a presentation. My work colleagues, guests from the broader working community and my mentors from Trinity came to see me. Eavan has completed work placements in Chartered Accountants Ireland, Orix Aviation and Bank of Ireland. An employer’s perspective Bernard Delaney, Director of Human Resources at Chartered Accountants Ireland Chartered Accountants Ireland is proud to be an enabler of the TCPID programme – not just because of the benefits for the students and our staff, but because it is the right thing to do. Our proximity to Trinity College Dublin allows us to offer a safe environment where students have a familiarity with the locality while providing just enough challenge as they join a new workplace – a stressful event for most people. Our employees gain hugely by working alongside people with a different perspective and life experience. It informs and enriches our work experience by being inclusive rather than just diverse, and helps us challenge our ingrained views and work habits. We are a member organisation that values the contribution of every individual; this programme is a win-win for us, and we are privileged to be involved. A coordinator’s perspective Marie Devitt, Pathways Coordinator at the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities The Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities is an established not-for-profit organisation, operating a pioneering education programme for students with intellectual disabilities. We are part of the School of Education at Trinity College Dublin. Our Level 5 Certificate in Arts, Science and Inclusive Applied Practice covers a wide range of modules over two years. Our goal is to equip students with the requisite education and training for future employment or further education, allowing them to lead more independent lives. We have established a robust network of business partners, including Chartered Accountants Ireland, who work with us to provide student work placements, mentoring, paid internships and, in some cases, permanent employment for our graduates. Our business partners have allowed us to offer insight into potential career paths for our students and graduates. In the past, these young people were marginalised with few opportunities for meaningful paid employment. With the help of our partners, this is now changing. Not only are we able to offer supported career pathways for our students as they move on from Trinity College Dublin, but thanks to the range of the business partners, we can now offer them real choice and allow them to look at specific industries that might suit their particular interests and skills. We developed the TCPID Graduate Internship Programme with the support of our partners. Since launching this programme on a pilot basis in January 2017, we have had over 23 paid graduate internships, five of which converted into permanent roles. In addition to these permanent roles, a number of our graduates have been in paid internships with our business partners for more than six months with their contracts renewed. Our ultimate goal is to find permanent roles for those who want them and transition pathways into further education for those who may wish to explore other options.  Our business partners are a core part of our programme and have supported us in many ways. We are looking to expand our network of partners to help increase the options available to our students and graduates. Together with our TCPID business partners, we can make a real difference and build true inclusion within the workplace and within society. A parent’s perspective Olwen Daly, Eavan’s mother Eavan’s family, friends and her local community are proud of her achievements and are grateful for, and appreciative of, those enlightened employers who choose to give her a chance. To those who have no experience of anyone with intellectual disability, we believe that to become fully literate, as Eavan has, and to travel alone from Co. Louth to Dublin is a magnificent achievement. It is the accumulation of thousands of tiny steps, often supported by extraordinary individuals and organisations. Marie Devitt along with the TCPID Graduate Placement Programme and supporting business partners fall firmly into this category. Eavan’s goal is a job, and we know she will get there. Please continue to support her and other students in their endeavours. For further information about how your company can become a part of the TCPID Business Partners Programme, contact Marie Devitt, TCPID Pathways Coordinator at devittma@tcd.ie or (01) 896 3885.

