Our Black History Month webinar, “Understanding and removing barriers to success for Black Women in the nuclear workplace” is now available to view on our Vimeo channel.
Through discussion with our panellists, the webinar explored some of the steps and actions organisations can take to: attract, improve retention, and facilitate career progression for Black women in their workforce.
Webinar Panellists:
- Nik Muchatuta, lead Systems Engineering consultant for nuclear in Jacobs. Co-Founder Racial Equality in Nuclear (REiN).
- Marcia Ore, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Specialist Consultant, Marcia Ore Consultancy.
- Tendayi Munyebvu, Director and General Manager, Jacobs.
Chaired by Monica Mwanje, IDN MD & Co-founder.
We had a fantastic discussion with plenty of engagement and questions from our audience who watched the webinar live. After the webinar, we asked our panellists the questions that we ran out of time for, which you can find below.
How do you ask for coaching rather than mentorship?
Marcia: Firstly, you need to consider what it is you want or need to develop in, then which approach is best and why? This will enable you to provide a strong business case to your organisation. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development offers examples of when coaching may be appropriate.
- Helping competent technical experts develop better interpersonal skills like handling conflict.
- Supporting an individual’s potential and providing career support.
- Developing a more strategic perspective after a promotion to a senior role.
- Dealing with the impact of change on an individual’s role.
How can I make my company aware that their business decision is affecting my career path (for example, cancelling the funding of a networking program that was promised when I started due to the current inflation context)?
Marcia: This can be done via 1:1s with your line manager, performance reviews, or employee satisfaction/engagement surveys. The medium you choose will depend on how safe and comfortable you feel raising this issue.
How does Inclusion, Diversity and Equity vary between large and small companies?
Tendayi: Large companies are under constant public scrutiny (from shareholders, employees and society) on how they demonstrate sustainability (EDI being a component of the ESG goals). Large companies feel obliged to publicly declare their strategy towards EDI, as well as fund their commitments and measure progress. And, usually, what gets funded/measured gets done. Furthermore, large companies are likely to have a more diverse workforce that can hold their leaders accountable.
Watch the video here: