The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) Equality and Diversity Team (EDI) has been shortlisted for a national award.
The team is in the running to win Team of the Year 2019 from the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion, which the NMC is a member of.
The award recognises teams that have made an outstanding contribution to delivering change together with innovative approaches which could inspire other employers.
The nomination came after the 2018 results from the NMC’s employee survey, where 74% of people said the NMC is an inclusive place to work, while 93% understood the importance of EDI.
‘We definitely weren’t expecting it, it came as a lovely surprise. We work hard to make sure EDI is at the heart of all we do at the NMC, but we don’t often stop and celebrate the good work that happens across the organisation,’ said Emma Lawrence, Senior Policy Officer for Equality and Diversity at the NMC.
‘This has been a great opportunity to stop and reflect on the progress the NMC has made and the impact it’s had on people. Health and care regulation presents some unique challenges, but having good EDI systems, engaged colleagues who champion EDI across the organisation and continue to work with diverse stakeholders to shape the NMC’s work is more important to us than winning.’
In the last 18 months, the team has grown from one to four people and created in-house training on topics including gender identity, LGBT, culture and disabilities.
It has also introduced an EDI framework, senior diversity champions, an Equality Impact Assessment toolkit, factsheets and newsletters alongside regular talks and events.
‘I am so proud of the team and the work they have done to raise the profile of equality, diversity and inclusion across the NMC and to embed these principles in everything we do,’ said Chief Executive of the NMC, Andrea Sutcliffe. ‘It is fantastic that their hard work and dedication has been recognised with this well-deserved nomination, but whatever happens, they are winners in my eyes!’
Winners will be announced on 2 July.