All Great People

2025-2030 Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy

fmconway.co.uk

EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STRATEGY 2025-2030

All Great People

Contents

4

Foreword

5

Introduction

We are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We ensure fair treatment and opportunities for all employees, celebrate our differences, and create a culture where everyone feels valued and empowered. Continuous improvement and employee feedback guide our EDI efforts, helping us build a workplace that reflects the diverse world we live in.

6

Future Focus

7

Progress to Date

8

Why Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Matters to Us

10

Goal 1 - Maintaining an Inclusive Organisational Culture

12

Goal 2 - Increasing Diversity Through Our Ethnic Minority Community

14

Goal 3 - Increasing Diversity Through Our LGBTQIA+ Community

16

Goal 4 - Increasing Diversity Through Our Disabled Community

20

Goal 5 - Increasing Diversity Through Our Female Community

24

Goal 6 - Increasing Diversity Through Our Neurodiverse Community

28

Goal 7 - Increasing Diversity Through Our Veteran Community

30

Goal 8 - Increasing Diversity in Our Supply Chain

32

Goal 9 - Communicationg Our Performance, Impact, and Sharing Best Practice

34

Summary

35

Our Partners and Accreditations

FM Conway - Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy | 3

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

Data Collection

Only by understanding the make-up of our current workforce can we ensure that we have the right policies and processes in place to support our people. Over the past four years, we’ve worked hard to gather accurate and meaningful data to guide our efforts. We recognise that change is a natural part of life and ensuring that our data is accurate is an ongoing exercise. We have many long-serving employees who joined over 20 years ago, and elements such as disability or a medical condition may have changed over that period. Ensuring that we give our people a voice to not only tell us about what has changed but also ask for reasonable adjustments where needed is paramount in supporting our workforce.

We recognise that colleagues may prefer not to disclose information. We respect this, but support colleagues through an education programme to help them understand the importance of their data, explaining why the information is so crucial in enabling our journey to be truly supportive of the communities of people who work for us. This should help us improve our ‘Prefer not to say’ stats. Our target for data capture is 99% across all demographics; this allows for new starters who may not have completed all their paperwork.

Our refreshed EDI Strategy sets out our roadmap for the next six years to ensure that we continue building on the great work already delivered. We have set ambitious targets to ensure that underrepresented groups make up a significant part of our workforce. This includes our pledge to be 30% female by 2030 and have 30% representation from ethnic minority groups across our employed workforce. We have also included new goals to help support our veteran and neurodiverse colleagues. The appointment of a new Diversity and Inclusion Manager demonstrates our commitment to achieving our objectives. However, we recognise that it is our own empowered people who are the driving force behind our strategy. I look forward to helping create a truly inclusive and diverse workplace. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) underpin successful, thriving workplaces. A truly inclusive workforce will ensure that our business continues to bring new ideas and deliver innovative solutions for our customers, partners, and communities.

Our Data Capture:

When people feel valued and included, they make better decisions and are more engaged. Since the launch of our first EDI strategy, ‘All Great People’, in 2020, we have made significant progress in creating a workplace that allows our people to be their very best. We have seen a 61% increase in the number of women in our business, and there has also been a 17% increase in the number of Black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues. Guided by our employee-led EDI forums and passionate teams, we are proud of the many initiatives we have implemented to support our people. In particular, we are supporting colleagues with traditionally difficult conversations such as baby loss and fertility, menopause, domestic violence, and burnout.

100.00 Gender

99% Target =

99.35 Ethnicity

97.62 Medical Condition

98.88 LGBTQIA+

92.15 Religion

71.07 Ex-Offender

71.12 Long-Term Unemployed

70.63 Veteran

Andrew Hansen CEO

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FUTURE FOCUS

PROGRESS TO DATE

2020

2024

By embracing diverse perspectives and ensuring inclusive practices, organisations can drive innovation, enhance employee engagement, and create a culture of belonging.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR

BASELINE

YTD

INCREASE / DECREASE DIFFERENCE

p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p

% of employee workforce that are from a minority ethnic group % of employee workforce that are Female % of employee workforce that are Disabled % of employee workforce that are LBGTQIA+ % of employee workforce that are ex offenders % of employee workforce that are veterans % of employee workforce that are long term unemployed % of employee workforce that are part time / flexible

8.38% 21.84%

13.46%

10.70% 16.12%

5.42%

0.20% 11.80%

11.60%

Action Plan Over the last four years, our action plan has grown significantly. What we set out to achieve at the beginning of each year has changed as we respond to cultural and environmental concerns. Remaining agile in our approach has been key to achieving success. Up to April 2024, we completed 33 separate actions, from improving our recruitment process to ensure accessibility, to introducing bi annual women’s events and gaining our Gold Armed Forces Covenant Award. We have chosen to set our new strategy out over a five-year period ending in 2030, and although we have set ourselves clear targets, we will remain flexible and fluid in our approach to ensure that we keep up with best practice and are innovative in our approach to diversity and inclusion.

