Is your workplace moving with the times and reflecting the growing trend for diversity and inclusivity as a reputational and competitive advantage? 

Could you be doing more to nurture a workplace culture with strong values, and that’s supportive and inclusive? One that has a focus on trust and equal treatment for all employees and stakeholders, to demonstrate that you’re a business or organisation that’s great to work for or be part of?

If the answer is “yes” then read on.

The Yorkshire region is huge, and has a mixture of sparsely populated rural areas and densely populated - and diverse - urban areas.

The south-west of the Yorkshire region is quite densely populated, and includes the cities of Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Doncaster and Wakefield. 

According to the 2021 Census, the Yorkshire and the Humber local authorities with the highest proportions of ethnically diverse people were Sheffield in South Yorkshire, and Bradford, Kirklees, and Leeds in West Yorkshire – with each local authority having more than one fifth of the population being ethnically diverse.

There is a growing trend of ethnic diversity in West Yorkshire in particular, with a notable increase in the proportion of people from non-white backgrounds in Leeds, for example.
Bradford has the highest concentration of ethnic minority residents, at 39%.

The north and east of the county are more sparsely populated but North Yorkshire Council has a strong and coherent equality, diversity and inclusion policy.

Lancashire is less ethnically diverse than the average for England, but specific areas like Pendle and Preston are more ethnically diverse, having higher proportions of minority communities.
How diverse is your workplace? Does it reflect the trends across Yorkshire?

Unfortunately, some workplaces in Yorkshire are so bad that not only are they rated among the worst places to work in the Yorkshire region but in the whole of England and the UK!

Conversely, Yorkshire also has some of the best places to work in the UK too. Yorkshire’s cities offer excellent work environments, with Leeds, Sheffield, and York frequently being cited as top places to work. Huddersfield has risen up the rankings, too.

There’s a wealth of compelling evidence to show that managing equality and diversity well and developing a culture of inclusion leads to improved business outcomes. So until all businesses and organisations do this and do it well, your doing so could give you a competitive advantage and enhance your reputation and standing in the community.

Bnode and MD Chris Naylor specialise in training delivery and workshops. If you are based in Huddersfield, Kirklees, Calderdale or West Yorkshire, the training or workshop can be delivered in-person – onsite or at a venue of your choice. If you prefer the training to be delivered remotely then that’s fine too – whichever delivery method suits you best.

Chris is a Member of the Kirklees Council D&I Steering group and a lecturer in D&I at Kirklees College. His first-hand knowledge and experience of Diversity and Inclusion means he’s ideally suited to support your business or organisation with Diversity and Inclusivity Training and Workshops.

Using his skills, knowledge and experience gained over many years of being in business, as well as keeping up-to-date with the latest best practice, Chris and Bnode has helped businesses and organisations across Yorkshire to upskill and train themselves and their staff, giving businesses and organisations the tools with which to make a real impact and implement meaningful change.

So, whether your business or organisation operates exclusively in West Yorkshire or the wider Yorkshire region, or even Lancashire or has national reach all over the UK, we can help you with your training needs.

Contact us to see how working together with leading Huddersfield training provider Bnode to deliver in-person or online training for your business or organisation makes a real difference to how diverse and inclusive you are, helping you retain your current team members and attract potential new employees, stakeholders or volunteers.