Accelerating black inclusion in project management

Redefining mentorship and sponsorship to advance diversity and inclusion – the power of tapping into your Employee Resource Group(s) and Peer-to-Peer Networks, and how it enriches your personal and professional development. These mentors/sponsors may not necessarily identify as Black, but might have similar lived experiences

Building communities that encourage transparency and connection – creating safe spaces for difficult conversations in organisations promotes a culture of belonging and respect, in which all gravitate down towards their full and natural selves.

Data-centric approaches drive transparency and action – all important, yes, but often not executed properly; a missed opportunity as qualitative data can reveal the nuances of experiences and systemic issues that quantitative analysis alone cannot.

Quotas may not be the most effective way of driving inclusion – boardroom diversity and inclusion targets are almost always achieved...but fail at the project leadership/senior executive level.

Life skills the youth can learn through project management (PM) – entering the PM world from an early age can set the next generation(s) up for life, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, equipping them with communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication skills.

The power of small wins is often underestimated – truth is, we can all make a difference, no matter how small or insignificant your effort may seem. For instance, offering a student a few days or even a week in a corporate building can inspire them for life.

Inadequate data collection renders minority ethnic groups invisible – we need to be careful using catch-all terms like ‘BAME’ and disaggregate the data to find out the experiences and barriers at the individual-level (or as close as possible).