New Goals We have reviewed our goals and amended themwhere appropriate to ensure they are truly aligned to the people we employ and engage with, and the communities in which we work.

0.34% 3.20%

2.86%

0.84% 1.26%

0.42%

0.80% 2.86%

2.06%

New focus areas in our strategy include veterans and neurodiverse individuals.

0.99% 3.79%

2.80%

Supporting the veteran community is an area we are passionate about and have worked hard on, culminating in us gaining our Gold Armed Forces Covenant Award in 2023 from Silver in 2019. However, it was not a goal in our original strategy. In addition, our ever-increasing neurodiverse community is another area we have focused on over the last four years, as we recognise that our neurodiverse people have very different needs to those with physical disabilities and long-termmedical conditions.

2.94% 4.61%

1.67%

% of Directors & HOD's from an underrepresented group % of Senior Managers from an underrepresented group

17.78% 28.57%

10.79%

11.39% 31.25%

19.86%

% of Managers from an underrepresented group

22.37% 36.65%

14.28%

% of new Apprentices from a minority ethnic group

13.00% 39.34%

26.34%

% of new Apprentices that are Female

22.00% 24.59%

2.59%

% of new Apprentices that are Disabled

4.00% 21.31%

17.31%

% of new Apprentices that are LGBTQIA+

0.00% 4.92%

4.92%

% of job applicants from a minority ethnic group

15.17% 52.20%

37.03%

% of job applicants that are Female

20.78% 21.50%

0.72%

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WHY EQUITY, DIVERSITY, & INCLUSION MATTERS TO US

Our Approach

„ Equality – Providing equal opportunities for all

We have set ambitious targets and embraced an immediate, positive challenge to build on the great work achieved over the past four years, ensuring that EDI remains central to everything we do. We will continue to communicate openly and widely, inviting participation from our people in shaping the strategy, measuring progress, learning along the way, and providing regular, transparent updates.

As a business with over 60 years’ experience, we recognise the value in extending our reach into the widest diverse talent pool and ensuring that every opportunity is available to every person across the communities we serve and beyond. Our mission is to transform the built environment using innovative, self delivered, quality services, working together with our people, our customers, our suppliers, and our communities.

„ Fairness – Creating a level playing field where equality can operate „ Inclusion – Ensuring that the mechanics of debate and acceptance are employed „ Diversity – Establishing an understanding of the different communities, ensuring that all are represented and valued „ Respect – Ensuring that every difference is respected

We will create a place of respect and understanding of each other’s differences, fostering an environment where we can all be the very best of ourselves and prosper. We will make it clear that EDI is the responsibility of all employees, and everyone is accountable for ensuring we work in a place where everyone feels they belong. „ Our leaders will cultivate a supportive and inclusive environment, and we are committed to setting a good example within the industry in which we work „ We will set clear actions and targets, using data and insights to keep learning and guide us. We will review our progress to identify what has worked and what hasn’t, helping us to keep improving „ We will establish an employee-led platform where our people can express ideas and be comfortable respectfully challenging each other to deliver the very best outcome „ We will be the evidence that a diverse business is more successful than one that is not We have reviewed our actions and targets over the last four years and set ambitious goals to guide our efforts and hold ourselves to account. What Does All Great People Mean to FM Conway?

Underpinning each of these goals is a set of initiatives and priorities that we will pursue.

Ellie Stevenson Diversity & Inclusion Manager

„ GOAL 1 - Maintaining an inclusive organisational culture

„ GOAL 2 - Increasing diversity through our ethnic minority community „ GOAL 3 - Increasing diversity through our LGBTQIA+ community „ GOAL 4 - Increasing diversity through our disabled community „ GOAL 5 - Increasing diversity through our female community „ GOAL 6 - Increasing diversity through our neurodiverse community „ GOAL 7 - Increasing diversity through our veteran community „ GOAL 8 - Increasing diversity in our supply chain „ GOAL 9 - Communicating our performance, impact, and sharing best practice

A Sustainable Workforce With sustainability at our heart, we recognise that to remain an employer of choice, we must engage across a wide demographic, promoting and creating accessible opportunities to encourage applications. However, it is not just about attracting talent for today. It is essential that we create an inclusive environment where our people have the space and confidence to develop their full potential. We must also maintain this environment to retain our people and encourage them to refer and recommend others, helping us build a thriving business for the future.

Reflecting Our Society It is important that everyone in our diverse and ever-changing society is understood and highly valued. Our society is rich in cultural diversity. While progress has been made, there is still much work to do to ensure equal opportunities exist and that inequality, where identified, is actively challenged. Fairness, Inclusion & Respect Creating a culture rooted in the principles of Fairness, Inclusion, and Respect provides a strong foundation for open dialogue and builds cultural confidence that embraces difference. Shared ideas form the basis for healthy debate and require active listening and engagement to explore new perspectives and discover better ways of working together.

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GOAL 1

Our Progress

„ Provide opportunities for underrepresented groups to participate and shape the strategy „ Roll out mandatory EDI online training and toolbox talks to raise awareness throughout the business „ Review our reward and recognition programmes through continual benchmarking and evaluation against the marketplace „ Provide accessible development and training opportunities to encourage career progression as part of our commitment to lifelong learning „ Celebrate and educate our colleagues on religious events to better support employees where required „ Continue to develop our leadership capability to identify fairness and unfairness in any area of the business, and have the confidence to communicate outcomes „ Continue to promote our ‘Speak Out’ app to allow our colleagues to raise concerns which will then be addressed sensitively and successfully „ Reviewed 54 people policies and policy statements to ensure they meet the needs of our strategy „ Reviewed the recruitment and selection process to ensure that our advertising, application, and selection processes are inclusive and accessible to all „ Recorded 4,553 attendances at various EDI learner events ranging from ‘Autism in the Workplace’ to ‘Inclusive Recruitment’ to ‘Unconscious Bias’ „ Improved our performance management process by moving it online, thereby allowing us to identify disproportionate performance results in our various communities and put actions in place to better understand and address them „ Developed our leadership capability through our Great Leaders career development programme, where attendance from underrepresented groups is significant Future Plans

„ Conduct regular engagement surveys across the business to assess organisational culture and build confidence in our progress „ Provide regular and transparent communication about findings and any actions taken „ Study generational differences and promote an inclusive workplace that values all colleagues, irrespective of age, ensuring everyone feels valued „ Provide flexibility in the use of workplace adjustments to support colleagues and ensure that they are given the opportunity to perform at their best throughout their career „ Better enable social mobility through our attraction, recruitment, and retention efforts „ Improve our methods of understanding inclusion by measuring socio-economic background „ Continually promoted our ‘Your Voice’ apps to allow concerns to be raised and then addressed sensitively and successfully „ Studied the four generations that we currently employ and the differences in outlook and work requirements, and reviewed the number of individuals we had in each area to further develop how we could support them and ensure they felt valued „ Established coaching and mentoring schemes through our Great Leaders career development programme, which aims to support individuals of different ages, socio- economic backgrounds, and at various stages of their careers „ Won the ‘Inclusive Employer’ award at the Better Society Awards in 2021 by demonstrating that our workplace, employment practices, and recruitment policies are fair, equal, and inclusive for all „ Presented to senior leaders on the generational differences

MAINTAINING AN INCLUSIVE ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

At FM Conway, our ambition is to nurture an organisational culture where people working and engaging with us feel respected and comfortable being themselves, free from unjustified discrimination, offensive behaviour, or bullying. Creating a level playing field is fundamental in our approach; our policies and processes create a robust framework and set standards for EDI. Leaders exist in different roles and particularly, but not exclusively, in senior positions. They are crucial in driving progress, achieving fairness, and enhancing our working culture, reputation, and impact. Over the last four years of the strategy, our underrepresented groups in senior positions have significantly increased.

„ Managers from underrepresented groups increased from 22% in 2020 to 37% in 2024 „ Senior Managers from underrepresented groups increased from 11% in 2020 to 31% in 2024

„ Directors and Heads of Division from

underrepresented groups increased from 18% in 2020 to 29% in 2024

Therefore, our emphasis will continue to be on nurturing and developing engagement, establishing role models and leadership capability in EDI, as well as creating diversity amongst senior leaders.

To create a culture where underrepresented groups participate and contribute to our EDI strategy. We must review all instances where unfairness could exist and create inequality, and where we find an opportunity to do better, we must act immediately. Our Objective

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GOAL 2

INCREASING DIVERSITY THROUGH OUR ETHNIC MINORITY COMMUNITY

Nearly a quarter of colleagues at FM Conway are from ethnic minority communities, which is a positive figure and is above the economically active population. However, we recognise that despite the work we have done, this is still underrepresented at more senior levels. Therefore, there will be a continued focus on tackling this persistent underrepresentation through positive action, talent programmes, and targeted support. „ Established a Culture and Faith employee forumwhich invites members from both ethnic minority and white British communities to actively engage and encourage discussion, to better understand barriers to recruitment and progression, and learn about how to disrupt and overcome said barriers „ Rolled out unconscious bias recruitment and selection training to over 100 of our recruiting managers „ Ensured that emerging talent initiatives such as our Apprenticeship programme created stretch opportunities to nurture young people from ethnic minority groups. These employees currently make up 39% of the Apprentice population Our Progress

We have reviewed our monitoring form using feedback directly from our Culture & Faith employee forum to reduce ‘prefer not to say’ responses. Only by understanding the make-up of our workforce can we truly support them.

To strengthen the talent from ethnic minority groups at all levels across the business, including senior management positions. Our Objective

Future Plans

„ Supported and developed high

„ Strengthen our talent attraction and selection processes to combat unconscious bias by using diverse interview panels „ Use positive action statements in all targeted recruitment campaigns „ Build on our revamped performance management process; we will identify disproportionality and put actions in place to better understand and address it „ Ensure that emerging talent initiatives create stretching opportunities to nurture identified high-potential colleagues from underrepresented ethnic minority groups

„ Ensure that there is representation from the Culture and Faith employee forum at the EDI Committee meetings to allow concerns and ideas to be raised „ Support and develop high-performing individuals from ethnic minority groups through a career development programme which includes mentoring and support activities

performing individuals from ethnic minority groups through our Great Leaders career development programme, which includes mentoring and support activities. 18% of our successful candidates that graduated before April 2024 were from these communities, and 27% of our current cohort are from ethnic minority groups „ Where necessary, we improved our prayer facilities to ensure that our colleagues have somewhere quiet to pray without interruption „ Implemented translation tools to support colleagues where English is not their first language „ Calculated our ethnicity pay gap to identify any issues or concerns

„ Actively engage and encourage discussion with Ethnic Diversity

Champions and organisations to better understand barriers to progression and learn from their considered opinions about how to disrupt and overcome them

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GOAL 3

INCREASING DIVERSITY THROUGH OUR LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY

To create an environment where LGBTQIA+ community members can confidently be their authentic selves in our business. This confidence will be evidenced by the capture of declaration data to enable us to understand levels and manage and support effectively. Our Objective

At FM Conway, we are committed to creating a culture that encourages LGBTQIA+ individuals to be their authentic selves. Despite this, we recognise that the number of people in our business identifying themselves across all grades is still less than the estimated 5-7% for the economically active UK population.

We are committed to better understanding the challenges and perceived barriers, working to address those that we find, and seeking to improve capturing and monitoring so that we have a trusted baseline fromwhich to work.

Our Progress

Future Plans

„ Set up an LGBTQIA+ employee forum and invited members from the LGBTQIA+ and non-LGBTQIA+ community to actively engage and encourage discussion to better understand barriers to recruitment

„ Continually promoted our Speak Out app to allow concerns to be raised and then addressed sensitively and successfully „ Arranged volunteering opportunities at Brighton Pride to support our LGBTQIA+ colleagues „ Ensured that a zero bullying, harassment, and discrimination approach is adopted in all areas

„ Engage with organisations who represent this community to understand more about the challenges they face and success stories that they can share. This will enable us to adopt best practices and to develop and establish some of our own „ Further investigate the reasons why there are high ‘prefer not to say’ rates with respect to sexual orientation and implement a way to encourage data capture on gender identity, so that we can better understand needs in this area and guide actions in support of increasing representation and inclusion of transgender people

„ Develop targeted programmes to attract and develop LGBTQIA+ talent „ Review how we attract and develop our people, and identify methods to combat the disproportionality experienced by LGBTQIA+ talent „ Provide specific training for all colleagues and, in particular, Line Managers, to address bullying and harassment issues identified amongst LGBTQIA+ colleagues „ Ensure that a zero bullying, harassment, and discrimination approach is adopted in all areas

and progression, and to learn how to disrupt and overcome said barriers

„ Investigated the reasons why there are high ‘prefer not to say’ rates with respect to sexual orientation and rolled out EDI talks to encourage the capture of gender identity „ Better informed so that we are able to understand needs in this area and guide actions in support of increasing representation and inclusion of transgender people

„ Analyse all new LGBTQIA+ data as it emerges to guide our actions

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GOAL 4

INCREASING DIVERSITY THROUGH OUR DISABLED COMMUNITY

Our Progress

„ Set up a Disability Confident employee forum and invited people with disabilities and without, to actively engage and encourage discussion. This helps us better understand barriers to recruitment and progression and learn about how to disrupt and overcome said barriers „ Introduced our 10-year Mental Wellbeing strategy, Healthier Together, which seeks to implement an environment that understands, supports and takes action for the needs of every single member of the FM Conway family „ Audited several of our depots and asphalt plants to review accessibility concerns and ensure they are comfortable for those with disabilities „ Reviewed and audited our recruitment process to ensure it is accessible and inclusive to all, and ensured all interviewed candidates are given the opportunity to make reasonable adjustments „ Strengthened our links with external providers, such as Kent Supported Employment and the Lighthouse Club Construction Industry Charity, to ensure that there is adequate provision for all colleagues who need support on mental health-related issues „ Successfully renewed our Disability Confident Leadership accreditation

„ Maintained our network of Mental Health First Aiders across the organisation and provided access to training, to assist managers in improving their capability to address colleague mental health and wellbeing issues and make necessary adjustments. We currently have over 100 Mental Health First Aiders in our business „ Introduced a suite of training courses provided by Kent Supported Employment „ Introduced a new Disability Awareness e-learning module on our online learning portal employment medical questionnaire to allow employees to confidentially request reasonable adjustments „ Built Line Manager confidence in dealing with disability issues through training and myth-busting communications, including information about non-visible disabilities „ Calculated our disability pay gap to identify any issues or concerns „ Trained key employees in policy, safeguarding, and mentor training „ Implemented a new online pre

Having proudly achieved Disability Confident Leader status in March 2020 and retained the accreditation in April 2023, we are keen to leverage our position to increase the representation and engagement of people with disabilities across all grades, and to lead the way for disability awareness in the construction Industry. We will better attract and retain people with disabilities and create an environment where people feel comfortable disclosing their disabilities and can operate from premises that are appropriately adjusted.

To ensure we have further access to expertise and guidance, we have continued our successful partnership with Kent Supported Employment (now The Education People), who not only keep us up to date with current guidance and initiatives but also deliver regular training courses for our people. Our suite of courses includes:

„ Autism in the Workplace „ Inclusive Recruitment „ Disability Confident „ Understanding Neurodiversity

To strengthen the talent pipeline of people with disabilities at all levels, including representation at senior levels. To also improve the support we give our disabled colleagues by truly understanding what adjustments are needed to make everyday life as easy as possible. Our Objective

FM Conway - Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy | 17

Future Plans „ Create an environment in which

„ Collect data from existing employees as we recognise that health and medical conditions change over time

colleagues with disabilities are engaged and feel comfortable declaring their disability. This will help us better understand the composition of our workforce „ Continue to review and audit our recruitment process to ensure it is accessible and inclusive „ Increase delivery of disability awareness training for employees, subcontractors, supply chain, and clients organisations and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools to engage with the disability community to provide work experience, internships, and mentoring „ Continue to work closely with stakeholders to eliminate incidents of bullying and harassment amongst colleagues with disabilities „ Maintain our network of Mental Health First Aiders across the organisation and provide access to training, to assist managers in improving their capability to address colleague mental health and wellbeing issues and make necessary adjustments „ Strengthen our links with external providers to ensure that there is adequate provision for all colleagues who need support on mental health-related issues „ Work with internal and external

„ Continue to review training and

development opportunities to ensure their suitability for all, improving the talent pipeline for colleagues with disabilities „ Develop a bespoke talent offering for colleagues with a disability to include mentoring and shadowing „ Actively promote, encourage, and sponsor applications to cross-government talent schemes to provide development opportunities to our talent with disabilities „ Continue to sponsor colleagues with disabilities who have been on talent schemes „ Build Line Manager confidence in dealing with disability issues through training and myth-busting communications, including information about non-visible disabilities „ Continue our site audits to ensure our workplaces are accessible and comfortable

„ Ensure our training and development methodology is fit for purpose

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GOAL 5

Our Progress

„ Set up a female employee forum and invited all employees to actively engage and encourage discussion, to better understand barriers to recruitment and progression and learn about how to disrupt and overcome said barriers „ Improved the photography on our website to promote and demonstrate our gender diversity „ Reviewed our flexible working policies and ensured all roles (where possible) are offered on a flexible basis „ Amended our job adverts to ensure they use inclusive language that attracts women „ Reviewed and enhanced our maternity package and included a new ‘back-to-work bonus’ which has resulted in 100% of our females returning to work since having a baby „ Added Maternity PPE options to the Pregnancy risk assessment „ Increased our visits to female schools to encourage young women to enter our industry „ Partnered with Transport for London on their Women in Transport and Engineering programme (WiTnE) twice, where we have hosted nine females on work placements for two weeks. Three women subsequently started working for us „ Hosted a women’s careers morning where 18 women attended, and two have subsequently started working for us „ Signed up to the InspiringWomen in Construction and Engineering Pledge which supports initiatives and aspires to change areas such as the attraction, development, and promotion of women in our company and industry „ Audited our welfare facilities to ensure they were safe and suitable for women „ Made women’s PPE available in our stores with a range of sizes „ Introduced menopause vests for operational women suffering from hot flushes

„ Partnered withWomen in Transport, who are a not-for-profit organisation that empowers women in the industry to maximise their potential „ Joined the LondonWomen in Engineering Group (LoWEG), who are focused on encouraging women and girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, maths, medicine, and media (STEMMM) careers. „ Continued to focus on addressing gender balance at a senior level and used our Gender Pay Gap Report results to identify areas for improvement „ Ensured that emerging talent initiatives such as our Apprenticeship programme created stretch opportunities to nurture young women. Female employees currently make up 37% of the Apprentice population, while 33% of those studying an apprenticeship as an employee upskilling are female „ Supported and developed high-performing females through our Great Leaders career development programme, which includes mentoring and support activities. Of 2024’s graduating employees, 27% were female with the ‘Preparing for Leadership’ level having a 50:50 split „ Supported and developed high-performing females through our Management Fundamentals programme. Of 2024’s graduating employees, 40% were female „ Launched a new Graduate Development Programme in September 2024, with 56% of delegates being female „ Held four bi-annual women’s events between March 2023 and September 2024, where every female from FM Conway was invited. Event formats ranged from guest speakers to wellbeing workshops „ Ran a very successful Menopause Awareness event, which consisted of both educational sessions and a meditation/stretch class to conclude the day

INCREASING DIVERSITY THROUGH OUR FEMALE COMMUNITY

The construction and transportation industries have traditionally been male-led environments, but much positive action has been taken over recent years to dispel myths and improve this position so that the industry can attract and retain the talent females have to offer. We feel that gender equality, particularly in the construction industry, is arguably the biggest area for concern when it comes to making improvements in the next 10 years. This is why we have felt it critical to set an aggressive pledge to be 30% female by 2030. Only by being extremely ambitious and stretching ourselves will we be able to make any significant strides in this area.

Our female application numbers are still low at only 22% of all applications, so our internal Recruitment team is now heavily focused on increasing female application rates across all roles and ensuring that any sign of unconscious bias is eradicated from our business.

Our Objective

To raise awareness of the construction industry as a career choice by promoting opportunities to females via work experience, traineeships, and apprentice opportunities, and to identify role models and provide mentoring for those interested in advancement.

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Future Plans

„ Create positive awareness of opportunities for women in construction „ Undertake a series of engagements to raise awareness and dispel myths about the industry „ Use positive images to demonstrate the construction industry’s suitability as a career choice „ Partnership with ‘Hey girls’, where we aim to provide 25 sanitary dispensers through every area of the business in which women work. For every dispenser we purchase, Hey girls donate one to support women in the UK facing period poverty „ Implement a ‘Personal Best’ development programme, which aims to support our women in achieving their personal goals both in and outside of work „ Embed flexibility and work-life balance into our organisational culture for both men and women „ Understand other barriers inhibiting female progression and develop programmes to address this

„ Continue to support our Return-to-Work programme. This provides a bridge back to work for experienced professionals who have taken an extended career break for typically two years or more. This aims to strengthen the talent pipeline, increase diversity, and improve attraction and retention rates „ Continue to focus on addressing gender imbalance at senior level and develop a range of initiatives in support of this „ Be proactive in communicating our desire to achieve gender parity „ Equip and empower our female talent with the right tools to develop in their career „ Work with senior and influential male allies to identify and support our female talent „ Develop a sponsorship programme aimed at nurturing high-performing women „ Reconsider our long-term pay and reward framework

„ Examine data to understand drivers and factors of the gender pay gap

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GOAL 6

INCREASING DIVERSITY THROUGH OUR NEURODIVERSE COMMUNITY

Our Progress

„ Set up a Neuroworks employee

Mental Health First Aiders in our business „ Strengthened our links with external providers such as Kent Supported Employment and the Lighthouse Club Construction Industry Charity to ensure adequate provision for all colleagues who need support on mental health-related issues „ Introduced a suite of training courses provided by Kent Supported Employment „ Introduced a new Disability Awareness e-learning module on our online learning portal

We recognise that our neurodiverse employees play a key role in our workforce, and we have been welcoming and supporting neurodiverse individuals into our business for many years, with the support of Kent Supported Employment (now The Education People). Conversations about neurodiversity have always featured heavily in our Disability Confident forums, however we have taken the decision to separate the two demographics as we recognise that support for those with physical disabilities can be very different to those who are neurodiverse.

