Staff reflections

This section focuses on some of the things that matter to our colleagues from their areas of work, including what they would like to see the RSPCA do more of to further embed inclusion.

Senior staff

Kerry Gabriel, Learning and Development Manager

“Where I’ve evolved on my personal journey…is I've had to mindfully be brave in what I share about myself (as a queer person), and actually open up more. As a result I am connected to the people around me. I feel a sense of belonging…This is my tribe, know what I mean? And I might be different from lots of these people, but I feel accepted for who I am…When people are included and can contribute fully, that will mean improving animals’ lives at the end of the day.

“I think that it takes bravery to create a more inclusive environment…I love some things I've already seen, in terms of Chris Sherwood, [our former Chief Executive] being very open about his sexuality and also other RSPCA directors open up about their mental health struggles.

“The learning and development function is making our learning more accessible. We are thinking about how we use inclusive language, how we need to include the right people in projects. To do this, we have to get the right voices in the room, and make sure all the messages, all the communications, everything we're doing has inclusive language and is inclusive. That includes the kind of support activities that other people are doing as well, increasing inclusivity across the board, and partnering with other business areas.”

John Kerslake, Former Chief Operating Officer

“Let’s learn from companies that do inclusion well…I always thought it was interesting that, if you cross the border from Scotland back into England, and it would go back to the old way. Why don't we learn from the best? Why do our shops in Scotland have lower counters to aid accessibility for somebody in a wheelchair, which was the most noticeable thing? But if that same customer then went to a company in England, they won't get the same benefit. That’s why it’s been so pleasing from a strategic point of view to see the progress of Animal Journey, a programme that prioritises helping animals who have experienced cruelty, neglect and abuse, and which covers the entire journey of animals in our care. Everything, including new buildings, needs to be accessible.

“How can we make sure we can support offenders, people that have ended up in tricky situations? I just wonder for some of these people. Unless they've got a really good support network, they can get lost. How do we stop people getting excluded from opportunities?”

Billie-Jade Thomas, Senior Public Affairs Manager, Wales

“I was a bit nervous about sharing my opinions on things, because you find yourself sometimes among serious, well-spoken people, or people that sound quite a bit different to me, which can be slightly intimidating. So it's really important that difference is respected and isn't looked on as being a negative. People from different backgrounds and experiences can provide valuable insights that you perhaps wouldn't get if everybody was of the same background.

“I think it’s important for the RSPCA to acknowledge that we aren't just England, that there is also a Wales as well. We should do more to solve confusion around legislation, we can't have people still assuming if a change applies to England (such as compulsory cat microchipping), then it also applies in Wales, because that's not the case.”

Jen Kowalyk, Head of Environment and Sustainability

“In addition to biodiversity, an RSPCA Environmental Plan will focus on our contribution to climate change, a global issue intrinsically linked to biodiversity. The impacts of climate change will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, including animals, the poor, and women — especially rural women, who are expected to make up 80 percent of those who will be displaced by climate change.

“In addition to existing gender inequality, women’s roles as primary caregivers and providers of food and fuel heighten their vulnerability. By reducing our contribution to climate change, we lessen not only our negative impact on animals and ecosystems, but also vulnerable communities and women.”

Richard Cummins, Former Head of Branch Partnerships

“We’re actively promoting the importance of having diverse trustee boards, whether that’s through recruiting trustees or staying in tune with the communities and beneficiaries we serve. It’s really heartening to see our Affinity Network groups being so welcoming, with many people from our branches getting involved.

“I notice that sometimes people are hesitant, fearing they might say the wrong thing or make a mistake. I’d love to see us continue providing support and education around EDI, emphasising the positive impact that being an inclusive RSPCA can have on animal welfare.”

Emma Slawinski, Former Director of Policy, Prevention and Campaigns

“A lot of our prevention work on animal abuse and neglect is linked to things like poverty, lack of good housing, relationship breakdowns, those kinds of things; and they tend to be overrepresented in certain sectors of society as well. There is definitely some intersectionality going on that we've never looked at around the causes of some of the issues that we work on.

“I think there are connections between animal welfare and racism…for example if we put out a message about ‘stunned slaughter’, which as a practice has a direct connection into religious communities, the response rate goes through the roof. Suddenly everybody cares about how an animal is slaughtered, and I strongly suspect that these are not people who particularly care about animal welfare. They just want to score a point against a community that they have a prejudice against. It's very difficult to point to an individual and say your motivation behind this tweet is racism, is prejudice rather than animal welfare, but we can see the trend so we know there is a difference there. And I think it's really important that we call that out when it happens and we tackle those issues head on. And if you don't have an understanding of the different cultural backgrounds people are coming from then you can't make progress on those issues.”

David Allen, Head of Prevention and Education

“Community engagement is not just about giving food. There's a lot of research into what the concerns are, and signposting to other parts of the RSPCA or to other animal welfare charities. Even social charities that are providing support may be helpful to the people who are using food banks.”

