One in three HR leaders face opposition to inclusion schemes, study finds
More than a third of HR decision-makers in the UK said they have faced pushback against equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives over the past year, according to new research,The new YouGov poll, carried out for the national employment charity Working Chance, surveyed 565 HR decision-makers and found that resistance towards EDI was on the rise,The findings raised concerns about the impact on people with convictions, who often rely on inclusive hiring practices to access work,Working Chance, which supports women with convictions into employment, warned that scaling back inclusive hiring risked entrenching social exclusion and undermining efforts to reduce reoffending,Evidence consistently shows that stable employment is one of the most effective ways of preventing people from returning to the criminal justice system, the charity said.
Last December, a Guardian analysis found the UK’s biggest businesses were rolling back their public support for Pride celebrations,It followed another Guardian investigation showing that only a third of recommendations from major reports commissioned to tackle systemic racism over the past 40 years had been implemented,“If this trend continues, then access to work is likely to become increasingly difficult for people who already face significant barriers to employment, including those with criminal convictions,” Natasha Finlayson, the chief executive of Working Chance, said,The findings come amid growing legal and political pressure on targeted inclusion schemes,A charity that organises internships for Black and minority ethnic candidates has been taken to court by an influencer for not offering equivalent schemes for white applicants.
Employers and charities in the UK fear that copycat cases could follow, with some already withdrawing support from schemes.The recent research was published amid a conference at the Ministry of Justice this week, bringing together HR leaders, employers and inclusion specialists to address a “confidence gap” among employers.MoJ evidence shows employment is the strongest protective factor against reoffending, which costs the UK economy an estimated £18bn to £23bn annually.The conference will examine concerns around risk, disclosure, DBS checks and workplace integration, with organisers saying misconceptions and lack of guidance remain major barriers.The government estimates that about one in four working-age adults have some form of criminal record, a broad measure that includes cautions and minor offences, some of which may be disclosed in background checks.
Campaigners calling for changes to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) have long said it casts too wide a net.Working Chance’s latest data shows that despite the scale of criminal records, more than half (58%) of HR leaders do not feel confident recruiting and supporting people with convictions.“When done well, inclusive hiring is not only good for individuals and their families, but also for businesses, communities and the economy,” Finlayson added.Rayhana, who did not wish to give her surname, likened the effect of Working Chance’s support to being reborn.“I applied for and was provisionally offered five jobs, all of which were taken away the moment the DBS certificate came back and the employer found out about my conviction,” she said.
“It felt like I didn’t exist.Like society wanted to pretend that I didn’t exist.”She said her conviction came during a period of poor mental health after losing her job, and that she was determined to rebuild her life.“I don’t want to shrink any more, I want to be a force for good.”She added: “Working Chance supported me to get my current job two years ago, and the impact of having this job is gamechanging.
It feels like a rebirth to be able to rebuild my identity.Now I’m working I have the tools to take responsibility and I won’t go back to my old life,” she said.A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Employment is key in reducing reoffending, which costs the UK economy billions every year.Evidence consistently shows that businesses who employ people with convictions benefit from a loyal, skilled and committed workforce.Supporting access to work not only helps individuals to rebuild their lives, but also delivers wider benefits for businesses, communities and the economy as a whole.
