Team members
Megan Cross, Head of Inclusion and Diversity; Leigh Kelly Andrews, Inclusion and Diversity Manager; Amira Sabir, Inclusion and Diversity Executive
Please provide an overview of the work your team delivers:
The I&D Centre of Excellence is responsible for delivering our I&D strategy to ensure everyone within the group of Kantar has a voice and place to uniquely thrive, and that we have a range of perspectives and voices present at Kantar.
Our strategy is data driven and prioritises 3 focus areas:
– Foster a greater sense of inclusion for all
– Increase gender diversity in our leadership
– Create an environment to promote ethnic equity
We also support our 6 global Employee Resource Groups, with a combined membership of nearly 5000 globally
Please list any significant achievements made by your team since its inception:
Employee Resource Groups: Ensuring underrepresented/marginalised groups are at the centre of our strategy by running focus groups for different communities; Growing membership of our 6 global ERGs by 30% this year; Boosting our external I&D presence with work like the DIVA report and HIV pilot project
I&D Advisory & Sponsor Groups: Advisory – global representation; Sponsor – Exec Team leaders; Ongoing 2-way feedback
Mentoring: Global programme launched, with priority access for ERG members; Listening and learning; I&D HR audit with external organisation; Global focus groups run by our Qualitative Research team
Kantar Engagement Survey: 3 I&D questions added to KES, with 88% completion rate, to capture the feelings of colleagues globally
I&D Centre of Expertise: Onboarded 2 additional people; Prioritised internal transfers, those who had committed time to side of desk I&D work
Megan Cross, Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity, was recently recognised at the Diva awards as Highly Commended in the Head of Diversity of the Year category.
Leigh Kelly Andrews, Global I&D Manager, was featured on the 2022 HEROs Women Future Leaders Role Model List by INvolve – The Inclusion People.
Amira Sabir, Global I&D Executive, has spoken at events celebrating World Hijab Day, Mandela Day and Black History Month, as well as introducing a book club to mark World Refugee Day and collaborating with Colour of Research (CORe) on a panel on ethnic diversity in the research industry.
What impact has your team had on the organisation?
In 2022-2023 we have strengthened our I&D strategy, tripling the size of our Global I&D Team, training and engaging with our Executive Leaders, introducing a diverse I&D Advisory Group to provide ongoing feedback, and investing in the development of our Employee Resource Groups.
We improved our Parental Leave policy for primary and secondary caregivers, and gave all colleagues 5 days “Life Leave” per year to cover caring responsibilities, urgent family events, fertility care, or similar unexpected events.
Our new mentoring scheme is open to every colleague, with priority access to members of our ERGs, in recognition of the fact that marginalised groups often receive fewer such opportunities.
I&D is embedded into our Exec’s OGSPs for 2023 and beyond, so accountability sits with leaders across the business.
We encourage disclosure of diversity data: this year is the first we have collected sexual orientation and gender identity data, and ethnicity data disclosure is now above 90%.
Our strategy has been informed by listening and learning to our people; we added new I&D questions to our annual engagement survey, completed an I&D HR audit with an external provider, and our Qualitative Research team.
Please provide an endorsing statement from someone who can support this nomination (Max. 500 words)
Diversity and inclusion is, to me, fundamental to how we run the organisation and how I want to lead Kantar. I value everyone. I think that every single person has something to offer. And the more diverse we are as a group, the richness of our contributions are greater, and we’re just better as a team.
At Kantar we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where a unique range of backgrounds, styles and thinking can come together. Understanding people is at the heart of what we do, and it starts from within. Through creating a diverse culture of belonging, we can create an environment where everyone is empowered to succeed.
Chris Jansen, Group Chief Executive
The expansion and investment in our I&D team reflect Kantar’s commitment to building an inclusive and diverse organisation, which we take very seriously. I’m excited to be part of a team who will drive positive change to our culture – from growing our Employee Resource Groups to ensuring our recruitment processes are inclusive and equitable.
Megan Cross, Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity
