Inclusion and Diversity

House of Lords Administration values and behaviours

The House of Lords Administration has four values: respect, inclusivity,
professionalism and responsibility.

Our behaviours sit alongside our values, translating them into day-to-day
actions and demonstrating how we bring our values to life. They outline what
we can expect from each other at work and ensure we all play our part in
building an inclusive and respectful workplace culture.

Find out more about our values and behaviours. (pdf, 203KB)

Our Workplace Equality Networks  

Our six Workplace Equality Networks (WENs) are available to support you on Inclusion and Diversity topics and provide a safe space for ideas to be discussed and issues to be raised. They also host social events, networking opportunities and awareness-raising activities.  

These networks are inclusive and open to all parliamentary passholders. 

Find out more about WENs.  

We are a Disability Confident Leader 

We are an accredited Disability Confident Leader, demonstrating our commitment to attracting and supporting colleagues with disabilities and that we have taken action to improve how we attract and retain disabled people. 

Throughout our recruitment and onboarding processes, we are available to support with reasonable adjustments and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role.  

Our Inclusion and Diversity focused learning 

We recognise that, to achieve our inclusion ambitions, we need all our colleagues to build the right skills and behaviours to support and prosper in a diverse and inclusive environment. 

Our dedicated Inclusion and Diversity Team offers a range of learning opportunities focused on Inclusion and Diversity topics, ranging from induction sessions, access to LinkedIn learning courses and our Inclusion and Diversity Core Learning Series, a series of interactive discussions to help you get comfortable with uncomfortable conversations, as well as empower our colleagues. 

Previous conversations have focused on topics such as allyship, conscious bias, microaggressions and trust and relationships.  

We also partner with external experts, such as Business in the Community (BITC), which provides our colleagues with additional resources and learning opportunities. BITC offers support on delivering targeted interventions, training, sharing best practice and frameworks and strategic change programmes.  

Mentoring and development opportunities 

We believe in offering colleagues opportunities to share their ideas and bring their unique perspectives into our workplace and the decisions being made.  

The Bicameral Reciprocal Mentoring Programme 

The Bicameral Reciprocal Mentoring Programme is run by the I&D Teams and approved by the Boards of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. It aims to reduce the disadvantage that has been identified within the House of Lords, House of Commons and the joint departments of parliament, the Parliamentary Digital Service and the Restoration and Renewal Client Team. 

The programme consists of a mutually beneficial one-to-one mentoring partnership that enables open discussions about what it’s like to work in Parliament and how to be part of creating and maintaining a more inclusive culture. This programme is also an opportunity to explore personal and professional development goals and meet someone from a different part of Parliament.  

The programme’s focus is to improve inclusion by facilitating conversations about race and ethnicity. It offers colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds a safe space to share lived experience and highlight barriers to progression with white senior leaders who will work on challenging racial inequity and being actively anti-racist.  

Shadow Board 

The Shadow Board brings individuals from across the House of Lords with different and new perspectives to the Lords Management Board to contribute to decision-making. 

The Shadow Board is made up of colleagues from a range of pay grades and aims to reflect the diversity and breadth of roles we have across the House of Lords Administration. 

We make workplace adjustments  

We want to ensure that you feel valued, included and supported to reach your highest potential, irrespective of any health conditions and personal circumstances you may be experiencing.  

We provide support through an ‘Inclusion Passport’ which is a tool for colleagues to have positive and constructive conversations with their line managers about any adjustments they might need in the workplace. This includes specialist equipment, adjusting your duties and/or working hours for example and covers all types of individual needs, including caring.  

House of Lords Inclusion and Diversity Strategy 2024-2027 

We want inclusion to become tangible and something that is within every decision, every policy, and every process.  

The House of Lords Inclusion and Diversity Team have launched the Administration's new Inclusion and Diversity Strategy. The priorities laid out in the strategy are: 

• removing barriers to working in the Lords 

• fostering a culture of belonging 

• providing inclusive and tailored opportunities 

• collaborating with partners and engaging with colleagues 

• improving access to Parliament