Organisations can be successful and profitable by harnessing the potential of their people. Diverse and inclusive businesses perform better than those who are not.

They are better at attracting talented employees, retaining them and enabling them to succeed. Scotland’s Diversity Conference will showcase the fantastic work being undertaken by organisations across different industry sectors as they strive to challenge perceptions, overcome barriers and achieve inclusive workplaces.

The conference is also an opportunity for you to network with experts, diversity practitioners and other colleagues from across Scotland’s who want to learn, share best practice and discuss the challenging issues we still face before we can say that our workplaces are truly diverse and inclusive.

This year’s Diversity Conference for Scotland takes place on Thursday May 7th at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow and is supported by BAE Systems, CIPD, City Building, City of Glasgow College, Diageo, Deloitte, MacRoberts, Taylor Wimpey West Scotland and ScottishPower. This year’s conference is the perfect platform for businesses to learn how to implement Diversity and Inclusion in business and society and to understand what support is around to help us do this.

Tickets are on sale, as are exhibitor stands. Visit http://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/the-diversity-conference/ for more information.

Deliotte, Partner, Stacey Winters said: At Deloitte, we want the workplace to be somewhere everyone feels respected and included, where our people are judged solely on the value that they can bring. I believe that real diversity is only possible with such an inclusive culture. You can only truly meet your full potential when you can be your authentic self.

When you are inclusive and the playing field is level, we can achieve equality. This means ensuring that our culture, the way we operate, and the support we provide enables this, and allows people to have a successful career alongside their commitments outside of work. We are very clear that this is critical to the success of our people and, therefore, the success of our firm.

Lee Ann Panglea, Head of CIPD Scotland and Northern Ireland said: “Allowing people to work in ways that suit their personal circumstances is an important part of developing more diverse workplaces. Advertising jobs as being flexible can help organisations to attract a more diverse talent pool, and we would encourage organisations to consider using ‘Happy to Talk Flexible Working’ up front on job advertisements to show that you are open to different working arrangements.”

Kirsty McGill, Head of Sales for Taylor Wimpey West Scotland: “We aim to be an inclusive company, which values people as individuals and creates a workforce that reflects the diversity of the local communities where we build new homes.  In recognition of the importance that our business has placed on diversity and inclusion, we will share some of our experience in a key session at this year’s event, which will consider how we are Challenging Industry Norms, which sits right at the heart of our D&I journey. 

"We hope that our experience will help to inform delegates at this year’s conference on ways in which they might be able to change the conversation in their own organisations.”

BAE Systems, Jen Blee said, “We value our employees and the contribution they make, and we are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can achieve their best.

"By exchanging ideas and experiences at the conference we can continue to improve the way we attract and retain talented people, driving creativity, innovation and improving our ability to solve our customers’ complex challenges, while also supporting other businesses that face similar challenges.”

Dr. Graham Paterson, Executive Director, City Building LLP said “We recently commissioned a workforce diversity insight analysis to allow us to benchmark our performance.  

Diversity is extremely important to us and we want to understand better how we are performing and how we can improve.   We continue to develop strategies to target young people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including ethnic minority and other under-represented groups. 

"The construction industry has long been male-dominated and tackling this issue required major cultural change.   By supporting the Conference we are seeking to build a better workplace.”

Catriona Mackie, HR Director, Diageo, Global Supply said: “At Diageo, we know that greater diversity drives better performance and decision making. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment in our business where diversity thrives and enables our people to give of their best.

"We are delighted to again be partnering with the 2019 Diversity Conference for Scotland, last year was such an inspiring event and we are sure it will be an even bigger success this year.”

Sarah McNulty, Director HR Operations “At ScottishPower, we value every individual’s differences and the insights they bring to how we think, what we believe and who we are. We’re delighted to be supporting the Herald Diversity Conference once again in what has become one of the main events in Scotland’s inclusion calendar.”

Katy Wedderburn, Head of Employment at MacRoberts said “Recent research shows that businesses who promote and encourage diversity are more likely to innovate, grow and outperform their competition. This is why the Herald’s Diversity Conference is such an important event in the Scottish business calendar. We are delighted to be on board again as sponsors for its third year and would encourage anyway wanting to learn more about the importance of diversity to sign up today”