Energy and Utility Skills conduct regular research into how the water sector is doing on EDI. The latest stats were released in the last few weeks. While they show that there is a commitment to make progress on EDI - show other challenging patterns emerge. There are issues with women, younger colleagues and people from ethnic minority backgrounds all wanting to leave the sector. Plus, although more diverse applicants are joining application processes, there is a big drop off when it comes to final recruitment decisions.

Why are these trends appearing and what can be done to improve?

Where there is progress - commitment at a senior level to progress on EDI and attracting more diverse applicants into the sector , for example - how can it be built on? More importantly, what is it about workplace culture in the water sector that is making exactly the type of people necessary to attract (more women, younger and more diverse people) want to leave after only a short amount of time?

Louise Parry (Director of People & Organisational Development at Energy and Utility Skills) shares the latest stats, her analysis of them and experiences and insights from her own career. In the discussion that follows - exactly the type of challenging conversation on EDI this podcast was designed to facilitate - many issues, explanations and topics are raised, including:

• How sponsors can carve out opportunities for younger colleagues
• Where recruitment goes wrong, especially on out-of-date and unnecessary "must-haves"
• The need to attract recruits from a wider breadth of industries, backgrounds and starting points
• Why women often still don't feel that their voices are heard
• Why people from ethnic minorities can find themselves "welcome to apply"... but not getting the role
• The role of mentorship
• The importance of building networks

This is an essential listen for anyone at any level in the water sector that wants to know what is really happening with EDI in the industry at the moment and what their role can be in making things better.

Beneath The Surface

Through powerful stories and real-life examples, Beneath The Surface highlights EDI topics in the water sector, sharing personal experiences and best practices that inspire change. It brings attention to the voices of under-represented groups, with a focus on attracting diverse talent and fostering a culture of inclusion. 

By connecting senior leaders and rising professionals from different backgrounds, it creates a space where ideas flourish, synergies are built, and the industry moves closer to becoming a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

Beneath The Surface is co-hosted by British Water's CEO, Lila Thompson, and Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland. 

Podcast Co-host- Lila Thompson, British Water, CEO

Lila is responsible for British Water’s strategic direction, representing the interests of UK water and wastewater supply chain companies together with wider stakeholders across the sector, through the UK, Technical and International forums. The Water Industry Forum provides challenge-led, independent thought leadership, to tackle the challenges facing the sector. Lila was formerly responsible for British Water’s international services and led business development visits to a range of markets including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, China, and India. Lila has over 20 years of experience driving business growth, policy development, and stakeholder engagement in a variety of sectors.

Podcast Co-host- Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland

With 18 years of HR experience spanning manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and now the water industry, Perminder has developed a deep understanding of business and strategy, and her journey has also highlighted the critical role of company culture and psychological safety in driving engagement, business success, innovation, and development. Perminder is passionate about ensuring the accessibility of clean water for all. A trip to India in her early years revealed the harsh reality of limited and unclean water resources, particularly impacting children, which was heartbreaking. This experience fuelled her dedication to helping others and reinforced her commitment to working in a global organisation focused on the social value of water.

Richard DeNetto is CEO of Change The Race Ratio, a campaign to increase racial and ethnic minority representation on boards and in leadership teams in UK Business. He joins hosts Lila and Perminder on this episode to give an insight into the current state of diversity at board level across UK industry, including the water sector.

Are there enough senior leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds? If not, what can be done to make positive progress?

In this fascinating conversation Richard shares the latest statistics, plus explains how companies, leaders and individuals can all make a difference. He explains the relevance and impact of the Parker report, shares advice on best practices that have worked and points out common pitfalls and blindspots. Attention is given to the link between social mobility and representation, plus there is great practical advice for professionals at all levels on how to avoid affinity bias and how to overcome barriers to progression.

It is often said that real change needs to come from the top, so this episode is an essential listen for senior leaders in the water sector and beyond.

Beneath The Surface

Through powerful stories and real-life examples, Beneath The Surface highlights EDI topics in the water sector, sharing personal experiences and best practices that inspire change. It brings attention to the voices of under-represented groups, with a focus on attracting diverse talent and fostering a culture of inclusion. 

By connecting senior leaders and rising professionals from different backgrounds, it creates a space where ideas flourish, synergies are built, and the industry moves closer to becoming a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

Beneath The Surface is co-hosted by British Water's CEO, Lila Thompson, and Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland. 

