Diversity & Inclusion

Big on inclusion

There is a lovely, famous quote about diversity being invited to the party, and inclusion being asked to dance. At Howden, we like to take things one step further, and give everyone a chance to play their part in organising the party.

We’ve always been committed to the idea that everyone’s voice should be heard. Every employee should feel valued and respected.

We want everyone to feel that they belong.

Respect at Howden

RESPECT is a large group of employee volunteers who are passionate about nurturing and developing Howden’s inclusive culture. It is an employee-led initiative - this is highly unusual in a large company, so we are told - and it goes far beyond box ticking.

Inclusion is something Howden people genuinely care about and support.

Our mission is to make the employee experience more inclusive for everyone working at Howden. And we do this in several ways: Creating awareness for key issues, educating colleagues, partnering with charities and D&I experts, hosting events and collaborating with HR to ensure our policies are modern, relevant and work for everyone.

Because we are employee-led, we can respond to the issues that our colleagues really care about, move faster and have a bigger impact than HR alone.

There are several sub-groups working on key inclusion topics. Anyone can join, because everyone is welcome.

We tackle the big issues

  • Gender balance
  • Multiculturalism
  • Wellbeing and Mental Health
  • Our behaviours
  • LGBTQ+
  • Disability
  • Women's health
  • Parents at work
Katie Brickell
RESPECT is a campaign with no end date, an ongoing programme full of helpful events, awareness-raising activities and a little bit of lobbying, where we feel it is needed.
Katie Brickell
Katie Brickell, Chair

Our Respect groups

Anyone can join, because everyone is welcome

Disability icon

Respect’s Disability Employee Resource Group has a mandate to ensure disabled people have equal opportunities within the Howden Group.

This includes helping Howden be a better employer of disabled people, identifying needs, providing assistance to affected individuals. We also work to raise awareness, educating colleagues about disability and its impact on home and working life.

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Mental health affects us all in different ways

Our Mental Health working group has a mission to support the mental health and wellbeing of all our employees through engaging events and resources.

We do this by spreading awareness of mental health within the work place as well as providing information on what support is available to our colleagues

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As a group we working with several generations – Baby boomers (born 1946-64), Generation X (born 1965-80), Millennials (born 1981-98) and Generation Z (born 1999 onwards).

Our Generation-inclusive employee resource group works to ensure all generations to feel their worth, creating an environment that allows people of all ages to flourish and reach their full potential.

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To us, gender balance means that employees have the same opportunities to develop their career, with equal pay and benefits for comparable roles and equal consideration of needs.

The Gender balance working group has a mandate to ensure that our existing and future Howden (and group) colleagues have equal opportunities within the businesses, with no barriers to career progression.

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Many parents make changes to their work to help balance work and family life. But being a parent does not have to negatively affect your career. It is not either/or - it is something parents have to juggle.

The goal of the working parents group is to change perceptions about being a working parent. This includes, amongst other things:
•Creating a support network
•Sharing experiences and educate on benefits available
•Helping educate on a work/life balance
•Influencing change: starting with HR procedures and top-down behaviour both pre- and post- maternity/paternity leave

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The women’s health group has a mission to contribute to a more supportive and equitable working environment for women going through life-changing medical and health events.

Key topics include:
• Raising awareness and educating colleagues about key women’s health issues, for example the menopause and prevention of breast cancer.
• Focussing in on the latest women's health news, treatments and therapies, inspiring stories, expert advice and nutrition (vital for a healthy balanced life).

Our goal is to support not only Howden women but also transgender women and men too.

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The way employees conduct themselves at work is influenced both by personality and the leadership, culture and controls of an organization. Behaviours are the only component of job performance that are within 100% of individuals’ control.

Respect’s Our Behaviours Group educates, empowers and encourages people to conduct themselves in an inclusive way.

This includes:
• Raising awareness of inclusive and non-inclusive behaviours
• Working with HR on policies that promote inclusion

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Respect’s multiculturalism group is committed to advancing the discussion on Diversity and Inclusion and to bringing about positive change among our colleagues and partner networks.

Our work includes:
• Collaborating from apprentice to board level to share best practice and ideas for promoting multicultural inclusion.
• Promote and drive opportunities for networking, professional development and recruitment
• Aligning with our Diversity and Inclusion principles providing support and encouraging personal connections in order to flourish

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The LGBTQ+ and Allies Employee Resource Group helps create a safe and inclusive culture within Howden where all employees feel safe and able to bring their full self to work.

Our Mission and Mandate:
•Raising Awareness – promoting better understanding of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace
•Allyship – empowering all employees to step up as allies
•Peer-to-peer support – providing a space for LGBTQ+ employees to support each other and access the support that they need.

Respect news