I have long advocated for a sensible approach to DEI at business events, and particularly for associations. I tend to respond to any request for an accommodation from a perspective of a making a “reasonable adjustment”, matching terminology from the Equality Act 2010. In my opinion this means an appropriate level of response to a need. A good example is those with physical access needs. If a delegate is a wheelchair user who needs access to the stage, I would consider a ramp a reasonable adjustment. On the flip side, if one delegate out of 300 requests a BSL interpreter I’m unlikely to agree to that as from a financial perspective I wouldn’t consider it a proportional response (although I would consider funding a free place if the participant wanted to bring their own).
We generally provide quiet spaces at events as a reasonable adjustment for those with neurodivergent requirements. Earlier this week I received an email from a leading event supplier informing me that failing to provide qualified staff in these spaces is now considered a safeguarding issue. This doesn’t seem a particularly “reasonable” approach to me. In the first instance there’s a cost involved in the additional staffing required. But more importantly raising this as a potential safeguarding issue would make most event leaders run a mile. Our teams have enough to deal with without adding safeguarding vulnerable adults to the list, don’t they? We have a duty of care but I don’t believe that should be extended to safeguarding in the context of business events.
I do understand the intention; we want to look after people, and more importantly we want them to have the best experience possible. But we do need to have a reasonable approach to DEI that is financially sustainable; scaremongering us into superfluous actions can’t be the best way forward.
Brightelm helps associations deliver more impactful events.