The SyCom ED and I Charter

The Charter

• Commits signatory companies to lead by example and make a difference, publicly reporting on their progress.
• Promotes positive change within the signatory bodies and across the Security Industry by empowering and educating leaders, making members feel comfortable to challenge negative or discriminatory behaviours, and collaborating to share best practice.
• Commits signatory companies to support the progression of diverse individuals into senior roles, develop the talent pipeline and improve representation at senior and executive level of the Security Industry
• Recognises that each signatory company will have different starting point and available resources and that progress will not look the same for every organisation.

Statement for signatory companies – my organisation pledges to promote EDI by:

Appointing a member of the senior leadership team as an ‘EDI Champion’.
Having in place an EDI Policy for your organisation and making sure all members are aware of it.
Making Recruitment and Progression processes accessible and attractive to all to attract, retain and develop people of all backgrounds, ages, genders and identities.
Providing opportunities for Training and Education for your organisation to help tackle cognitive bias and negative behaviours within workforces
Monitoring and reporting internally on the progress of your internal plan, using measures and at intervals that are appropriate to your size and nature.
Sharing your experience and successes within the UK Security Commonwealth community to help build an effective network for EDI across the UK Security
Provide relevant details to the SyCom EDI SIG outlining the progress made so an annual report can be created and distributed.

Read The Full Charter

Additional Information

Who can sign up?

This Charter is open to all UK Security Commonwealth member organisations who wish to play a role in promoting innovation, agility and positive change in the UK Security Industry. Not all signatory bodies will be able to make the same commitments, but all signatory companies will be asked to pledge to collaborate and take actions that promote better EDI in the UK Security Industry. Your size, industry sector or provided service doesn’t matter, but you need to have a genuine place of business in the UK Security Industry.

What does signing up involve?

Signing up involves making seven commitments, which are designed to be achievable for all bodies working in the Security Industry. It is a way of publicly endorsing EDI principles within the UK Security Industry. Some bodies may already meet or exceed these commitments and the SyCom EDI Charter is not intended to replace or conflict with these, but they have been designed to be achievable by even the smallest organisation, as well as by those who are relatively new to EDI initiatives. Progress on achievements should be shared internally within the organisation and can also be shared within the SyCom community via a newsletter.

What are the benefits of signing up?

Involvement in the SyCom EDI Charter community will help to improve EDI within your own membership body and will demonstrate your commitment to your members that you are working toward a better UK Security Industry, in turn helping to attract and retain your future, talented leaders by welcoming a variety of different perspectives.

How do I sign up?

To sign up to the SyCom EDI Charter, you need to complete a simple form providing us with your contact details. By doing so, you are agreeing to the seven Charter commitments listed above.

You will be asked to provide details of two people:

an “Authorised Signatory”, who must have the authority to make the seven Charter commitments on behalf of the body; and
a designated EDI Champion, who will be the main point of contact between your body and SyCom on EDI matters and will be responsible for acting on the Charter commitments.

Your EDI Champion can be the same as the Authorised Signatory.

If you are unsure of who to put forward for the role of EDI Champion, please ask and we will assist.

Requests to sign up to the Charter should be sent to info@securitycommonwealth.org

What happens after signing up?

Your Authorised Signatory and designated EDI Champion will receive a welcome email from the SyCom EDI SIG and we will add your name to our website list of EDI Charter signatories. We will also add your details to our database of Charter signatories. Your named individual(s) will be subscribed to our Charter Signatories and EDI Champions mailing lists, so that we can keep them updated on what the SyCom EDI group is working on.

Members of the SyCom EDI SIG will publish an annual report, outlining the progress made by the Charter and its signatories.

The rest is up to you. Please join in as many of the publicised events as possible, make use of our resources and do what you can to publicise the SyCom EDI Charter and other initiatives throughout your body and wider contacts.

The SyCom EDI Charter is a self-certification scheme. We rely on our signatories to make every effort they can to fulfil the seven commitments, and we provide resources to help them do that. We reserve the right, if we learn that one of our signatories is not fulfilling the Charter commitments, to investigate and to take appropriate action (for example withdrawing their Charter signatory status). There are far more negative consequences to poor EDI practices than any sanctions SyCom could impose.

So, please do not sign up to the Charter as a mere box-ticking exercise; make this a genuine commitment to take action to improve equality, diversity and inclusion within your membership body and the UK Security Industry.

Please remember to let us know about any significant changes to your organisation, for example the appointment of a new EDI Champion, or a change of name or address or legal status. Please note that for your organisation to remain a Charter signatory, we do need to have contact details for at least one designated EDI Champion and an Authorised Signatory.