Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement

Our namesake city is one of the most diverse in the world. We love it, and we recognise the responsibility we have to represent it. Proper inclusivity and representation is the only way we can communicate effectively with our audiences – and make change in our sector.

Whilst we are actively engaged in the agenda, we know we have some way still to go. We set up the LCA Diversity Working Group (DWG) in 2020, made up of staff across all tiers of the organisation, to challenge ourselves to do better. Here is our statement of action:

LCA will strive to enable equal access to all to opportunities in our business and the industries we operate in. This is a continuous process but to date we have:

• Undertaken a major review of our recruitment processes to ensure language in job specifications is inclusive and stated pre-requisites (like degree requirements) do not raise any artificial barriers to inclusive recruitment. We will review progress and outcomes regularly.

• Taken part in the government’s Kickstart scheme for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. Working with Creative Access we offered a six-month, high-quality job placement to an Account Assistant who has gone on to be offered a permanent role.

• Created a new tier of Account Assistants to be able to provide more entry level positions at LCA.

• Refreshed our approach to work experience and actively opened up LCA’s work experience opportunities to a more diverse range of candidates, reaching young people who may not be aware of PR or built environment career paths.

• Partnered with local schools in areas we are working in to provide meaningful work experience for young people from under-represented communities.

• Signed New London Architecture’s Diverse Leaders Pledge to help make the built environment sector more representative through recruitment, progression and advocacy.

• Seen an increase in the % of non-white employees at LCA from 10% to 17% in a year (2022-23). This is promising but still well below the representation we are striving for.

LCA promises to make itself the best it can be as an employer and a workplace, and to hold itself to account. To date we have:

• Provided formal diversity and inclusion training for the whole team including unconscious bias training and we will be putting a programme of regular and mandatory DE&I training in place for all staff.

• Implemented the recommendations from our full and independent review of our HR and wellbeing policies and processes and benchmarked ourselves using the Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index. This is to help us assess our organisational structures and set ourselves a best-in-class road map for improvement.

• Tasked the DWG to ensure regular reviews of best practice in DE&I. As a communications agency it is particularly important that we are conscious of the language we use and that it sets a high standard of inclusivity for our team and our clients.

• Reviewed our working practices and initiated a trusting and flexible hybrid working policy to better support our staff.

• Reviewed and modernised our parental leave policies, including increasing the amount of fully paid leave for both parents.

• Reinforced our long-standing values of honesty and transparency in business and made them a core pillar in our Employee Value Proposition. We list all our clients and staff on our website and are working towards transparency regarding the publication of equal pay and workforce demographics.

The LCA team recognises, celebrates and informs itself about each other’s cultures, backgrounds and beliefs and those of the communities we work with:

• We encourage employees to share traditions, events and activities that have significance for them.

• We work closely with community and faith group representatives to ensure our work is truly inclusive – this may involve translations or simply different ways of reaching people.

• We work with external organisations to bridge our own knowledge gap and increase tolerance and understanding among staff.

• We run the LCA Women’s Network, with more than 300 women from our relevant sectors signed up to meet and mingle in regular events. 63% or our Management Board is female, 60% of the wider team and 54% at Account Director level and above.

• Our charitable activity allows our team to work with causes close to their hearts. Some examples include Tonic Housing, the UK’s first LGBT+ affirmative retirement community, and Mentoring Circle, which addresses the gender diversity gap at senior leadership level within the property industry.

Last Updated 07/03/2023