Members and CSP Council come together to consider your views on EDI

The EDI member reference group has been set up to help us engage with a diverse range of members in relation to the development of our EDI strategy:

• to reflect whether what we have heard, what the data highlights and what the insight we have gathered - is representative of their experience
• to consider collaboratively what more insight or evidence is needed
• to consider collaboratively what our EDI objectives should be and what our priority actions should be

We asked CSP members why they volunteered to join the reference group:

Lotoya Neil said  ‘I feel that this is a very important group to be involved in and I believe that my experience of working in the NHS, private practice and higher education will allow me to have a broad range of experiences and reference points on which to make a meaningful contribution to discussions.

I feel passionately about improving opportunities and equity for this population, with regards to healthcare and education

Rae Lloyd said: ‘I am a firm believer in pushing our profession towards being much more inclusive so that clinicians don't need to worry about workplace bullying or discrimination due to their protected characteristics.’

Reflecting on the data

The group currently has 31 members including:

• 7 members of the BAME network
• 3 members of the LGBTQIA+ network
• 4 members of our DisAbility network
• 2 members of the student reference group
• 11 members interested in our work on EDI – including 1 Associate
• 2 members of our CSP committees

[Some members in the group are in more than one of our networks]

Following the first joint workshop with Council members and the EDI member reference group, Katie Wilkie, vice-chair of Council said that there were ‘important conversations that led her to reflect on many points including language being key in communication, data safety and confidence and the need to be brave to move forward’.

Karen Middleton, CEO said 'this is really important work to reflect on the member data and survey...in order to develop a strategy without making assumptions’.

Developing objectives

Later in February, the group will meet again with Council to continue the conversation and review draft EDI objectives to ensure they are fit for purpose and to consider the strategic focus of the work.

When asked about the next workshop, Alex MacKenzie, chair of Council said  ‘At the next meeting we need to ask the ‘so what’ question -  what are we going to do about the issues highlighted in the data collected?

This is what I meant in my vPUK speech where I said it is up to all of us to take action, in partnership to make the necessary changes. This is the start.