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‘We have to mock the site’s insanity’: comedian Tim Heidecker on the allure of becoming Infowars’ new boss
If you’ve tuned in to Infowars over the years, you might have heard a very angry man screaming about the 2020 election being stolen for “reanimated corpse” Joe Biden, or chemicals in the water turning frogs gay, or the Sandy Hook school shooting, which killed 20 children and six staff members, being faked. Founded in 1999, Alex Jones’s Infowars has long been a platform for toxic conspiracy theories with real-life consequences, in addition to weird dietary supplements. But if the Onion has its way, the InfoWars of the future will have a very different impact.The satirical newspaper has been working for several years to take over the site, amid legal battles over Jones’s false claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. Pending a Texas court’s approval, the platform could soon be in the hands of the Onion and a newly installed creative director, comedian Tim Heidecker, known for his surreal sketches and mockery of the far right
Prince’s death made me upend my life and move to his home town
The star’s potent sexuality made him my ‘secret friend’ but, with my career in the arts stalling, his death led me to the life-changing decision to move to Minneapolis and maintain his legacyI distinctly remember the first time I heard Prince. I was a dreamy, artistic child growing up in 80s rural Australia, feeling completely out of place. One day, I turned towards the cassette radio in my bedroom, hearing something totally different to the rock music I had grown up with – something electric and alive. It was Prince. My body moved
Peter Kay show stopped and 19-year-old in custody after ‘suspicious bag’ found
A live show by comedian Peter Kay in Birmingham has been stopped after a “potential suspicious bag” was found around the venue.The Utilita Arena Birmingham was evacuated and a 19-year-old man was taken into custody, West Midlands police said on Friday evening.The force said: “We are assisting with an evacuation at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham after a potential suspicious bag was found.“A 19-year-old man is in custody and as a precaution the site is currently subject of a search. We will provide further updates when we can
The Guide #241: Wintour isn’t coming … and her Devil Wears Prada absence is for the best
The Devil Wears Prada 2 has a cameo list more stuffed than the fashion cupboard at the film’s fictional Runway magazine. It runs the gamut from eye-poppingly famous (Lady Gaga, Donatella Versace, Naomi Campbell) to if-you-know-you-know industry famous (Tina Brown, say, or a host of supermodels familiar to anyone on the Paris front row) to “huh, how did they get there?” (Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste, or Chicken Shop Date’s Amelia Dimoldenberg, already on her second cameo of the year after a super-quick turn in an episode of Industry). Missing, though, is the one cameo everyone hoped for, the white – or should that be cerulean? – whale herself: Anna Wintour, Vogue top dog and heavy inspiration in the film for Meryl Streep’s formidable sadist-in-chief, Miranda Priestly.Wintour, though absent from the original Devil Wears Prada, always hovered over proceedings – it’s said that a number of designers steered clear of cameo appearances in the first film for fear of offending her – and Wintour herself, though present at its premiere, always studiously avoided discussing the film. But in recent months there seems to have been a sudden thawing – fond words from Wintour about the film on the New Yorker podcast, then a shock appearance alongside Streep on a Vogue cover – prompting speculation that the be-fringed one might deign to appear in the sequel
Post your questions for Harry Potter and Fast Show star Mark Williams
Twenty-five years have now passed since the first Harry Potter film and, with the HBO reboot due out this Christmas, Warner Bros is ramping up the celebrations. Key among them is the unveiling of a new feature at the studio tour showcasing key moments, costumes and props from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.And this is why Mark Williams is now taking your questions – although, as Potter purists will know, his character doesn’t actually appear in the first film. Arthur Weasley does, however, play a pretty big role in the other seven movies, so let’s muggle through regardless.In the movies, Williams plays the ministry of magic employee, husband to Julie Walters’ Molly Weasley and father of Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Percy, Charlie and Bill – a role for which he had to dye his hair red
Man who pocketed tiles from medieval priory as boy returns them 60 years later
Fragments of a priory’s medieval tiled floor that spent almost 60 years stashed in a toffee tin after being pocketed by a nine-year-old boy during a family outing have finally been handed back.The three pieces of decorative clay tiles, dating from the late 13th to early 14th century, were taken as a souvenir by Simon White during a family visit to Wenlock Priory in Shropshire in the late 1960s.White, now a 68-year-old retired chartered surveyor, found the fragments in an old toffee tin during a house move and owned up to English Heritage. He told officials he recalled his father encouraging him to take the pieces but had always felt a little uneasy and was delighted when he rediscovered them.“I can remember the day this all happened with my father standing guard,” he said
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