Rolls Royce at No. 10
“Faith is one of the protected characteristics but is often one of the least developed within most companies D&I strategy,” says Andy.
“In recent years, there has been increasing effort to develop faith networks within companies and this has been mainly driven from the grass roots of companies. During covid, faith representatives from a number of companies were able to connect with each other and share their similar experiences. As a result of this, it became apparent that it was not obvious what good looked like or how it could be measured.”
This led to the advent of Faith Friendly Workplace (FFW), an initiative which is supported by faith representatives from approximately 40 companies, including Rolls-Royce and is also supported by the University of Derby Multi-Faith Centre, who as a result of contact with the FFW are now carrying out research in this field.
The Forum emerged from this initiative.
Andy says “At the first event I was able to share the amazing work being done in Rolls-Royce and how it is improving inclusivity within the company whereby people can bring their whole self and whole soul to work.”
A second event was attended by Natasha and focused on the good business sense of supporting faith networks.
“There was universal acceptance that this forum was an important milestone on the journey in our national life,” adds Andy. “A conference on faith in the workplace is being planned for November, where as many company representatives as possible will be in attendance, hopefully including those who currently do not have a faith network.”
If you want to find out more about Faith in Rolls-Royce, please visit our Global Inclusion Network pages or get in touch with Andy.
Brad McLaughlin from Aviva and a team of people from other industries had the opportunity in July to go to Westminster and Number 10 to discuss the role of faith in the workplace, representing Aviva and the Faith Friendly Workplaces initiative.
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