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DIAL Global Summit: Why is a mutual respect of religion and or belief/non belief critical for inclusive cultures?

Some big questions were asked in the penultimate session of the day, as the panel gathered to talk about the importance of religious respect at work. Lead by Reverend Mark E Fowler (chief executive officer, TANENBAUM), he was joined by Bina Tailor (senior people manager, Savers Health Home & Beauty), Elly Tomlins (chief people officer, Britvic) and Dr Kathryn Wright (chief executive, Culham St Gabriel's Trust).

Kathryn kicked off the discussion, telling us two-thirds of people believe religion or faith to be important so conversations on this topic are critical. She said vulnerability and humility are important in these conversations, and the the most important thing to do is listen.

Read more: Dial Global Summit: Creating a culture of allyship and its power to drive inclusive leadership

Elly noted that we’re living in a divided world, and having advocates for acceptance in such a polarised time is so important. We need to, according to Elly, be “generous with our intellectual space” and to “lean into respect and lean into humility”.

DIAL
Photo: DIAL Global Summit (DIAL)

Bina illustrated how Savers have been working to ensure staff members don’t feel they have to leave their faith at the door, and cited during Ramadan shift patterns were changed to allow for fasting comfortably, and safe and clean places to pray were found.

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At Britvic, Elly spoke of the importance of inclusion and mentioned how the staff have been visibly celebrating faith events such as Ramadan and Hannukah. She noted it’s key to ask people to walk a mile in the shoes of others, and to ask open, curious questions if trying to learn more about other faiths. As mentioned in a previous session, the power of face to face conversations about life experiences as opposed to e-learning was applauded again.

Read more: DIAL Global Summit: Building and empowering diverse teams through inclusive leadership

Kathryn stressed the importance of teaching children about religion, in order to ensure they have skills and understanding when they get into the workforce, and Bina expanded that it’s so important to be curious, to ask questions and not be afraid to learn.

Reverend Mark agreed, saying it’s important to create an environment for people make genuine mistakes, and for them to be able to acknowledge and apologise in good faith. Kathryn ended by saying if this is an area which could be approached with a celebratory tone rather than one of fear then we could make real change.