Here at SilverDoor, celebrating achievement and challenging the status quo are values that are central to our business. We are also committed to installing an inclusive mindset throughout our whole business. Diversity at all levels, not just in terms of gender, but also, race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation, is critical for a business to be sustainable and successful and everyone has a responsibility to challenge bias and drive equality.
So, to mark International Women’s History Month this March, and the International Women’s Day theme of ‘Choose to Challenge’, across all our SM channels, we have been celebrating our team members – both male and female - asking them how they #choosetochallenge in both their personal and professional lives.
Gender balance is not solely a women's issue, but also an economic issue that everyone has a responsibility to drive, as SilverDoor’s Group CEO Stuart Winstone says: “Gender inequality is not just a problem for women to address; equally, racial, sexual or religious discrimination is the responsibility of everyone to recognise and challenge. It's not about giving any group a 'free pass', it's about recognising that the playing-field is not always level and that those at the head of businesses must proactively and consciously work to tackle this.”
Driving the diversity agenda is critically important for all businesses, especially in light of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis, which threatens to disproportionally affect women and members of the BAME community.
Chief People Office Imogen Brettell said: “There has never been as much focus on Diversity and Inclusion as there is now. And quite rightly so; at SilverDoor we have always welcomed applications from all genders, nationalities and ethnicities and we are proud to be performing well above average on our representation of women at board level. I am proud to work for a diverse organisation where individuals are employed and celebrated for their individual strengths. As we focus our diversity & inclusion activities for the next year we hope that everyone feels respected for who they are and proud to be part of our company. I #choosetochallenge by tirelessly raising awareness of this at work & home.”
We pride ourselves on being a diverse and equal opportunities employer, and here are our stats:
SilverDoor is performing well above trends for UK boards, which in 2020 had less than a quarter of female representation. (Source: research from Deloitte.)
Clearly many businesses have a long way to go before they reach gender equality, but at SilverDoor we strongly believe that diversity at all levels makes us a stronger, more innovative and forward-thinking company. We are therefore delighted to be performing above average for our representation of women at senior levels.
At SilverDoor we pride ourselves on the wide variety of languages and cultures that we have in our offices; below are some of our nationalities:
As Women's History Month draws to a close, the drive for equality and diversity doesn't stop at SilverDoor. We will continue to champion the array of diverse backgrounds and gender identities in both our company and the wider business travel industry, and will always choose to challenge.
