D2 launches equality, diversity, and inclusion strategy

At D2 we have worked hard to build a culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) to ensure all of our people feel included and are treated with the respect they deserve in the workplace.

To demonstrate our commitment to EDI, we have pledged to become a signatory for the Women in Rail (WR) and The Railway Industry Association (RIA) in their joint ‘Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Charter.’ This Charter is a commitment to work together to build a more balanced higher performing sector and has been backed by over 140 organisations.

The EDI charter has been an enormous success and continues to challenge the industry to make important changes to create an inclusive culture within organisations and collectively within the UK railway industry. Women in rail team have asked all signatories to share some of the amazing work they have been doing over the past 12 months in their own organisations to be included in the Women in Rail / Railway Industry Association EDI Charter Annual Report. To read the report please see our editorials page.

As part of our commitment to the Charter, D2 have pledged to hold ourselves accountable through a range of activities.

EDI Working Group

As part of our EDI commitment, we have launched several initiatives across the business, including establishing a diverse and committed EDI Working Group, from a cross-section of the business, ensuring maximum representation and providing a platform for all to be heard.

We have also appointed a member of the Senior Leadership team as our ‘EDI Champion’ –to lead by example and ensure that equality, diversity, and inclusion, and all the benefits it can yield, are primary considerations in our strategic business discussions.

EDI Survey

We held our first dedicated EDI company-wide survey, using the results to implement strategic change and return positive results. We have since committed to issuing bi-annual surveys, assessing, and monitoring any change from the baseline and publicly reporting our progress.

EDI Strategy Document

We have underpinned our ongoing commitment to EDI at D2 by producing an EDI strategy document that includes key measurable short- and long-term targets with a clear action plan detailing how we intend to achieve them. These targets form part of our overall business plan, which demonstrates their importance to the business as we continue to progress in embedding an inclusive culture within our organisation.

Training Opportunities

One of our key EDI targets is to provide employees with training opportunities, to tackle unconscious bias and negative behaviours within the workplace. Earlier this year we held our first dedicated EDI training session centred around identifying and tackling biases.

The session was delivered as a facilitated discussion workshop in groups of between 6-8 people. Following the discussion, the trainer delivered a targeted technical review to bring together the findings from the session and provide practical advice on how to address our biases in the future.

Our EDI champion Sarah Barnes, D2’s Collaboration Lead gives us her thoughts on what we have achieved in our EDI journey so far.

“We are on the path of our EDI journey and working hard to make our employees feel empowered to act decisively. We believe it is vitally important to create an inclusive environment for all our people to flourish and help build a better rail sector for all of us to work in.

“By signing the EDI Charter and producing a strategy document with clear outputs we are putting the topic at the forefront of our business and promoting innovation, agility, and positive change in the rail industry. It is exciting to be taking this journey to see the benefits that equality, diversity, and inclusion can yield for both D2 Rail and the wider industry.”

To read the full Women in Rail and RIA EDI Charter visit: https://womeninrail.org/edi-charter/