Written by
Robert Lloyd Griffiths
Director
IoD Wales
Covid continues to dominate our thoughts and our conversations.
The goalposts keep shifting and the numbers keep rising. It’s hard not to think about the time when the commercial challenges of Covid (not to mention the constant back to back online meetings, palaver of masks and need for social distancing) weren’t centre stage to every thought, every decision and every investment we make. It’s a hugely worrying and difficult time for so many of us as we struggle to survive. Literally.
But, we’re not the first generation of business leaders to combat a once in a life time national crisis and we won’t be the last. That’s why we can’t lose focus on other matters that are of equal long-term importance.
As Black History Month draws to a close, I’ve been encouraged by the stories of three trailblazers from Wales' black community who have shared their stories with BBC Wales. They’ve all called on business leaders and politicians to do more to address issues of inequality at the top of their industries.
TV producer Liana Stewart, Swansea's first female black councillor Yvonne Jardin and artist and researcher Adeola Dewis have all made an impact in their field. Let’s hope that their experiences can help the next generation of young black people to follow in their footsteps.
Here at IoD Wales, we are particularly pleased to welcome Cynthia Ogbonna as our guest speaker for this week’s Wednesday @ 2pm webinar. Members and friends of IoD Wales will listen to Cynthia give her perspective on leadership, equality and opportunity. As the first female Managing Director of Cardiff Bus, Cynthia is an MBA graduate from Cardiff Business School. She has long been committed to the provision of affordable public services for all and was the first woman to hold the position of Managing Director in the 110-year history of Cardiff Bus.
Cynthia follows the inspirational Damien Bridgeman who has also spoken at one of our weekly webinars. As an expert in disability inclusion, Damien has experience working with government and corporate organisations to bring long term sustainable, transformational change. He is currently working with Facebook to help test and design their new business collaboration platform and reminded us all why equal opportunities and diversity is so important.
We should all understand that diversity comes in many forms: gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, age, culture and socio-economic background. As Directors, we must not forget the importance of diversity. Indeed, Legal & General has recently warned FTSE 100 companies with all-white boards that it will vote against those that fail to diversify their leadership teams by 2022.
As the UK’s biggest fund manager, Legal & General has made it clear that their expectation is that companies set ambitions related to the ethnic composition of their organisation, throughout the workforce, with a particular emphasis at board level as this generally sets the tone from the top.
It goes without saying that we shouldn’t need reminding that diversity matters. Diverse boards also matter. As business leaders in Wales, it is our collective responsibility to engage with people from all backgrounds, all walks of life and all ages. It is this diversity that will strengthen our perspective and our resilience to deal with the challenges that come our way. Covid included.
We only have to turn on the news or look at what is going on around us to see that both Governments in Wales and Westminster are making huge commitments that will impact our economy for years to come. Today’s young people will be paying the price. Their voices are important and must be heard which is why initiatives like the Welsh Youth Parliament are so important.
Whatever our age, our gender, our race, our religion or our disability, our collective differences make us stronger. They give us a richer experience, improve productivity and help us to develop new ways of thinking. Even in the face of hardship, sadness and intolerance, we must not forget to spread the word about the importance of diversity and be respectful of other cultures, priorities and motivations.
Together, we are stronger.
