A day in the life: Diversity & Inclusion Advisor

To learn more about the day-to-day responsibilities of inspirational public servants, we checked in with Brian Day, a diversity and inclusion adviser at HM Revenue and Customs in the UK. Brian previously hosted an Apolitical workshop on Optimism and resilience in public service.

Want to share insights into your role? Send in your thoughts here!

How would you describe your role to someone who doesn't work in the public service?

My role is as a Diversity, Inclusion (D&I) and Wellbeing Champion. My role is to raise awareness of all things D&I and wellbeing through my directorate and beyond. My main portfolio is disability. I also strive to ensure that my department is inclusive to all. I am also an advocate for carers and those suffering from mental health issues within the department.

What did you do yesterday?

I am currently developing some products to promote awareness of: hidden or non-visible impairments, long Covid, and the language of disability — including medical and social models. Yesterday, I attended a team meeting where we planned a roadshow looking at personal safety and the return to the office.

What was your journey to this role?

I have always had a keen interest in Diversity and Inclusion, especially caring and disability. I have been a carer for most of my life for various members of my family and now my wife. I couldn't initially find a permanent role in D&I so did lots of different roles which never really gave me much satisfaction. To negate that I did a lot of volunteering roles around disability and caring. Then I was lucky to get a secondment working full time in Diversity and Inclusion. When the secondment finished, I was asked to join my present team, and I haven't looked back since!

What do you wish someone told you when you were starting out?

I think if someone could have told me how satisfying this job is, I would have made sure I would have gotten into D&I earlier. I did have two failed attempts to get into my present role though!

What's one thing you wish the rest of government knew about your role?

How much work we really do to raise the profile of disability, carers, and inclusion.

(Picture Credit: Unsplash)