Race Equality deep dive webinar, held on 1 February 2023.

This interactive online event with West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership (WYP) and Frimley Health and Care ICS featured examples of how leaders are:

• improving diversity of voices at the board
• embedding accountability against race equality
• taking a system wide approach to anti-racism.

Find the presentation slides here.

Fatima Khan-Shah shared WYP's ambitions and actions to increase diversity of their leadership and address the inequality of experience between white and ethnic minority staff. She discussed how to create influence, reflecting that hearts and mind change and involving staff networks are important, as this provides a safe space to share lived experience, build understanding and influence others to be actively anti-racist.

Fatima shared that the work undertaken by WYP is underpinned by lived experience with the caveat that whilst work should be co-created with ethnic minority staff, they are not responsible for delivery and the outcomes.

Key actions taken by WYP included:

• creating spaces to celebrate the talent and diversity within the WYP system
• speaking truth to power in the form of constructive challenge, and humble leadership that acts on feedback
• creating a system-wide race equality network to support local grassroots staff networks, amplify lived experiences and act as a critical friend to the WYP leadership team
• developing a co-produced workplan focussing on five key areas including: workforce, culture, communication, influence, measurement and impact
• offering development for emerging ethnic minority leaders via talent management initiatives, empowering and enabling them to put challenge to the system and influence change
• commissioning an independent review led by Dame Donna Kinnair, which looked at the experiences of service users accessing mental health services and leadership
• acknowledging systemic racism including developing a Root out racism campaign and overhauling of recruitment practices.
  
  

Safina Nadeem shared Frimley ICS's approach to developing an anti-racist system and how feeding this into strategic objectives for the board was imperative.

She discussed how the board is embedding accountability for this approach through:

• reviewing existing processes and applying inclusive recruitment principles to ICB board recruitment
• embedding anti-racism within development offers for leaders
• working with third sector partners to support them in their anti-racism journey as part of the ICS system
• delivering a pan-system of equality and diversity conference, to increase exposure and proximity to those with lived experience of racism, to support the creation of allies, and to motivate others to drive the agenda forward
• developing a board equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) champion separate to the role of EDI director.

Hear Safina share the interventions their ICS have created, including development opportunities for white allyship, EDI objectives as part of appraisal processes, reciprocal mentoring and cultural intelligence programmes, and having a mirror board.

Listen in for our Q&A, where delegates ask questions on:

• incorporating general practice and primary care in race equality initiatives
• creating safe spaces for ethnic minorities and how to embed them on a daily basis
• managing expectations around the speed of change
• getting the board 'on board', truly being accountable and sharing the same vision
• understanding the non-negotiables for governance and accountability metrics for EDI
• how leaders can move the dial on EDI and push it to the forefront of the organisation
• impact and how to ensure actions create this and improve experiences for staff.

Event chair, Kathryn Lavery, reflected on the phrase white privilege. Kathryn shared how her interpretation and response to the phrase had change alongside her understanding of race equality. She discusses the important of allies on this agenda and that race equality is everyone's responsibility.

Chair: Kathryn Lavery - chair at Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber, NHS Foundation Trust

Speakers:

Fatima Khan-Shah - associate director of long-term Conditions and Personalisation and convenor of the Race Equality Network, West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership

Safina Nadeem - executive director of equality, diversity and Inclusion, NHS Frimley Health and Care ICS