We also recognise that there is a distinct lack of knowledge around this subject, and ‘hidden disabilities’ are something that requires further education. Our two courses, ‘Autism in the Workplace’ and ‘Understanding Neurodiversity’, have been particularly popular, and we encourage all Line Managers to attend. Almost 70 employees and recruiting managers have attended our courses between January 2023 and December 2024.

forum and invited both neurodiverse and non-neurodiverse individuals to actively engage and discuss barriers to recruitment and progression, and learn how to disrupt and overcome these barriers. The forum’s format is rotated to ensure it is inclusive to all types of neurodivergence „ Introduced our 10-year Mental Wellbeing strategy, Healthier Together, which seeks to implement an environment that understands, supports, and takes action for the needs of every single employee „ Rolled out companywide tools to support those with dyslexia, such as Grammarly, where required „ Reviewed and audited our recruitment process to ensure it is accessible and inclusive to all, and ensured all interviewed candidates are given the opportunity to make reasonable adjustments „ Maintained our network of Mental Health First Aiders across the organisation and provided access to training to assist Managers in improving their capability to address colleague mental health and wellbeing issues and make necessary adjustments. We currently have over 100 „ Successfully renewed our Disability Confident Leadership accreditation

„ Trained key employees in policy, safeguarding, and mentor training

To strengthen the talent pipeline of neurodiverse individuals at all levels, including representation at senior levels. To also improve the support we give our neurodiverse colleagues by truly understanding what adjustments are needed to make everyday life as easy as possible. Our Objective

„ Implemented a new online pre

employment medical questionnaire to allow employees to confidentially request reasonable adjustments „ Built Line Manager confidence in dealing with disability issues through training and myth-busting communication, including information about non-visible disabilities

„ Calculated our disability pay gap to identify any issues or concerns

FM Conway - Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy | 25

Future Plans

„ Via a communications campaign, create an environment in which colleagues with disabilities are engaged and feel comfortable declaring their disability „ Continue to review and audit our recruitment process to ensure it is accessible and inclusive „ Increase delivery of disability awareness training for employees, subcontractors, supply chain, and clients „ Continue to work closely with organisations and SEND schools to engage with the disabled community to provide work experience, internships, and mentoring

harassment amongst colleagues with disabilities

„ Maintain our network of Mental Health First Aiders across the organisation and provide access to training to assist managers in improving their capability to address colleague mental health and wellbeing issues, and make necessary adjustments „ Strengthen our links with external providers to ensure that there is adequate provision for all colleagues who need support on mental health-related issues „ Collect data from existing employees as we recognise that health and medical conditions change over time „ Review training and development opportunities to ensure their suitability for all „ Improve the talent pipeline for colleagues with disabilities „ Develop a bespoke talent offering for colleagues with a disability, including mentoring and shadowing „ Build Line Manager confidence in dealing with neurodiverse issues through training and myth-busting communication, including information about non-visible disabilities

„ Leverage neurodiverse strengths by

recognising the unique strengths and abilities of neurodiverse teammembers

„ Review the way messages are

communicated, considering that some individuals with neurodivergence have difficulty holding conversations or take idioms or expressions literally

„ Ensure our policies are supportive and take into account neurodiverse employees, and consider flexible work arrangements to accommodate specific needs „ Review our work environment where required, as traditional workspaces may feel overstimulating for some neurodivergent employees „ Work with internal and external stakeholders to eliminate incidents of bullying and

„ Ensure our training and development methodology is fit for purpose

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GOAL 7

INCREASING DIVERSITY THROUGH OUR VETERAN COMMUNITY

Our Progress

According to the latest government statistics, there are over two million Armed Forces veterans in the UK and around 13,000 individuals who leave the Armed Forces every year. The statistics show that the majority of those leaving the services are of working age, actively seeking new employment opportunities. Despite this, research shows that some veterans find it difficult to transition into civilian life and often struggle to find and retain new employment. Recruiting Armed Forces veterans has been an area we have worked hard on over the last five years and is demonstrated by us achieving our Gold Armed Forces Covenant Award in 2023. However, we also recognise that this underrepresented group sometimes needs additional support in the workplace.

A survey conducted by NHS England found that over half of veterans, active military personnel, and associated representatives reported having a current or previous mental health condition (52%) or physical health condition (54%). Moreover, almost two-thirds of respondents (60%) said that they found it difficult to ask for help with mental health issues, making it challenging for employers like us to identify issues and provide support. In order to support those leaving the Armed Forces who may not be ready to enter a working environment, we have donated £250,000 over the last five years to the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI). We also give practical support whereby our internal Recruitment team provides interview training as part of a course run by the RBLI’s employment support partner, ‘LifeWorks’.