Podcast Co-host- Lila Thompson, British Water, CEO

Lila is responsible for British Water’s strategic direction, representing the interests of UK water and wastewater supply chain companies together with wider stakeholders across the sector, through the UK, Technical and International forums. The Water Industry Forum provides challenge-led, independent thought leadership, to tackle the challenges facing the sector. Lila was formerly responsible for British Water’s international services and led business development visits to a range of markets including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, China, and India. Lila has over 20 years of experience driving business growth, policy development, and stakeholder engagement in a variety of sectors.

Podcast Co-host- Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland

With 18 years of HR experience spanning manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and now the water industry, Perminder has developed a deep understanding of business and strategy, and her journey has also highlighted the critical role of company culture and psychological safety in driving engagement, business success, innovation, and development. Perminder is passionate about ensuring the accessibility of clean water for all. A trip to India in her early years revealed the harsh reality of limited and unclean water resources, particularly impacting children, which was heartbreaking. This experience fuelled her dedication to helping others and reinforced her commitment to working in a global organisation focused on the social value of water.

Simon Frampton is Resourcing Manager at YTL UK, the group that owns Wessex Water.  Simon first became interested in neurodiversity after meeting an individual with autism who inspired him. That experience led him to begin to champion neurodiversity in his own workplace and then in the wider sector. 

Simon believes that more should be done to make the workplace more accessible and welcoming for neurodivergent people and that by doing so, the water sector can harness a vast untapped resource at a time when increased recruitment of skilled people is vital.

In this fascinating discussion with hosts Lila Thompson (CEO, British Water) and Perminder Atwal (HR Business Partner at Xylem UK), Simon talks about how applying for jobs can be like cracking a code for those with neurodiversity. He also gives practical advice for senior leaders on how to improve recruitment and management processes.

Simon also brings to life the scale of the challenge. People with autism, for example, are at a massive statistical disadvantage when it comes to applying for jobs, getting them and then being able to thrive once in position. This episode also busts myths and shares hope for what an improved sector - with greater opportunities for neurodiverse people - could look like.

Beneath The Surface

Through powerful stories and real-life examples, Beneath The Surface highlights EDI topics in the water sector, sharing personal experiences and best practices that inspire change. It brings attention to the voices of under-represented groups, with a focus on attracting diverse talent and fostering a culture of inclusion. 

By connecting senior leaders and rising professionals from different backgrounds, it creates a space where ideas flourish, synergies are built, and the industry moves closer to becoming a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

Beneath The Surface is co-hosted by British Water's CEO, Lila Thompson, and Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland. 

Podcast Co-host- Lila Thompson, British Water, CEO

Lila is responsible for British Water’s strategic direction, representing the interests of UK water and wastewater supply chain companies together with wider stakeholders across the sector, through the UK, Technical and International forums. The Water Industry Forum provides challenge-led, independent thought leadership, to tackle the challenges facing the sector. Lila was formerly responsible for British Water’s international services and led business development visits to a range of markets including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, China, and India. Lila has over 20 years of experience driving business growth, policy development, and stakeholder engagement in a variety of sectors.

Podcast Co-host- Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland

With 18 years of HR experience spanning manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and now the water industry, Perminder has developed a deep understanding of business and strategy, and her journey has also highlighted the critical role of company culture and psychological safety in driving engagement, business success, innovation, and development. Perminder is passionate about ensuring the accessibility of clean water for all. A trip to India in her early years revealed the harsh reality of limited and unclean water resources, particularly impacting children, which was heartbreaking. This experience fuelled her dedication to helping others and reinforced her commitment to working in a global organisation focused on the social value of water.

Everyone should have equal opportunity to build a happy and productive career in the water industry. But people at all levels will talk about having problems at one time or another. Career management is a skill that the individual can learn and improve... but the sector need to play its part in creating a welcoming, accessible environment with equal opportunities to progress.

In this episode, our discussion around EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) is framed within the context of Career Management. How can individuals discover what they are good at, then find (or create) the roles that enable them to shine? What can companies and senior leaders do to make sure that recruitment and internal promotions, structures and processes don't fall back into outdated and unequal ways.

Joining Lila today is someone who is hugely well known in the industry, in  part due to the huge success of the water and environment podcast she hosts - Planet Possible. 

Niki Roach started her career on the Yorkshire Water graduate training scheme. After 13 years there, she took the decision to seek out new horizons. Since then she has travelled, set up her own photography business, started her own water and environment consultancy and, of course, launched and grown Planet Possible. 

