Whistl execs appointed as sponsors for race, disability and women initiatives

Whistl has tasked senior leadership to drive internal equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives focused on race, disability and female representation within the company.

Mark Lawrenson, head of operations, takes on the role of lead sponsor on race diversity within the company. 

Whistl is a long standing member of the Race at Work Charter and is now partnering Race Equality Matters to implement some of their initiatives to create a better understanding of race inequality. 

The first initiative will be the #MyNameIs solution where employees have the opportunity to have their names spelt phonetically on email signatures, name badges and hi vis jackets to ensure correct pronunciation. 

Michael Boulton, Whistl international managing director, and parcels MD Andy Underwood, will take the sponsorship lead on disability awareness, with a brief to further embed the activities available from Whistl’s membership of Valuable 500 and Disability Confident.

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Laura Sanjurgo, mail commercial director, and Fliss O’Hara, fulfilment commercial director, will be taking the lead on female diversity and promoting Whistl’s recent membership of Everywoman, whose goal is to advance women’s progression in business.

The sponsors will work with Whistl’s EDI Forum, made up of 20 staff from across the company, to embed these activities within the business.

Nick Wells. Whistl executive chairman, said: “Whistl is a people business and the key reason for our success.  It is important that everyone is treated with respect and is given the help to progress with their careers. 

"We passionately believe in developing our people and our EDI Forum and Sponsors will pay a key role ensuring that we remain a great place to work.

“A simple but effective initiative from Race Equality Matters will help us ensure that people are addressed the way they want to be and should be. 

"Whistl has over 60 nationalities working across the business, and we believe it is important that everyone is treated with respect and at the very least can expect their name to be pronounced correctly.”