Roots and Shoots

“The RSPCA has been a key supporter of Roots and Shoots for the last 10 years, and so my point here is that's a sustainable way of working, engaging young people with animals through the environment or through people.”

Jeremy Gautrey-Jones, Assistant Director, Employee Experience

“I remember talking about EDI several years ago, and it was very much aspirational, now it’s becoming a reality.

“People now actually believe and are talking about it. And they are committed to becoming a more diverse, inclusive organisation.

“We all have unconscious biases. We all have different styles and it's about looking at yourself and looking at your own style, and I've spent a bit of time in the last 12 months reflecting, looking at my own leadership style. Sometimes it's useful to hear how other people perceive us, which could be very different from how you perceive yourself. Hearing those different views, and including those different views in your own thought process can make you more inclusive as a leader. I've been keen to listen and hear other people's views and develop my own style going forward. I think it can be quite hard sometimes to hear those messages, but it can be quite rewarding when you act on them as well.”

Simon Osborne, Superintendent

“We have more female inspectors now and that's resulted in some of the old-school thinkers, who have outdated views about women doing what was regarded a male-orientated job, being put firmly back in their box. Because of the results, the commitment, the engagement – we're seeing really amazing work.

“Our officers were able to access an online mental health training course that looked at self-care and self-reflection, and being able to identify mental health challenges in colleagues and members of the public. It's a very different challenge when you're dealing with someone with significant neurodiversity challenges in their own home, compared to dealing with them in an RSPCA hospital. So we were very keen to make sure that our officers are supported to recognise animal neglect cases in people's homes and deal with the public sensitively.”

Our trustees

Caroline Waters, Branch Trustee

“People are gaining more of an understanding of animal sentience, and what that means for animal rights.

“Thinking about equity in a broader sense means working towards an equitable position for animals and humans. I think we will succeed if we can get all of those things right for people who work in the animal sector, and then start to think about what does that equivalent mean for the basic rights and freedoms of the animals that we all care so passionately about.

“When you recruit people who are different you have to allow those people to change what we do and the way we do it, because we've brought them in for their difference. The worst thing we can do is ask them to comply and therefore miss out on an incredible opportunity to continue to grow and change. We need to then take all that wonderful insight and experience that we get from these new minds, new attributes and new experiences, and think about what that means for how we operate in communities and in communities within communities as well.”

Shane Graham, Former Branch Trustee

“When you disagree, it’s important to feel that you have been heard, that what you said has been taken into account. I want to be able to say I like this, but I didn't like that, without feeling vilified.

“When it comes to the expression: you cannot be what you cannot see, I think we need to do better. The message is finally getting through in terms of our campaigns and the work we’re trying to do in schools and our adverts. The things that you might take for granted in terms of visuals have a really strong impact.

“How can we hear different voices and different opinions If we’re all bought up in practically the same area and stuff, like a copy and paste? That's another thing that's changing as well, people being recruited from all walks of life and with different experiences, adding their voices to the RSPCA. That change is slowly happening, but definitely happening.”

Our union representatives

Ellie Jones, Animal Rescue Officer

“Ensuring we celebrate our differences, rather than seeing them as a barrier–It's why I became a union rep. EDI is similar and means a lot to me because it's all about fairness. It's about dignity and it's about respect, and I think we have quite a lot of things in common there with the aims of the union to ensuring equality in the workplace or equity in the workplace.

“We’re seeing some really good equalities initiatives such as the Period Dignity campaign that came into place, offering free sanitary items for colleagues. The campaign has had brilliant feedback from everybody, alongside the menopause support and midlife support campaigns for colleagues. We're just in the process of getting a new uniform that should be an appropriate fit for all genders, which I think is a really positive thing as well.

“It's a bit of a challenge sometimes to get field-based staff to attend the Affinity Network meetings*. Finding ways to allow more shift-based staff to access the meetings more easily, is something that's being talked about in a lot of the groups.

“I attended some EDI training through the union. Going through scenarios of discrimination experienced in front of you – the appropriate way to challenge that discrimination, what is the best reporting process, how you can sensitively deal with those issues and obviously support your colleague. I think there is really good scope for some training like that with RSPCA colleagues because I got a lot out of that from the union perspective.

*Affinity Networks, also known as resource groups or affinity groups, are colleague-led, voluntary groups that bring together individuals with shared characteristics, interests, or backgrounds to foster a sense of community, promote diversity and inclusion, and provide support and resources.”

Penny Taberer, Wildlife Assistant

“In my area of work it's just fantastic to see, and everyone's bringing so much to the table, so much creativity and just diversity. When I’ve joined up with other workforces whenever EDI is mentioned, they say RSPCA procedures and initiatives are some of the best and everyone's always quite shocked!”

Little Gate

‘We're going to loads of different career fairs, recruiting for work experience placements in different schools. We’re partnering with Little Gate, a specialist access to work facility, for young adults with learning disabilities. We've been taking on volunteers on work placements from there. It’s been fantastic!”