Diversity in Practice
There's one very important thing that we bring to your business when we deliver diversity and equality training and consultancy. And that's real life experience. What it actually means to live day to day with the challenges of a disability and how that affects the operation of a company.
Jane Hatton, the founder of Diversity People and our sister company, Public Sector Providers lives with her own disability while running a successful company.
The consultants who work for Diversity People embody diversity, an almost 50/50 male/female split, ranging in age from their 20s to 60s, some with disabilities, and from a range of ethnicities (including White, Irish, Black, Asian and Pakistani), religions (including Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Humanist) and sexual orientations. But most importantly these consultants were chosen because they are knowledgeable, talented, experienced, skilled and excellent facilitators, not because they were black, or female, disabled or straight.
Jane became a trainer in 1990 in a range of soft skills, focusing on race and gender equality and diversity combined with Disability Awareness training and consultancy.
But her world and perspective on diversity and equality changed in 2004 when she sustained a spinal injury, leading to unsuccessful surgery which left her moderately disabled. What could have been a very dark time for Jane turned out to be her inspiration and in 2005 she founded Public Sector Providers, initially trading from her front bedroom. Within 12 months PSP had office premises, three staff, thirty trainers and a string of contracts with the public sector.
Over the next three years PSP built on those solid foundations, by practicing what they preached, gaining ISO9000, ISO14001, Investors in People and a number of lucrative contracts.
2008 was a year of highs and lows - Jane was a finalist in Stelios Disabled Entrepreneurs Award. But just 4 days after the awards dinner, experimental spinal surgery designed to resolve her worsening disability failed. Once again she faced the prospect of running a business with severe limitations - unable to sit, bend or lift, and with a limited ability to stand or walk, lying flat for at least 20 hours a day.
2009 has been a year for triumph - truly living what diversity in the workplace means. The offices were adapted for Jane's needs and she learnt to run a business within her physical limitations.
Her response to the recession was to meet it head on. A new arm, called Diversity People, was set up for the private sector, offering the same equality and diversity training and consultancy that had benefited the public sector. In recent news Jane has once again been listed for the Stelios Award.
If you'd like to know more about real diversity and equality in the workplace, contact us now.