Niki's is a hugely varied and successful career. But she has faced challenges including  anxiety, sexism in the boardroom, being out of work and struggling to find a role that would fit her family commitments. She has overcome all these challenges with a creative and proactive approach. She shares key insights during this episode - making it a hugely useful listen for anyone at any level in the water sector.

Beneath The Surface

Through powerful stories and real-life examples, Beneath The Surface highlights EDI topics in the water sector, sharing personal experiences and best practices that inspire change. It brings attention to the voices of under-represented groups, with a focus on attracting diverse talent and fostering a culture of inclusion. 

By connecting senior leaders and rising professionals from different backgrounds, it creates a space where ideas flourish, synergies are built, and the industry moves closer to becoming a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

Beneath The Surface is co-hosted by British Water's CEO, Lila Thompson, and Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland. 

Podcast Co-host- Lila Thompson, British Water, CEO

Lila is responsible for British Water’s strategic direction, representing the interests of UK water and wastewater supply chain companies together with wider stakeholders across the sector, through the UK, Technical and International forums. The Water Industry Forum provides challenge-led, independent thought leadership, to tackle the challenges facing the sector. Lila was formerly responsible for British Water’s international services and led business development visits to a range of markets including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, China, and India. Lila has over 20 years of experience driving business growth, policy development, and stakeholder engagement in a variety of sectors.

Podcast Co-host- Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland

With 18 years of HR experience spanning manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and now the water industry, Perminder has developed a deep understanding of business and strategy, and her journey has also highlighted the critical role of company culture and psychological safety in driving engagement, business success, innovation, and development. Perminder is passionate about ensuring the accessibility of clean water for all. A trip to India in her early years revealed the harsh reality of limited and unclean water resources, particularly impacting children, which was heartbreaking. This experience fuelled her dedication to helping others and reinforced her commitment to working in a global organisation focused on the social value of water.

Reuel Abrams was born in the UK, grew up in Barbados, then returned to the UK to complete his A-Levels. He has experienced racism throughout his life, but, is more than anything a "glass half full" person. In this episode he shares his positive blend of honesty, insight and analysis to the subject of race in the water sector (one of the many industries he has worked in). Now a senior industry figure, his contributions from a varied and successful career... are hugely engaging.

Lila, Perminder and Reuel all share experiences from their own lives and career of where they have had issues... but also where they have seen examples of best practice and strategies to progress.

It is acknowledged in this episode that the water sector has made progress, but there is still improvements to be made. There are great bit of advice here for every different type of person in the water sector.

Beneath The Surface

Through powerful stories and real-life examples, Beneath The Surface highlights EDI topics in the water sector, sharing personal experiences and best practices that inspire change. It brings attention to the voices of under-represented groups, with a focus on attracting diverse talent and fostering a culture of inclusion. 

By connecting senior leaders and rising professionals from different backgrounds, it creates a space where ideas flourish, synergies are built, and the industry moves closer to becoming a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

Beneath The Surface is co-hosted by British Water's CEO, Lila Thompson, and Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland. 

Podcast Co-host- Lila Thompson, British Water, CEO

Lila is responsible for British Water’s strategic direction, representing the interests of UK water and wastewater supply chain companies together with wider stakeholders across the sector, through the UK, Technical and International forums. The Water Industry Forum provides challenge-led, independent thought leadership, to tackle the challenges facing the sector. Lila was formerly responsible for British Water’s international services and led business development visits to a range of markets including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, China, and India. Lila has over 20 years of experience driving business growth, policy development, and stakeholder engagement in a variety of sectors.

Podcast Co-host- Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland

With 18 years of HR experience spanning manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and now the water industry, Perminder has developed a deep understanding of business and strategy, and her journey has also highlighted the critical role of company culture and psychological safety in driving engagement, business success, innovation, and development. Perminder is passionate about ensuring the accessibility of clean water for all. A trip to India in her early years revealed the harsh reality of limited and unclean water resources, particularly impacting children, which was heartbreaking. This experience fuelled her dedication to helping others and reinforced her commitment to working in a global organisation focused on the social value of water.

Episode 2 is all about leadership. 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion can no longer be just a tick-box exercise that industry leaders feel they have to pay lip-service to or be "seen to be doing". Jason Tucker - an influential and respected figure at the top of sector - makes the exact opposite point: To deliver top performance, EDI must be right at the top of every C-Suite exec's priority list.

