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Diversity is about making sure we´re all on a level playing field, and that no one is feeling left out or overlooked for any reason. It´s about working in a place where people from all walks of life are listened to, respected and supported. We´re committed to making sure Orange is that kind of place.

Diversity also happens to be good for business. To come up with fresh ideas, we need fresh voices and points of view. And our customers come from all kinds of backgrounds too. So we need to be diverse if we want to connect with them.

building respect

We run courses and e-learning around diversity. But you can´t just teach it; you have to live it. So on top of our training, we work hard to create a culture of respect. That means not just knowing the latest laws on equality, but understanding why diversity is so good for our business and brand.

our team

We have a clear picture of our own team; their age, their gender and their cultural roots. And we know that, overall, our team reflects the UK population. There are still some areas that we need to work on: for example, we´d like to attract more women into our technical functions, which is why we´re running initiatives to rebalance our gender mix in some areas.

supporting people with disabilities

Some of our employees need different kinds of support. And the best way to make sure we´re meeting their needs is to ask them what we could be doing better. So we have an Advice Group on Disability, made up of our employees from across the country who have experience of different disabilities.

They´re in constant contact, and meet up on a quarterly basis to work out what needs to be done. They then work with the Employee taskforce and our Corporate Responsibility team to push through real changes across our whole business.

We´re also working to make things easier for our customers with disabilities. To read how, go to our customer inclusion page.

gender

Overall, our gender balance matches the UK working population. However, in some areas this isn´t the case: there´s a shortage of women in our technical functions. We want to get more women working in technical areas – not just in Orange, but across our entire industry.

We´ve teamed up with local colleges to invite young women to come in and shadow our senior female employees for a day, giving them a taste of what their future could be.

cultures and customs

We encourage employees to learn and experience each others´ customs and cultures. We keep a calendar of world festivals and dates on our intranet, and we support a number of cultural and faith groups who put on special celebrations like Diwali.

and finally

We´re part of Ofcom´s (our regulator) Diversity Steering Group. This group looks at ways in which we can help our industry attract and recruit a broad mix of people.

We´re also members of a number of membership organisations that promote equality at work including Race for Opportunity, Opportunity Now, the Employers Forum on Age and the Employers Forum on Disability and Working Families.