Discover why a bespoke approach to EDI is not just beneficial but essential. This article explores how tailored, human‑centred equity, diversity and inclusion support leads to meaningful cultural change, deeper collaboration and resilient strategies that adapt to shifting social and organisational landscapes.

How do you make DEI training genuinely effective?
DEI training can shift attitudes, but when does it lead to real change? Based on original research, this piece explores how organisations can get real value from DEI training by focusing on depth, leadership support and long‑term strategy.

Discover how Spotlight Inclusion’s EDI in the Arts programme empowers arts organisations to embed equity, diversity, and inclusion into their culture and practice. This blog explores systemic challenges in the arts—such as elitism, underfunding, and power imbalances—and offers practical, low-cost solutions rooted in lived experience, psychological safety, and inclusive strategy. Learn how the programme supports leadership, fosters cross-sector collaboration, and drives sustainable change. Ideal for theatres, galleries, and creative organisations seeking meaningful EDI transformation.

The BBC has faced intense scrutiny over its workplace culture in recent years. From misconduct and racist language on MasterChef, to bullying and drug use on Strictly Come Dancing, and controversies involving high-profile figures like Huw Edwards—not to mention the legacy of Jimmy Savile—the organisation has been under pressure to reform.

In response, the BBC has launched initiatives aimed at improving its internal culture.

There is no escaping AI and how it is already changing our lives. A google search will show you a raft of blogs, sites and articles all telling you the number and scale of jobs that could be lost due to AI taking over the work of humans.

How does this affect equity, diversity and inclusion work? This blog explains how.

EDI training alone isn’t enough - lasting change comes from embedding inclusion into everyday practices. This post explores what really makes EDI efforts effective, from continuous learning to inclusive leadership.

If you have started an EDI journey, you have probably embarked on it from the perspective of social justice – the recognition that there are people in society who have been historically and socially excluded. There are groups who have not always had fair access to the distribution of resources and opportunities. You may have recognised the lack of representation of groups of people, unequal progress, lack of participation, disparities in safety, power and wealth for some compared to others. You may have morally felt that this should be addressed, or felt that there is a business case to address these inequalities.  

So, when we are in a situation where legislation is passed which is can lead to the further exclusion of one group, and where there are very loud financially backed or political figures spreading their messages, it can be difficult to know what to do and where to turn. So, we offer some strategies to enable you to maintain your inclusion strategy.  

"Equity is about providing services and opportunities with an understanding that everyone has different starting points and that some people have been historically and socially excluded. This means that there are more factors to consider for some people than there are for others, and we act accordingly with that knowledge."

The article discusses recent guidelines from the Sentencing Council aimed at assisting judges and magistrates in considering factors such as a person's faith, history of abuse, care system experience, or ethnic minority background during sentencing. It emphasizes that such considerations are not about creating a two-tier system but about ensuring equitable treatment within the judicial process.

The author argues that despite existing training and strategies, biases persist in the justice system, as evidenced by disproportionate incarceration rates among ethnic minorities and individuals with learning difficulties or disabilities. The piece critiques government resistance to these guidelines, suggesting that opposing equity measures maintains the status quo of systemic bias.

This blog post provides a critical examination of the challenges faced when implementing equity-focused reforms within established systems, particularly the judicial system.

Times are challenging for equity, diversity and inclusion work. Globally, there is a shift to the right and pressure from a range of directions to slow down, pause or stop our work to ensure everyone is able to thrive and progress in our workplaces. In addition, there are very real financial challenges for individuals and businesses of all kinds.  

So how do we keep the work we know is essential going?  

Equity, diversity and inclusion is an ever-evolving field.

Approaches to EDI in 2020 are not as effective as they were last year. The expectations on us to create inclusive working environments is every increasing, and the challenges are constantly changing.  

Getting a clear understanding of where we are now will allow organisations to identify when and how changes should be made.  

Keeping progress moving in the right direction can be a challenge.  

Organisations will sometimes reach out to us when they get stuck. This can be a very difficult step for people as they will often come to an initial conversation feeling some very deep and complex emotions: shame, guilt, inadequacy, frustration, anger, resentment etc.  

Sometimes, they are getting pressure from colleagues to explain why progress has stopped, why actions haven’t been actioned, why some people feel the same now as they did when the work started. The will to keep moving will be there, the commitment will be evident in the deep emotions listed above, but for whatever reason, they just can’t seem to get moving again. Why is that? 

Last weekend I was drawn to a feature on Sky News talking about racial discrimination in the theatre industry.  

This caught my eye not least because much of the work we do at Spotlight Inclusion to create equitable, diverse and inclusive environments is in the arts sector and much of that is in the theatre industry. 

Spotlight Inclusion organisation exists to support your organisation.  
 
We can often feel that our organisations are all about our outcomes. Our outcomes might be student exam or assessment results, the number of items we make, the profit we make, the creative output we put on our stages. But really, your organisation is about people.  

We prefer the human touch. We prefer to talk with you to fully understand your needs and be responsive to them and any challenges which can emerge along the way.

As someone who supports a number of arts organisations to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive, you might expect me to agree with the sentiments in The Stage’s latest article, and I do. But I wanted to add some of my own thoughts to it. If the arts industry needs an overhaul to boost leadership diversity, how do we do it?

Lots of organisations created Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in the form of working groups, steering groups and committees at the start of their EDI journey. These groups are around 3-5 years old now, and we are often approached by clients wanting to know how best to use them after the first throws of their EDI commitment.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion work is often framed as something we do “out there”, in organisations, in systems, in communities. But the truth is that it starts much closer to home. Self‑reflection invites us to slow down, notice our patterns, and understand how our stories shape the way we lead, collaborate and make decisions. It’s a practice of honesty, humility and care. And without it, EDI work becomes performative rather than transformative. In this piece, I share why self‑reflection is essential, and what it makes possible.

Given the amount of information in the public domain about the benefits of creating a diverse and inclusive working environment, it would be understandable if you have the impression that creating such a place is easy and nirvana like. However, we as EDI professionals need to be careful that we don’t make this work appear to be simple and friction free.