Black Lives Matter

We are horrified not only by George Floyd’s unjust death, but also by those of many other people who have lost their lives as a result of racism. We stand in solidarity with everyone fighting for racial justice, and with our colleagues and customers who are experiencing pain and grief now, and in the past.

At Emerald Works, we are proud of the work we do on equality, diversity and inclusion. But we know that we need to do more.

We need to go beyond what is required by legislation that has proved inadequate in tackling workplace discrimination effectively.

Emerald Works is now making a public commitment to take focused and progressive steps to ensure Black representation in all areas of our organization.

We will examine our approach to recruitment and how it feels to work here. We will challenge our daily habits and language, and we will review and change our products and portfolios to ensure that Black voices are heard and acknowledged.

But we are also making a broader appeal to all our colleagues and clients, and to L&D and HR professionals: Let’s have a conversation that leads to genuine change in our communities and our industry.

We, as an industry, have a responsibility to reassess how we live and work together as people, and to make this a moment of positive, permanent change.

The Black Lives Matter movement has generated a resounding amplification of Black voices and an acute raising of awareness that we haven’t done enough.

In fact, some of us are a well-meaning part of the problem. We’ve not lived the experiences of those who are excluded, or those who receive unequal treatment on account of their ethnicity, creed, gender, sexuality, mental health, cognitive and physical diversity – and all other forms of difference. So we need to listen, to ask questions, and to become true allies.

We need to create safe spaces for the difficult conversations that are essential for achieving genuine understanding.

We need to acknowledge the reality and complexity of intersectionality: that is, we need to understand the ways that multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage can be compounded and create additional obstacles to progress.

Let us work proactively as an industry to ensure that our public debates and industry forums, training and recruitment, lobbying and advocacy are representative of, and designed to improve, the diversity of our professional community.

That is why we have issued this statement and appeal. We’d like to hear your experiences and hear how your organizations are tackling these issues. Let's learn from one another and agree what actions we will take as an industry.


If you have any questions or comments relating to this statement, please contact our CEO John Yates via email.