Name: Lyn Bowker
Role: Equality and Diversity Manager
Based: Liverpool

What is your responsibility at Riverside?
I am responsible for the implementation and embedding of equality, diversity and inclusion strategies and objectives across the Riverside Group, ensuring compliance with legislation and the sharing of good practice, both within the organisation and the housing sector.  I work with a diverse range of stakeholders, including colleagues, customers, contractors, external networks and governance community members, to ensure a positive, inclusive and open culture is achieved and the needs of diverse communities are met.

What does a typical day look like for you?
I don’t have a ‘typical’ day. No two days are ever the same!

What do you like about Riverside’s approach to ensuring a diverse workplace?
Our workplace is extremely diverse, in terms of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, religion and culture and sexual orientation. We signed the Business in the Community’s Race at Work Charter and have achieved the objectives laid out in the charter. We are also a Disability Confident Employer, which means that if a colleague has become disabled during their working life, we will fully support them by making reasonable adjustments to enable them to stay at work. If we are looking for new recruits, we will ensure being Disability Confident helps us to help our people fulfil their potential and contribute fully to our success. We are always striving to be more diverse and in partnership with our three staff networks, have recently reviewed both our website and intranet to ensure they are more accessible and inclusive, representing our diverse range of both customers and colleagues in the imagery used. Each staff network has its own action plan, which supports the larger, corporate equality, diversity and inclusion action plan. The networks also collaborate on areas such as mental health awareness, health and wellbeing and inclusion activities.

What would you say if recommending working at Riverside to a friend?
I would say “Go for it, apply for the job, I love it here!” I have promoted the company to several people and two members of my old team from my previous employer now actually work here (one in my team). They are also enjoying it and have no regrets about leaving our last company. I should be on commission!