In 2018 especially, the entertainment industry has proven to be so key in sparking conversations about diversity and inclusion – and thereby changing the status quo. But, is a change of tides in the film industry happening fast enough?

The contributions of women to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics are poorly recorded and unjustly recognised throughout history. The women in this list overcame incredible obstacles to achieve what they did, especially in the era they did it in. They made groundbreaking discoveries, they altered the way we live, and they lit the way for other women in STEM today.

It’s part and parcel of the sector we work in that there are a plethora of statistics out there about diversity and inclusion. The statistics are hard-hitting. They’re disappointing. Sadly, they’re not surprising. As diversity recruiters, we come across statistics like these every single day. But through a lot of recent conversations with colleagues without a diversity and inclusion agenda, it’s clear to us that this data - and therefore the extent of the problem - is still largely unknown in the public eye.

Earlier this year, our team was at the Lead Developer conference in London where we took a slightly different approach to discussing an important topic… When was the last time you got stuck in and built something out of Lego?

Accessibility is a term banded about in lots of different arenas; be that when it comes to physical spaces, digital services, or management styles. With one in five people in the UK having a disability, it’s a legal requirement to make reasonable adjustments as an employer, to avoid people with disabilities being put at a disadvantage. A lift that is always broken and one disabled toilet that is forever out-of-order simply won’t cut it anymore. So why do some employers still find it so difficult to implement effective accessibility strategies?

We’ve previously written about the importance of valuing neurodiversity in the workplace. Today, we wanted to speak to Oli Monks, the Founder of Place with Purpose, to find out more about how they’re opening up a trial co-working space that’s specifically designed for the neurodiverse community.

Forever in the news for something, the NHS was recently called into question over a matter that pricked our ears: the fact that a top hospital trust chief executive has said she will no longer sit on any interview board panel that doesn’t include black and minority ethnic (BAME) representation.

Beyond discussions around diversity of gender, race, class and age - neurodiversity, or ‘diversity of thought’, is just as vital. It has challenged the medical framing of autism, ADHD and other conditions, presenting them instead as a natural neurocognitive variation.

Having attended the Tech Inclusion event at Google last week, I walked away more inspired about the importance and relevance of diversity in our world today.

A study published this week by the Harvard Business Review offers some startling but perhaps unsurprising facts about the challenges of hiring a gender diverse workforce. The article highlights the inequality of women board members in the US: that there are more CEOs named John (5.3%) and David (4.5%) than there are CEOs who are women (4.1%).