Despite much public debate, gender inequality persists. It is now time for leaders to make good on their words and act. As a classic armchair tennis fan who engages typically around the grand slam cycle, I couldn’t help but reflect on some of the coverage that followed Andy Murray’s recent emotional announcement of his probable imminent retirement. What was remarkable to me was the almost equal balance between Murray as the ‘tough as teak’ competitor who followed his dream from Dunblane in Scotland to become a multiple grand slam winner and that of Murray as a champion of gender equality. His role in championing female athletes, by forcefully arguing for parity of tennis purses, chiding the authorities at Wimbledon for not playing more women’s matches on centre court and, memorably, for hiring a female coach, Amelie Mauresmo, at the height of his career. Or maybe what is, in fact, remarkable is that such acts or statement of equality appear to be so rare in the sporting arena. The business case In language perhaps more familiar to us as accountants, the business case for gender balance has never been clearer. INSEAD research shows that diverse businesses benefit from higher levels of creativity and innovation, greater customer satisfaction, more informed investment decisions and increased performance. But despite all the talk around gender equality in the workplace, women remain under-represented at all levels of management across all industries. Everyday discrimination continues to be a reality. McKinsey data from 2018 is very stark in this respect. Women have to provide more evidence of their competence than men while having their judgement questioned in their area of expertise. Women are also twice as likely as men to have been mistaken for someone in a more junior position. Being the only woman in the room is still a common experience and, consequently, women are heavily scrutinised and held to higher performance standards. There is no silver bullet that will achieve greater gender diversity. Good intentions are great, but companies must show concrete actions. It is clear from INSEAD’s research that achieving true gender balance requires more than just adding women to your workforce. Companies must increase their total talent pool by actively embracing female return-to-work programmes. Organisations must also acknowledge that there will be varying levels of motivation internally to achieve gender balance. Seeking to engage not just the advocates, but those sitting in the middle is crucial to effective staff engagement. Personal experience All of this might have been something I was vaguely aware of until it became part of my professional life. I am proud of having been part of the diversity and inclusion journey across the Canada Life and Irish Life Groups in Ireland and the UK and, more recently, as part of this Institute’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. While my initial motivation to step up was probably driven by a personal commitment to ensure a strong leadership voice for LGBTQ+ issues, my learning journey across the wider diversity and inclusion agenda has been profound. We know we are early on our diversity and inclusion journey, but that comes with the advantages of learning from those who are further along the path. Some of the work we are doing in my organisation at a group level include:   The formation of a ‘Women in Leadership Group’ early in 2018 to support and promote existing and aspiring female leaders within the business, running focused development workshops for some of our pipeline of female talent which aims to advance opportunities for women into leadership roles; The overhaul of recruitment policies and practices through a diversity lens; The expansion of maternity and paternity policies to encourage full take-up; and The introduction of unconscious bias training across all management tiers. At board level, diversity is now a key part of the debate related to culture. In my own experience, it drives a much deeper awareness of – and focus on – the people aspect of business strategy. It also drives accountability at executive level; setting targets and measuring progress can be challenging, but it does drive activity. And yet we know we have so much still to do. And sometimes you are pushed into action, as we have seen with legislation across the European Union (EU). In the United Kingdom (UK), the Gender Pay Gap Report was published in April 2018 and momentum has continued around this to address the challenges it highlighted, albeit the data shows the gap only gradually closing between 2012 to 2018 at a national level. Canada Life UK is a signatory to the UK Women in Finance Charter and has committed to having 30% of senior management positions occupied by women by the end of 2020 and 35% of senior management positions occupied by women by the end of 2023. Similar reporting will follow shortly in this country and companies need to prepare for it, but there is an opportunity for some to embrace and lead on the challenge. Turning intentions into reality So, what can leaders do within their own organisations to advance change? Consider some of the actions below: Be a vocal and visible sponsor and advocate for women; Undertake a ‘root and branch’ review of your systems and processes to identify biases; Challenge yourself and your recruitment partners to plan ahead and build a strong pipeline of diverse talent for your business; Invest in the development of your workforce equally with tailored programmes to meet different diverse needs; and Set an objective for senior leaders to keep gender diversity on everyone’s agenda. Good intentions are great, but they are no substitute for on-the-ground activity. As accountants, we are respected voices within our businesses and we have a perspective that can lead or push gender balance as a business priority. With all the momentum around gender diversity, now is the time get off the fence and show your support for this positive wave of change. John McNamara is Managing Director of Canada Life International (Assurance) Ireland and sits on the Institute’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.