The answer is yes, absolutely.
So, of course that means we don't have to worry about anything, right?
Right?
If you're a regular reader of my blogs, you'll already know the answer to that one...
The latest "Inside Hospitality Report" from Be Inclusive Hospitality makes fascinating reading.
It looks at the areas of Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) within Hospitality
20% of those surveyed would agree with my statement at the beginning of this blog, and stated that they had no interest in EDI training.
Except there are 80% in the industry who don't agree, and just over 54% have had no EDI training whatsoever but feel it would be benefit to them
The report also reveals that there is still much work to be done with respondents revealing discrimination and bias based on gender, sexuality, race and religion.
There are more, but I'll leave you to download the report to discover them.
In a recent episode with gender activist Che Barnes it was revealed that in as recently as 2022 restaurant survey a whopping 80% of LGBTQI+ workers had seen discrimination in the work place based on sexuality.
Whilst Hospitality is regarded as a safe and liberal employer (and in many cases it is) there clearly is some way to go.
I have run a number of EDI workshops and based on the.. um.. sometimes ... er... "passionate" conversations that take place, this is clearly an area that many people still need to learn about.
I realise that many smaller businesses are time-poor and cash-tight at the moment and don't have the luxury to partake in a workshop, for those businesses it really is worth considering e-learning courses as a solution.
If our employers don't have a programme, this should not stop us as individuals taking responsibility to learn more about this subject.
My aim is that in some small way these weekly blogs serve as an educational piece to some degree, alongside the podcasts.
In line with my philosophy to help the Hospitality industry be better, I have also created online EDI bundles for employers to have easy access - and value for money - to EDI training.
The e-learning courses are industry approved, can be done in your or your teams own time and there is not a shelf-life on them.
Whilst this is only a drop in the ocean, if we educate ourselves drop by drop, then those drops become puddles, puddles become rivers and eventually seas.
There has NEVER been a better time to get educated.
There has certainly never been a better time to create and develop strong, diverse teams.
But it starts with us.
And it starts with you.
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Further Listening
Podcast Series on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Further Education
Courses & Qualifications on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Further Reading
