CBI’s Director General Rain Newton-Smith talks to The Times about the change happening at the CBI.
For everyone committed to inclusive workplaces for women, the news makes for distressing reading. From politics to police forces, companies to sporting bodies, many of our national institutions have failed badly in keeping their people safe. It feels as though we are mired in an epidemic of discrimination and harassment against women.
The CBI has a place within that roll call of shame – particularly given the seriousness of some of the allegations brought to us by The Guardian. That some go back a number of years and have only just come to light is no excuse. We can, we must, and we will do better.
Inclusive change will sit at the centre of my agenda as Director-General. I hope that by going through a process of extensive and unflinching self-reflection and being honest about what needs to be done we can help show how a modern organisation needs to act when it has failed to meet the standards it should.
Make no mistake, we are committed to change. The transformation of corporate culture promised by the board is already underway and it won’t stop on my watch. Complacency is the enemy of progress and I will not let it take root as we build a better CBI.
I do not take the organisation’s future for granted. That’s why we’ve brought in experienced experts to help deliver those necessary changes. I firmly believe that winning back trust begins within the organisation and works its way outwards, once members and stakeholders see the decisive steps we are taking.
But there are also wider questions for us to answer. If the CBI were not here, some have asked, would you re-create it today?
Naturally, my answer is “yes”. The CBI performs a vital function in speaking up for all business, right across the economy. Every country needs an overarching business voi
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