Acceptance, understanding, and raising your VOICE

During my onboarding experience at Kainos, excited as I was, I was disheartened to see my ethnicity missing from the list of ethnicities available for my profile. From this, I saw that there was an educational gap, and that I could help to bridge this gap and make Kainos more diverse and inclusive.  

While the company were inclusive and supportive of my cultural and religious needs (from praying to accommodating my religious dietary requirements) from day one, I realised there was a need for a specific support network group within the organisation, to help make Kainos more diverse and support a more inclusive working environment for everyone. 

In 2020 we began building the foundation of an employee network group for our ethnically diverse workforce. This is when VOICE was introduced to Kainos – its goal was to be the voice for our ethnically diverse team to express their cultures, religions, and ways of life. While, at the same time, giving the platform for others to express their questions and curiosities, and to educate one another on our differences and similarities. 

Fast forward a year.

How has VOICE progressed? And how has the VOICE network helped me and other employees at Kainos feel?  

One simple word; ‘accepted.’  

Now my ethnicity is included in the Kainos database. 
Now I have a dedicated room to offer my daily prayers at the office. 
Now I can enjoy social events with my colleagues without being left out, as I am catered for. 
Now I have the means of reaching out to the whole staff to celebrate my religion’s events.  
Most importantly, I can now bring my full self to work every day!