Guidance

Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Strategy

Published 25 February 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on 18 May 2023

This strategy has been updated and is available to members of the Government Finance Function on OneFinance.

Creating a diverse and inclusive environment is one of the most important objectives for the Government Finance Function (GFF). Our senior leaders are committed to a transparent culture and a genuinely diverse workforce. We seek to build a function where individuals feel valued and can bring their whole selves to work.

The Government Finance Function Strategy 2019-2023 sets out our function’s vision and ambitions. It articulates the leadership, roles, deliverables, and ways of working that will ensure we can meet our ambitions; enabling us, wherever we work across government, to deliver a quality service for our departments and organisations.

Foreword

Cat Little, Head of the Government Finance Function and Director General, Public Spending, HM Treasury

People are essential to the continued success of the Government Finance Function. We know that success lies in putting the right people with the right skills in the right roles and supporting them to operate with confidence and expertise. As individuals we are all unique and bring our own perspectives and experience to the work that we do. We want to ensure that the Government Finance Function is a diverse and inclusive place to work and that everyone is encouraged and empowered to be their whole selves, regardless of their background or circumstances. By ensuring that our finance function community reflects a diversity of experience and perspectives we can make better decisions and better reflect the public we serve.

Vicky Rock, Deputy Head of the Government Finance Function and Director, Public Spending, HM Treasury

We are committed to embedding diversity and inclusion in all we do and to complement the diversity and inclusion ambitions set out in our Functional Strategy, we now have developed our GFF Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Strategy for 2021. A lot of work has gone into creating this strategy and action plan and there is lots to work to do to achieve our aims but I’m confident that this will provide us with an invaluable framework to make meaningful, wide-ranging and impactful improvements to help all of our Finance Function community thrive and succeed in our mission

Our Objectives

The GFF Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Strategy seeks to embed cultural and behavioural change, support wellbeing, and improve functional diversity and inclusion data quality and visibility. To deliver on this, we have established the following four Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing objectives.

1. Establishing diversity and inclusion (D&I) standards for the GFF and facilitating implementation of the standards

Minimum D&I standards will be embedded to build a high performing and diverse Government Finance Function. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture that values diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences placing people at the heart of the functional agenda.

Developing and retaining diverse talent

Action	Success measure
Collect functional D&I data to understand the characteristics and demographic of the workforce, commencing with a D&I questionnaire issued to all SCS1 and SCS2 as part of the talent management commission of November 2020	Data collection and analysis of dataset completed by December 2021
Implement interventions for individuals with protected characteristics and/or from under-represented groups across all grades and locations to support them with career planning and progression	Programme of interventions around Mentoring across GFF, Success Profiles/Application Clinics and Career

Senior Leadership Role Modelling Behaviour

Action	Success measure
Ensure that there is Senior Civil Service (SCS) representation at all GFF D&I events	SCS from across the GFF to deliver a slot at every GFF D&I event
Encourage SCS across the GFF to highlight their progression towards their individual D&I objectives and increase visibility

Attracting and retaining diverse applicants and delivering fair and inclusive recruitment processes

Action	Success measure
Promote the Civil Service D&I Common Standards Framework and the use of this in attracting and retaining diverse talent to Finance	Following communication from Cat Little and Tom Scholar around functional approval for SCS vacancies and alignment with talent agenda, all SCS vacancies submitted to the People and Capability Resourcing Lead for review and functional approval
Review the language used in SCS job adverts and descriptions to ensure it is inclusive and encourages attraction of diverse applicants	Increased diversity across our workforce and SCS cadre in particular (long term goal)

Developing and retaining diverse talent

Action	Success measure
Ensure that learning and development (L&D) opportunities are available and accessible to all, regardless of background, grade or location	Recommendations for where and how representation of diverse groups should be improved
Create a Government Finance Academy (GFA) L&D offer targeted at junior grades, including EO/HEO	Designing of L&D interventions via the GFA specifically for junior grades commenced by March 2021 and incorporated into GFA Delivery Plan for 2021/22
Collect D&I data on L&D programmes to monitor characteristics of applicants and participants

2. Developing partnerships and building networks within the GFF and across functions for collaborative delivery of D&I priorities

Collaborating with functional networks and departments will align diversity and inclusion strategies, allowing for maximum impact and ensuring that we add value from a functional perspective.

