How to promote diversity in startup programmes and communities
UK businesses are finally beginning to wake up about the need for greater diversity and inclusion. Here’s how we reach a range of founders through our startup programmes and communities.
Diversity initiatives not only ensure that everyone gets the same opportunities, but they’re key to business success. Companies with gender-diverse executive teams are 25% more likely to outperform those with less diverse teams – and ethnically and culturally diverse teams have a 36% edge.
As Innovate UK puts it, diversity also “leads to better innovation, greater commercial impact and a welcoming environment for overseas investors”.
At Inkwell, we work with a variety of startup programmes that are pushing for more inclusivity.
Innovate UK is one example. Their plan for action outlines a clear intention to promote equality, diversity and inclusion. They also have programmes, such as Young Innovators and Women In Innovation, as part of their commitment to this plan of action.
As stated on the the Young Innovators’ website, the programme is essential to “increase the diversity of upcoming innovation talent and make innovation support more visible, accessible, and inclusive to all”.
Inclusivity is also integral to The Pitch’s identity, and it influences every aspect of how we run the programme.
Changes we have made to improve inclusion have resulted in a nearly 50:50 gender split at each stage of the competition, with four of the five previous winners being female.
Plus, the share of Pitch finalists from minority groups is higher than the wider population, with 50% of our 2022 finalists coming from BAME backgrounds.
So, how have we done it? Here are five ways we’ve helped promote diversity in startup programmes and communities.
1. Break down barriers by removing unconscious bias
Your own life experiences and your background can be incredibly influential on your perception of others, even if you aren’t aware of it. This is known as unconscious bias, where you judge someone based on deep-seated prejudices.
It’s therefore important to remove as many opportunities for unconscious bias as possible, particularly if you’re running a startup competition.
At The Pitch, we’ve made steps towards this by anonymising applicant data, removing their name, company name and email address, as we work through the selection process.
We’ve also removed “judging huddles”, where winners are decided through debate, as we felt this was an opportunity for judges to share any unconscious bias and influence other judges' opinions (judges now score founders individually).
2. Make your community easily accessible to all
If certain groups find it difficult to access your programme or community, they’re unlikely to join it. So, it’s important to make sure that your community is easily accessible – no matter the founder’s location, age, gender, ethnicity, ability etc.
For instance, we keep The Pitch free for applicants and hold regional finals across the country, with the aim of removing financial and geographic barriers. We also require minimal personal information about our applicants, asking only for their name and nearest regional final to prevent any further obstacles to applying.
If you have an application process, you should also avoid any difficult language or formatting, so that it’s as accessible as possible. For more information, Jisc has a great resource on creating accessible surveys.
3. Don’t underestimate the impact of role models
Role models are vital for business owners, as they can show them that their aspirations for success are achievable. Particularly for underrepresented groups, they can help bridge gaps and be a sounding board for many unique experiences that they may have.
At The Pitch, we always try to get a diverse group of business owners and investors for the judging panels. This also makes for a fairer judging process and unique investment opportunities.
Ezechi Britton, CTO principal of Impact X, a venture capital company supporting under-represented entrepreneurs.
Innovate UK also recognises the importance of role models, particularly for their Young Innovators programme.
Emily Nott notes how the programme not only demonstrates to young people that anyone can become a business owner, but it also fosters “an army of role models” that can “inspire the next generation of forward-thinking innovators”.
Champion members of different backgrounds
Leading on from role models, it’s also important that you celebrate members of your community who have diverse backgrounds.
For example, if you share stories of a variety of founders in a series of articles, you will be giving everyone in your community a more equal platform. This will naturally encourage a more diverse cohort as different groups recognise themselves in these founders.
This article from Enterprise Nation is a great example of how you can celebrate and champion members of your community more effectively.
4. Introduce relevant schemes to target disadvantaged groups
To help empower a diverse range of groups, it can be beneficial to introduce separate streams targeting specific groups. This way, you can deliver specialised support to them, and these under-represented groups are more likely to get involved with your community.
For instance, since launching their Women In Innovation programme, Innovate UK has seen a 70% increase in the number of women engaging with their programmes.
It was for this reason that we decided to launch a specialised competition as part of The Pitch programme.
The Side Hustle Final was introduced to target founders who only work on their business part time, as they would have very different experiences of being a founder and their own unique struggles to overcome. The Side Hustle winner, Kate Tilbury, ended up winning The Pitch Final too.
5. Encourage inclusive and accessible designs
Inclusive innovation is a business idea that places equality, diversity and inclusion at the centre of its development, addressing a specific challenge.
Most, if not all, startup founders get their inspiration from personal experiences and struggles. By encouraging more inclusive and accessible startups, you’ll see an influx of more diverse startup founders with a wide range of challenges that they are trying to tackle.
For some ideas on what challenges these startups may be addressing, the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals are a great place to start. Inkwell will be using these goals as a reference point for The Pitch 2023 to encourage more purpose-driven applications.
Furthermore, Innovate UK’s Inclusive Innovation Awards is the perfect example of how you can champion equality, diversity and inclusion in innovation. Find out more about the programme here.
