We’re committed to playing our part in dismantling racism that is present both within and outside Pause.
We know that our leadership, staff and the women on the Pause Programme don’t always reflect the communities in which we live and work, or the local population of looked after children. This contributes to perpetuating racism and discrimination.
Our plan to create an anti-racist organisation
Since 2020, we’ve been working towards becoming an anti-racist organisation. Our four key priorities are:
- To acknowledge the structural racism that exists in Pause and commit to supporting those who experience it.
- To be explicit and transparent in our rejection of racism and challenge it wherever we find it.
- To create a more diverse organisation and encourage people from Black and Brown communities to become part of and develop within the Pause network.
- To understand more about racism in Pause and the communities we support, including children who have been removed into care. We are curious to know more about why our population lacks diversity, and to support individual Practices to better understand their area.
Pause has signed up to the Halo Workplace Code. As an organisation, we are committed to our workplace championing the right of staff to embrace all Afro-hairstyles. We acknowledge that Afro-textured hair is an important part of our Black employees’ racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious identities, and requires specific styling for hair health and maintenance.
Anti-racism data 2021-22
We are working with Pause Practices and external professionals to understand more about the women we work with, and how women from Black and Brown communities experience the Pause Programme. Here’s our latest data and information:
