BALI to undertake analysis on BAME industry representation
The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) promotes, supports and inspires over 900 Registered members, including landscape contractors, landscape architects, garden designers and suppliers, to be leaders of an environmentally, ethically and commercially sustainable landscape services industry.
Like many organisations across the horticultural sector, we have committed resource to continue our discussions around diversity and equality and stand ready to make any necessary changes to our in-house processes if it is deemed that we are falling short on delivering on this commitment.
At BALI, we recognise that any individual has potential, whatever the starting point, and so we have already started working with our own Landscape House team and board of directors to help deliver on our objectives. In due course, we will also be consulting with our members on the subject.
Through GoLandscape, BALI’s careers initiative, we continue to actively promote the landscape services industry and the vast number of roles available to all. With the support of industry ambassadors, GoLandscape attended 73 careers events between March 2019 – March 2020. This included a broad spectrum of schools - inner city state schools, private schools, all girls and all boys’ schools, colleges, military events, and careers shows. This gave us the chance to speak to 100’s of school pupils about the broad range of roles, education routes and opportunities to progress within landscaping. The challenge remains the same, that few people understand the industry and the number of different roles it offers. Part of GoLandscapes’s aim is to address this and challenge false perceptions that often sit not just with school pupils, but also with teachers, careers advisers and parents/guardians.
We recognise the value and strengths that greater diversity brings. We are already doing work in this area. What is apparent is that there is a data shortage. We do not have statistics on BAME representation within the industry and this is something we are addressing by commissioning some quantitative analysis. We are interested in knowing more about the geographical spread of diversity along with understanding more about what diversity and equality look like, particularly within management roles. We need data to understand what the true societal representation looks like in order for us to help ensure that the landscape services industry is something to be seriously considered as a vocation for all.
It is right that we challenge each other on these issues and BALI welcomes the opportunity to not only highlight the work we and others in the industry are already doing but also to ensure we keep diversity, equality and inclusion as a priority issue.