MRS launches dedicated EDI newsletter
18 January 2024

EDI Newsletter – January 2024

"We believe that a sector that provides insight and evidence about human behaviour and society should be representative of the world it serves. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where the only barriers to progress are personal choice and professional competence." – MRS Inclusion Pledge

It is a real pleasure to be able to talk to you, on behalf of the EDI Council, in our inaugural Newsletter about the issues that face our sector in creating a truly inclusive and welcoming environment to attract and retain the talent we will need across our sector to meet the fast-changing challenges of the future.

Our Pledge (now signed by over one hundred agencies and with a version designed for independent consultants gaining strength as well) commits agencies to better practice in areas from recruitment to pay and promotion. Importantly it also covers a commitment to the way we practice research, to help ensure that the research we conduct is inclusive as well.

The EDI Council, comprises representatives from all the major networks in our sector and each of the networks will be taking editorial oversight of one of these quarterly newsletters in turn. You will find, in addition, information about forthcoming events and the resources available to you on the MRS website. So many volunteers have worked hard to keep the resources relevant and up to date, and they are a helpful entry point in helping you learn, addressing many of the issues you are facing in improving your EDI performance, holding yourselves and your organisations accountable andensuring your research is truly representative.

EDI is an acronym that covers so many things, but at its heart it is about creating an environment that welcomes and supports people from all backgrounds and with all sorts of skills, which is why the I is particularly important. Our colleagues need not only to be present but to be present in an environment in which they are welcome and have the opportunity to thrive.

In these difficult times so many people are experiencing emotion and stress from events over which they may have no control. If we do nothing else, we can treat our colleagues with kindness and respect, treating them as we would wish to be treated. We ask you, if you take nothing else from this newsletter, to take this: find time to ask after other people and truly listen to their answer.

A little kindness from each one of us may just start to change the world.

Jane Frost, CBE, CEO of MRS

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