Collaborating with key partners

Action	Success measure
Work with the People Committee Sponsors to establish D&I deliverables for People and Capability workstreams and monitor progress against these	D&I objective for each People and Capability workstream established by June 2021
Work with Departmental Heads of Finance Professionalism (HoFP) to increase the visibility of People and Capability Leads and engage with functional D&I initiatives	GFF Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Lead to attend HoFP meetings periodically to highlight D&I activities and updates from departments
Collaborate with Talent Forums to design and implement D&I interventions	D&I initiatives in place, managed by People and Capability Team with engagement from the Talent Forums and other networks

Coordinate with GFF Networks

Action	Success measure
Organise regular meetings between GFF Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Lead, D&I Working Group, Women in Finance Network, BAME Network and Regional Finance Network Leads to deliver on priorities collectively, build intersectionality into our approaches and align agendas	Dates in place for bi-monthly meetings for the Network Leads
GFF D&I and Wellbeing events to be developed in collaboration with the Network Leads	Use feedback from members to shape GFF activities
	First collaborative session delivered at the GFF Winter Festival in February 2021

Wider networking

Action	Success measure
Connect with departmental D&I Leads and cross-functional D&I Leads to design effective D&I interventions and facilitate implementation of GFF initiatives	Regular communication with departmental D&I Leads and Cross-Functional D&I Leads
Support departmental D&I activities and provide functional representation at key departmental events	GFF Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Lead to attend and contribute to D&I events held across the function hosted by departments
Hold engagement sessions for GFF colleagues to facilitate open and transparent discussions on all aspects of diversity and inclusion	Engagement sessions for GFF colleagues delivered throughout 2021 and feedback from discussions recorded

3. Capturing high-quality data and providing insight to champion D&I in all capacities.

As a function informed by analysis and underpinned by good quality data, we will better utilise workforce data to keep finance leaders informed, identify focus areas and ensure that all People, Diversity and Capability work is evidence-based.

Developing and retaining diverse talent

Action	Success measure
Collect and analyse D&I data from across the GFF regularly to ensure it is robust and accurate and progress can be monitored	Improved understanding of the diversity and demographics of the GFF workforce across all grades
	D&I data dashboard created and published on OneFinance by December 2021

GFF Performance Framework

Action	Success measure
D&I metrics to be incorporated in the GFF Performance Framework	Reporting these metrics to FSB on a regular basis and publishing the metrics on OneFinance by December 2021

Functional Survey

Action	Success measure
Support the development of the D&I element of the GFF survey	Questions for diversity monitoring included in GFF survey
Analyse and interpret the results to establish measurable targets for the GFF and monitor progress against these	Measurable D&I targets in place for the GFF by December 2021

Other approaches to data collection

Action	Success measure
Analyse diversity data for GFA L&D programmes	Application and participation data used to enhance the GFA offer
Collect D&I data as part of the SCS Talent and Capability returns	Improved understanding of the demographic of Finance SCS population

4. Supporting colleagues with well-being, as line managers and individuals.

People are essential to the continued success of the GFF. Promoting and managing wellbeing is central to the people agenda, particularly as we continue to navigate these challenging times.

Promoting wellbeing

Action	Success measure
Actively promoting the importance of emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing on OneFinance	Sharing resources on the OneFinance Wellbeing Hub
Publishing a ‘Wellbeing’ feature in each edition of People Matters	Monthly wellbeing feature in each People Matters
Sharing resources and delivering workshops that provide strategies for managing wellbeing, for individuals and for managers leading teams	Continuing delivering wellbeing sessions for GFF colleagues, in conjunction with the GFA offer, with sessions delivered at the GFF Winter Festival in February 2021 and the GFF Spring Festival in April 2021
Incorporating wellbeing sessions into the GFA’s L&D offer

Sharing best practice

Action	Success measure
Collaborate with departmental Wellbeing Leads to share resources and circulate across the function for wider use	Linking into departmental wellbeing activities to promote and share best practice

Our Approach

We are determined to build a strong and inclusive culture that respects every community member for who they are. To build a diverse culture, we must create an environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued and have the opportunity to reach their potential.

Developing Functional D&I Standards to increase representation of:

• individuals from Ethnic Minorities
• neurodivergent individuals and individuals with disabilities
• individuals from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT+) community

Encouraging attraction and retention of diverse talent through:

• targeted talent development interventions
• fair and inclusive recruitment processes
• building capability across the whole of the GFF

Enhancing the sense of a ‘Finance community’ by:

• building partnerships across the Function and bringing together diversity in thought, perspective and experience
• promoting the importance of wellbeing and providing platforms for Finance colleagues to connect with each other
• celebrating our differences and creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable being their authentic selves

Engaging everyone in the function by:

• promoting flexible working and addressing the challenges faced by individuals working flexibly
• ensuring everyone feels a sense of belonging within the Function, regardless of background, grade or location
• establishing diversity and inclusion as an ongoing conversation for the Function and exploring intersectionality