Celebrating Black History Month at Enterprise Mobility
Black History Month is a major fixture of Enterprise Mobility’s annual diversity calendar and falls in October in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Each regional group plans their own activities inspired by the annual theme, which this year was unity in diversity, resulting in a surge of vital conversation and ideas sharing across the business.
DRIVE caught up with Marvellous (Marv) Amiadamhen, Race and Ethnicity leader for Ireland’s DEI Council, and Leslee O’Loughlin, Ireland’s Group Human Resources Manager, to dig a little deeper into how one regional group commemorates Black History Month.
“Enterprise Mobility in Ireland has a very successful track record of recruiting Black and minority ethnic talent”
Dressing up in traditional clothing, from the left Sinead Connolly, Helen Faderin, Grace O’Brien
Outside of Black History Month in October, from November through to September, Enterprise Mobility in Ireland has a very successful track record of recruiting Black and minority ethnic talent to the business.
Even though the most recent 2022 Irish census shows that 96% of the population identifies as white Irish, the team successfully recruited 17% result ethnic minorities over the past 12 months, having set a target of 12% for the year.
“We were really happy with our recruitment results this year,” Leslee said. “This is a big achievement for a country that doesn’t yet have this level of ethnic demographics and diversity. It means that we’re attracting more diverse talent than many other businesses. For us, it makes celebrating Black History Month that extra bit special."
“Black employees were asked to spotlight their star achievements and contribution to the business”
The first week of this year’s Black History Month celebrations was an introduction to create awareness involving all employees including senior management. People at all levels were invited to tell the DEI Council about their Black hero and information was then shared across the company.
The list was fascinating and extensive. It featured former US President Barack Obama, lawyer and women’s rights speaker Michelle Obama, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, and the writer of Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, Reni Eddo-Lodge
The focus then moved internally for the second week, when Black employees were asked to spotlight their star achievements and contribution to the business.
Marv said, “It’s vital to show appreciation for our own star achievers, and for the contribution of Black employees in helping the business succeed and making a positive contribution that shines a light on their team.”
Inspired by Black culture and traditions, a recipe for a typical African dish – the delicious fried plantain – was shared across the business. People were asked to cook along and then share a photo of the results.
From left, Leslee O'Loughlin, Samuel Kaburu, Blessing Ebare, Marvellous (Marv) Amiadamhen and Hycentina Ekwerike
“Enterprise Mobility colleagues are mentoring a range of Black employees and students on an impactful 90-day programme”
An event at the Dublin headquarters was a highlight of the fourth week of celebration.
An all-women catering firm specialising in African cuisine catered the event and Blessing Ebare, Programme Manager at the APNI, joined the discussion as part of a panel.
The Enterprise Mobility team in Ireland partners with the African Professional Network of Ireland (APNI) on a career accelerator mentor programme. Now in its second year, 13 Enterprise Mobility colleagues are mentoring a range of Black employees and students on an impactful 90-day programme that culminates in a full-day training session.
“The APNI is a really important partner for us,” Leslee explained. “As part of her contribution to the day, Blessing talked about the importance of the accurate pronunciation of African names and taking time to do this correctly. This is part of showing respect and empathy for one another and helps us to build a stronger culture.”
The final activity of the month was the opportunity to wear traditional dress to work – or to bring in clothes to dress your colleagues up!
Marv said this was a fun and effective way of helping people to be part of the event and learn more about one another: “Clothing is a visually impactful way of reminding ourselves that while we’re all different, we can all appreciate one another and share opportunities, which is such an important part of unity in diversity.”
If you are interested in a career with Enterprise, please visit our recruitment website at careers.enterprise.co.uk and at careers.enterprise.ie
