On the heels of last month’s fantastic Pride celebrations here at Carnival House and aboard our ships, it should come as no surprise that for the second year running, we’re celebrating National Inclusion Week this week. National Inclusion Week creates a platform for us to raise awareness, share stories and prompt discussions on how important it is for us as a business to create a community at Carnival UK where anyone, regardless of background or beliefs, life experiences or physical characteristics, has the opportunity to thrive and be the best version of themselves with the support of their colleagues.
For us, it’s about being curious – being completely comfortable with sharing your views and questioning the status quo, while seeking different perspectives and opportunities to disrupt our own thinking and embracing others’ positive attempts to seek improvement. It’s about creating an environment where being you feels totally comfortable, where you’re able to use those things that make you unique to your and Carnival UK’s advantage. And it’s about belonging – simply feeling that working for Carnival UK, being around your colleagues here and on board, creating unforgettable holiday happiness, is where you should be.
Why do I care? Why should you?
There’s the textbook business reason. We’ve pointed it out before: the bottom line is, inclusive employers outperform their peers. And for most people, myself included, there’s the personal reason. My religion has always put me firmly into a very small minority. While I’d love to tell you that being from America made being Jewish a non-issue (melting pot, land of equality, etc.), in truth I can’t even recount the number of times it’s caused me to be excluded, ridiculed and yes, even attacked once. But I can honestly say that during my 17 year career at Carnival Corporation, I’ve felt nothing but acceptance for who I am.
My religious beliefs have always been respected, and I’ve always been given time and space to celebrate my faith. Beyond religion, even when I first joined the company at a relatively young age and knew nothing about our business, my ideas and questions were truly heard no matter the seniority of the audience. And as I grew up in this company, going from newlywed to parent of one, to two, to three, I was fully supported as my priorities shifted and I learned the right work-life balance for me. I’ve always felt included here not despite of, but because of, the beliefs and idiosyncrasies that make me…me. That includes my time here at Carnival UK. You’ve welcomed and accepted all of me – American, Jewish, family-first, big disliker of having to wear suits or blazers, neurotic traveller, dropper of way too many juvenile comedic movie lines that only Donnacha O’Driscoll and Peter Hutchison recognise. It feels amazing and everyone who works here should be able to feel the same way.
So to amplify our ability to make everyone feel valued, we have a team of dedicated volunteers who’ve committed to helping drive our inclusion agenda forward through the Inclusion Steering Group – meet them here. From tomorrow, you can follow the daily blogs from Amy Large, Employee Insights Analyst, who will be talking about the importance of data to our Inclusion strategy and explain why, in our next eNPS pulse and in myHR Portal, we’ll be asking you to share some more information about yourself. And you can read about the full programme of events – we’re going to record sessions for those unable to take part in person and will share these via The Insider.
Later this week we’ll also be announcing the result of the Inclusive Employers’ National Inclusion Standard. This is an evidence-based, objective, accreditation tool for assessing and promoting inclusion in the workplace. It provides a framework to measure and further improve our progress towards becoming a more inclusive employer. This will be our method of ensuring we make continued progress toward our ambition of being Travel’s employer of choice – chosen for our inclusive community.
Looking forward to celebrating National Inclusion Week with you.
Josh