TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Driving equality
EMBRACING EDI AND A TRULY INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
An update from Gareth Longley, IHEEM Diversity and Inclusion Working Group Chair, on some of the Group’s recent work, a look at its members’ expertise, personal and professional background, and a focus on some of its key goals.
As the US President rips up protections for some of the most vulnerable in society, blaming wide-ranging issues across the country on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and the ‘Woke Agenda’, I – and many others – hold firm in our belief that having compassion and empathy, i.e. ‘to live and let live’, is simply the right thing to do. The alarming shift in the global climate for marginalised communities means it is more important than ever for us to work together in promoting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at IHEEM, and across the NHS and society more widely. To my mind, striving to make people
feel included and welcome by celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion reflects basic human respect and decency, and is an impactful, positive path available to us all professionally and personally. The IHEEM Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Working Group wants to continue to highlight key areas where more work needs to be done to ensure that teams and individuals within healthcare engineering and estates management can continue to flourish – regardless of race, religion, sexuality, gender, disability, age,
or socio-economic background. As the group welcomes new members from diverse backgrounds, we want your honest feedback on what our members would like us to address when it comes to EDI within IHEEM, and the healthcare estate more generally. If you have a concern, suggestion, or
query, you can raise this on the group website, at:
https://www.iheem.org.uk/ about-us/diversity-and-inclusion/
Gareth’s proactive approach to nurturing positive EDI engagement across the sector underscores his belief that diversity strengthens teams and organisations, driving innovation, positive change, and continuous improvement, particularly in sectors that serve diverse populations
10 Health Estate Journal April 2025 Members’ varied
backgrounds The current IHEEM D&I Working Group is made up of seven individuals from a range of backgrounds across the healthcare engineering and estates management landscape, with broad interests and experience of EDI issues and challenges across the sector and beyond. You can read more about the Committee members over the next couple of pages.
• Gareth Longley Senior Business Development
Gareth Longley, Senior Business Development Manager,
Pennington Choices
Manager, Pennington Choices IHEEM D&I Working Group Chair, Gareth Longley, has almost two decades of experience working with and alongside healthcare estates and facilities management, and first recognised the need for greater diversity at a senior level when working to recruit to these positions.
Throughout his career, Gareth has emphasised the importance of
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