DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AT WATES
Our people are at the core of our success. To remain successful and to have a business which can be sustainable for the long term, we must retain and recruit the best people, and provide them with an environment characterised by inclusivity, diversity, and opportunity.
Our Diversity and Inclusion plan is our long-term blueprint to create a business where everyone is welcomed, included and connected. We call this #WatesTogether.
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Wates Diversity and Inclusion plan | #WatesTogetherDownload
Our commitments
Our goals:
Drive industry to be more inclusive by playing a leading role in peer and stakeholder collaboration
Have a workforce that more accurately reflects society (we will be 60% men, 40% women, 20% BAME, 3% disability and 5% LGBTQ+ across all levels in our business)
Positively encourage flexible working through appropriate working arrangements and benefits
Ensure fairness in all our people systems, processes and reward mechanisms
Be a place where everyone loves to work
Our key objectives:
Encourage bold leadership – our leaders at all levels are committed to embracing and implementing our #WatesTogether inclusion strategy
Increase awareness through education – we provide the right tools and training to support inclusive mindsets and forums to foster debate
Involve everyone – we empower everyone to create inclusive working environments and encourage them to engage in activities and partnerships internally and externally
Embed inclusion into all we do – we will attract and develop a diverse workforce with an inclusive mindset and ensure all of our processes and procedures support this
Inclusion Month
Inclusion Month happens in October, acknowledging key events in the diversity calendar during the month, particularly Black History Month, World Menopause Awareness Day, National Work Life Week, National Coming Out Day and World Mental Health Day. It’s a month-long campaign packed with activities for all Wates colleagues, where our people have opportunities to come together, to learn more about inclusion and to ask questions about what it means to them and what they can do to make a difference.
Employee Networks
Our five thriving employee networks on race and ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+, parents and carers, and disability – help steer our vision of inclusion at Wates. All networks are voluntary, employee-driven and empowered to help drive our business goals by ensuring a diverse range of voices are represented and heard.
Flexible Working
We are one of the first companies within the built environment to support flexible working across our entire business, including employees who work on site. All new roles are advertised as flexible and our teams are encouraged to develop working patterns that take into account individual preferences, enabling everyone to perform at their best.
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Family Leave Policies
We have industry-leading family leave policies including generous paternity/partner leave and maternity leave, as well as carers’ leave, bereavement leave. We match enhanced entitlement for shared parental leave and adoption leave with maternity leave and pay. These policies are designed to attract and develop a diverse workforce with an inclusive mindset, as well as helping to close the gender pay gap by enabling more sharing of responsibilities at work and home. They reflect the changing expectations of talent and will enable both men and women to manage personal and professional commitments as part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
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