King's is committed to ensuring a positive environment across all aspects of our community, and we recognise this commitment to diversity through the variety of activity we offer to our employer partners who embrace diversity, inclusion, equity and internationalisation in their recruitment.
A diverse workforce for a diverse audience
The case for a diverse workforce is clear (WEF, 2019) and we understand that social mobility, increasing diversity and inclusive practices are rightly at the top of many organisations' agendas.
King's Employer Engagement has forged strong partnerships with a range of employers to this effect, running innovative programmes and events which enable you to positively break down the barriers that some of our students continue to face.
Your commitment to equity, diversity & inclusion
Your employees are often your best ambassadors – ensure you’re reflecting diversity in every engagement with us; your panellists and facilitators, those who staff your stands and send personalised emails. If they are King’s alumni, even better – our students value seeing those who understand what it’s like to study at King’s and how they’ve progressed.
Whilst we facilitate a range of diversity specific initiatives, be prepared to speak about how your organisation is proactively tackling the inequalities which continue to impact individuals from Black and diverse heritage backgrounds and to speak about areas of gender, age, social background, sexuality, disability and neurodiversity in your organisation.
Our shared commitment
Our whole team is committed to continuous and intelligent thinking on these areas, working with organisations to enhance your ability to reach with talented students from a range of backgrounds and plan your strategy.
We know there's always more we can and should be doing to increase access to professions across a range of diversity characteristics, and are keen to hear from organisations who may have a particular initiative or programme they might wish to partner with us on.
Reflection questions
Our audiences want to feel a sense of belonging, to have doors open to new networks and opportunities and to hear real stories of how your organisation supports its workforce – not just at the recruitment stage, but as they develop and progress within the organisation.
Consider the questions below - which you should be prepared for our audiences to raise. How would you - or your organisation respond?
- What is your organisation doing to actively campaign on these issues?
- Why did you set up the initiatives or staff groups you did, and what does your diversity statement really mean?
- Have you personally felt the impact of these initiatives either directly or as an ally?
- Where is there more work for your organisation to achieve?
- How does your organisation collaborate with bodies and groups to strengthen and empower change?
- How do you frame the language you use on your recruitment website or materials?
- What advice would you provide to students from groups under-represented in your organisation?
King's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
King's Careers and Employability EDI Commitment
Our Diversity Initiatives
Careers+ is our institutional programming providing UK-domiciled students from historically under-represented groups in higher education, a dedicated suite of support, including:
Extended Careers Education appointments
Signposting to a dedicated suite of digital pathways supporting career learning
We have also been fortunate to engage employers in a variety of projects from mentoring to workshops and skills sessions.
Insights is our work-related learning programme, dedicated to finalist undergraduate students who are lacking work experience or confidence in the next step of their career journey, and we see significant correlation of these statistics with those from under-represented backgrounds.
Through a year-long programme, students benefit from employer business treks, work shadowing and undertaking a live virtual project with an employer.
Explore our Insights Programme
Our Inclusive Futures Series held throughout the year enable our students to hear the personal career journeys of alumni and individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and heritage with a particular focus upon spotlighting the stories of individuals across global majority groups. They enable speakers from different sectors to share their experiences in a safe space, supporting our students to overcome the barriers that may exist.
We're also proud to work with a variety of partners and organisations including 10,000 Black Interns, Creative Access, Rare Recruitment and the Civil Service Fast Stream to develop inclusive opportunities for students from all black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds.
Explore our Inclusive Futures Series
Our Inclusive Futures Series held throughout the year enable our students to hear the personal career journeys of alumni and individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and heritage with a particular focus upon spotlighting the stories of individuals with a physical or mental disability. They enable speakers from different sectors to share their experiences in a safe space, supporting our students to overcome the barriers that may exist.
In 2019 our work was featured in the Demos/Lord Shinkwin report Able to Excel as an example of good practice within the HE careers sector.
DEMOS/Lord Shinkwin 'Able to Excel' Report (pdf)
Our Inclusive Futures Series held throughout the year enable our students to hear the personal career journeys of alumni and individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and heritage. They enable speakers from different sectors to share their experiences in a safe space, supporting our students to overcome the barriers that may exist.
We run annual Networking Nights promoting gender equity in fields such as finance and technology and work hard to advertise many opportunities seeking female or male talent recognising that different sectors struggle with gender diversity in different ways.
Since 2018, we've hosted annual events around International Women's Day, including a now annual Women in Finance Networking Night which has attracted over 50 female role-models across the financial services sectors to meet with students from King's Business School and other faculties.
Explore our Inclusive Futures Series
Our Inclusive Futures Series held throughout the year enable our students to hear the personal career journeys of alumni and individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and heritage with a particular focus upon spotlighting the stories of individuals from LGBTQ+ backgrounds. They enable speakers from different sectors to share their experiences in a safe space, supporting our students to overcome the barriers that may exist.
In 2018 we were delighted to partner with Stonewall and King's Diversity & Inclusion to launch the latest version of Stonewall's "Starting Out" Guide showcasing the most LGBT-friendly employers across the UK.
Explore our Inclusive Futures Series