In recent weeks, global events, including the brutal murder of George Floyd, has prompted us to think about how we actively promote equality and diversity in the workplace, in the limber community and at HQ.
Please do not misread our silence on the matter so far as indifference. Instead, we have taken time to learn, reflect, listen and educate ourselves to ensure we can take meaningful action, not just generate meaningless PR.
Here at limber, we stand with the Black community and other BAME communities against all forms of racism, and promise that this is just the very beginning of the steps we can, will and MUST take to bring about positive change in our society. Black lives matter, and we acknowledge our collective responsibility to take steps to dismantle white supremacy, prejudice and oppression based on the colour of someone’s skin, and we ask you to do the same.
With this in mind, we’ve reviewed our approach to equality and diversity across the platform and we’d like your input.
What we need from you:
- Firstly, if you believe you have been treated differently, unfairly or have not had the same opportunities as another individual on limber, please tell us. We want to listen to what you have to say and if we can help, we will.
- Below, we have included our equality statement, which outlines our commitment to the positive promotion of equality and diversity. This language will appear in every email notification sent to hirers when they get an applicant and within the limber hirer platform itself along with a banner (language also below)
We have always valued the opinions of our limber community, and we’d therefore welcome any feedback on how we can improve the language.
- We’d also like to ask whether profile pictures should continue to be shown on worker profiles. We have always included photographs of applicants as a means of building trust between workers and hirers, but upon reflection, we’re aware that this could lead to both conscious and unconscious bias, and risk putting some limber workers at a disadvantage when applying for jobs. What are your thoughts? We’d love to hear them.
Banner to appear in hirer platform:
Equality policy/statement:
limber champions both the benefits and necessity of having a diverse workforce and we hope you’ll join us in our commitment to the positive promotion of equality and diversity.
When reviewing applicants on limber, profiles contain plenty of useful data to help you make a choice, fairly:
1. Ratings
These are great, but please also consider those without loads of ratings – maybe they just haven’t been given a chance yet.
2. Reliability
Although please remember, we’re all human and we make mistakes!
3. Prior experience
Please assume people are telling the truth. 99% of the time, they are.
4. Endorsements
Look out for the green shield – it means someone has endorsed that worker’s previous experience.
5. Training and education
This is important, but there’s a lot that can be said for a great work ethic and a positive attitude.
Together, we can ensure that no person receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of race, gender, sexuality, religion, age or disability, and put an end to systemic discrimation. The result is a better, more diverse and more inclusive environment for both our colleagues and customers.
What else we’re doing
We recognise a lack of diversity at limber HQ. We’re still a small team, but as we grow, if that continues, it will lead to a lack of diverse thinking in our organisation. For this and many other reasons, we commit to ensuring that where we advertise roles, we do so by paying particular attention to underrepresented groups at limber HQ. We will seek out applicants from those groups, and ensure that we follow robust and fair recruitment practices aimed at assessing what the applicant can offer.
Beyond direct recruitment at limber HQ, we also recognise that individuals from underprivileged backgrounds may not have always had equal access to professional opportunities – and that this lack of access to opportunity disproportionately affects BAME communities. That’s why we’re going to be providing paid internships for BAME pupils of inner city schools (or any suffering from deprivation), to come into limber, experience what it’s like at a tech company and hopefully, to leave with an understanding that these roles are attainable. More details on this later, but we’ll hopefully be working with a great charity on that project.
If you have any questions, thoughts or suggestions for us on this, or any other topic, please let us know.