„ Introduced our 10-year Mental Wellbeing strategy, Healthier

„ Introduced a Reserve Forces Policy which provides reservists with an

Together, which seeks to implement an environment that understands, supports, and takes action for the needs of every single member of the FM Conway family

additional period of 10 days paid leave in each holiday leave year

„ Maintained our network of Mental Health First Aiders across the organisation and provided access to training to assist managers in improving their capability to address colleague mental health and wellbeing issues, and make necessary adjustments. We currently have over 100 Mental Health First Aiders in our business Supported the RBLI’s training partner, ‘LifeWorks’, in their pre-employment course offering interview skills training and feedback „

„ Achieved our Silver Armed Forces

Covenant Award in 2019 and then went on to achieve Gold in 2023

„ Attended many events where our veterans present, including Reserves Day in Kent „ Introduced multiple support services, includingWeCare, access to the Lighthouse Club Construction Industry Charity Helpline, and the Mates In Mind mental health programme

Future Plans

To strengthen the talent pipeline of Armed Forces veterans at all levels, including representation at senior levels. To also improve the support we give our veterans by truly understanding what adjustments are needed to make everyday life as easy as possible. Our Objective

„ Through a communications campaign, create an environment in which our veteran colleagues are engaged and feel comfortable declaring their status. „ Increase awareness of the potential issues which veterans may be navigating and ensure colleagues seek to take an empathetic approach towards this

„ Ensure veterans are assigned a ‘buddy’ or mentor to help them transition into civilian life whilst simultaneously providing themwith workplace support and guidance

„ Build a formal, strong internal support network

„ Strengthen our support for those suffering fromPTSD

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GOAL 8

INCREASING DIVERSITY IN OUR SUPPLY CHAIN

Supplier diversity is equally important to ensure that we procure goods and services through a diverse supply chain. It is important that our supply chain grows through the opportunity to introduce and develop new products, services, and solutions to support our contract delivery.

A local, diverse, and sustainable supply chain is important to support our circular economic model, with social impact driven by local diverse recruitment.

Our Objective To use local suppliers who recruit locally for a diverse workforce.

Future Plans „ Ensure that all suppliers, new and

historical, complete the newly updated supplier portal

„ Annually monitor and measure the EDI statistics of our suppliers „ Provide support and advice to SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) and VCSE’s (Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise Organisations) in quarterly updates, which will include sharing resources developed for new legislation „ Host supply chain events and provide opportunities to present best practice

Our Progress „ Ensured that all new suppliers

complete the newly updated supplier portal, which captures the EDI data of our suppliers „ Established a methodical approach to capturing the data of our existing suppliers through the new portal have presented our best practice approaches for innovation to clients such as National Highways, TfL, and the Civil Engineering Contractors Association „ Hosted supply chain events and

or innovation, particularly in terms of supporting our supply chain to become disability confident and a member of the Armed Forces Covenant

„ Create a supply chain communication page on the FM Conway website

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GOAL 9

COMMUNICATING OUR PERFORMANCE, IMPACT, AND SHARING BEST PRACTICE

Measuring our performance and identifying our success in achieving a more inclusive organisational culture is crucial. It helps us evaluate our effectiveness and impact in making a leading contribution to aspects of EDI. We will therefore identify mechanisms for measuring the return on our investment (ROI) in EDI and the extent and quality of the contribution and distinct impact we aim to make through EDI. In addition, we will ensure we comply with our legal obligations and, where possible and appropriate, go beyond the legal minimum. „ Set up an EDI Champions meeting where the forum leads and other key stakeholders, such as HR, Marketing, Procurement, and Corporate Social Responsibility, review any issues highlighted at the forums, our targets, and any lessons learned. There have been 29 EDI champion meetings up to December 2024 „ Established a baseline to determine our current position against our goals and report regularly on the efforts we employ to reach the goals, our success, and the challenges we face „ Set up employee forums to give our people a voice to share concerns or challenges and come up with ideas to make our business better. There have been over 40 EDI forums to date Our Progress

The results will be improved performance against our own EDI standards derived from national and industry benchmarks. This includes external recognition. There will be strong compliance with legal obligations and, where possible and appropriate, these will be exceeded for vulnerable groups. Equity, diversity, and inclusion-related risks will be anticipated and well managed.

To deliver regular, transparent, and accurate reporting and share our progress in creating an equal opportunities environment that allows every member of society the same chance to be their very best by contributing to our story Our Objective

Future Plans

„ Delivered a ‘Mental HealthWeek’ with different initiatives for employees to join, which resulted in the business winning the CECA Southern’s Workplace Wellbeing Award in 2022 „ Worked with external ‘subject matter’ experts who helped advise on objectives and actions „ Taken part in collaboration and sharing best practice events with peers and clients. We have taken part in over 30 EDI-specific events up to December 2024.

„ Establish a baseline to determine our current position against our goals and report regularly on the efforts we employ to reach these goals, our successes, and the lessons learned

„ Take advice from organisations and individuals who are ‘subject

matter experts’ and learn from their experience and expertise in order to reach the goal faster than we may otherwise have done

Participated in industry data collection exercise with the Supply Chain Sustainability School

„

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