Jason talks to hosts Lila and Perminder about how his career has taught him that a diverse, well-run team will outperform a less diverse team every time. It's about getting a variety of ways of thinking around the table. Granted, achieving EDI can be difficult. Yes, managing a truly diverse team can be more challenging than running a department full of very similar people... but the results are better.

This episode is essential listening for people at every level of the water industry, but especially senior leaders. Jason, Lila and Perminder - themselves a diverse group of senior leaders within the sector - share a variety of insights, advice and experiences that can only help leaders improve what they are doing in term of EDI, and, in turn, improve the results of the team or organisation they lead.

Beneath The Surface

Through powerful stories and real-life examples, Beneath The Surface highlights EDI topics in the water sector, sharing personal experiences and best practices that inspire change. It brings attention to the voices of under-represented groups, with a focus on attracting diverse talent and fostering a culture of inclusion. 

By connecting senior leaders and rising professionals from different backgrounds, it creates a space where ideas flourish, synergies are built, and the industry moves closer to becoming a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

Beneath The Surface is co-hosted by British Water's CEO, Lila Thompson, and Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland. 

Podcast Co-host- Lila Thompson, British Water, CEO

Lila is responsible for British Water’s strategic direction, representing the interests of UK water and wastewater supply chain companies together with wider stakeholders across the sector, through the UK, Technical and International forums. The Water Industry Forum provides challenge-led, independent thought leadership, to tackle the challenges facing the sector. Lila was formerly responsible for British Water’s international services and led business development visits to a range of markets including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, China, and India. Lila has over 20 years of experience driving business growth, policy development, and stakeholder engagement in a variety of sectors.

Podcast Co-host- Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland

With 18 years of HR experience spanning manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and now the water industry, Perminder has developed a deep understanding of business and strategy, and her journey has also highlighted the critical role of company culture and psychological safety in driving engagement, business success, innovation, and development. Perminder is passionate about ensuring the accessibility of clean water for all. A trip to India in her early years revealed the harsh reality of limited and unclean water resources, particularly impacting children, which was heartbreaking. This experience fuelled her dedication to helping others and reinforced her commitment to working in a global organisation focused on the social value of water.

In Episode 1, Lila and Perminder set the tone for the honest and insightful conversations that will follow across the rest of the series, by sharing their own experiences relating to Gender Equality. 

Perminder draws comparisons between when she worked in manufacturing (where she tried to raise sexist behaviour with management and struggled to get it dealt with) and her later experiences in the water sector (which have been better, but still there are issues to address).

Lila talks about the differences between working in an organisation in the UK where good standards may exist, but that challenges can be faced when representing the industry overseas. She also shares her concerns that many women in the water sector feel that their voices aren't valued, and that these women could be close to leaving the industry.

Giving a male viewpoint are two industry figures (Steve Kaye from UKWIR and Garry Tabor from Smart Water Solutions) who both say that things have improved over the years, but there is still work to do.

Beneath The Surface

Through powerful stories and real-life examples, Beneath The Surface highlights EDI topics in the water sector, sharing personal experiences and best practices that inspire change. It brings attention to the voices of under-represented groups, with a focus on attracting diverse talent and fostering a culture of inclusion. 

By connecting senior leaders and rising professionals from different backgrounds, it creates a space where ideas flourish, synergies are built, and the industry moves closer to becoming a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

Beneath The Surface is co-hosted by British Water's CEO, Lila Thompson, and Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland. 

Podcast Co-host- Lila Thompson, British Water, CEO

Lila is responsible for British Water’s strategic direction, representing the interests of UK water and wastewater supply chain companies together with wider stakeholders across the sector, through the UK, Technical and International forums. The Water Industry Forum provides challenge-led, independent thought leadership, to tackle the challenges facing the sector. Lila was formerly responsible for British Water’s international services and led business development visits to a range of markets including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, China, and India. Lila has over 20 years of experience driving business growth, policy development, and stakeholder engagement in a variety of sectors.

Podcast Co-host- Perminder Atwal, HR Business Partner, Xylem UK & Ireland

With 18 years of HR experience spanning manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and now the water industry, Perminder has developed a deep understanding of business and strategy, and her journey has also highlighted the critical role of company culture and psychological safety in driving engagement, business success, innovation, and development. Perminder is passionate about ensuring the accessibility of clean water for all. A trip to India in her early years revealed the harsh reality of limited and unclean water resources, particularly impacting children, which was heartbreaking. This experience fuelled her dedication to helping others and reinforced her commitment to working in a global organisation focused on the social value of water.