What We Do
Lives of Colour works with organisations to support diversity and inclusion with a non-judgemental approach. By creating open conversations, we support these organisations to talk openly about inclusivity, in turn empowering them to engage new diverse audiences.
Supporting organisations and statutory bodies
A great deal of our expertise is used within organisations in Gloucestershire and beyond. This means that diversity and inclusion training is part of our important work, but there’s so much more involved with creating a truly welcoming workplace for all.
Our initiatives are designed to support you long-term, so they can become embedded into your culture. With a non-judgemental approach, we help you to create a stronger team and ultimately support your success.
Acting to bridge the gap between diverse communities and businesses, we can support you in recruiting the best diverse talent in Gloucestershire.
For schools, our Authors of Colour scheme takes children, parents and educators on a literary journey around the world. We supply diverse books to schools, meaning that any child - no matter their culture, colour or disability - can see themselves as the main character.
Equity vs Equality
We’re often asked the difference between equity and equality. The definitions are slightly different, but the impact is significant.
Equality means every person or group receiving the same opportunities and resources. Equity is about recognising that every person has different lived experiences, and will need the resources suitable for their situation to achieve an equality of outcome.
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Achieving both equity and equality in society is difficult, but the work that we do supports decision-makers to embed an equitable culture. This gives minority groups the appropriate tools they need to excel.
What else do we do to support the community?
As well as being largely involved in the Gloucestershire business community, we work closely with black communities in the area to provide support and mentorship.
Young, Leading and Black
After a successful pilot scheme, we launched Young, Leading and Black to support young people aged 12-18 in Gloucestershire. Through mentoring, we prepare young people with the skills they need to thrive while helping older
teenagers to find their dream career. By fostering a supportive community, our charity helps in creating equitable futures for young black people.
Swimmers of Colours
Did you know that 95% of black British adults can’t swim, according to Sport England? To help tackle this in our local community, Lives of Colour collaborated with Active Gloucestershire and Sport England to keep women on the movethrough learning to swim.
I-migrate and Mangrove podcast
On the I-MMIGRATE and Mangrove podcast, we chat to people who’ve migrated to the UK from countries across the globe. With a huge variety of reasons for migration, such as escaping conflict or looking for a better education, we chat to migrants about their experience of the UK and how they’ve assimilated into a new culture.
Our newest podcast – Mangrove – will be launching in March 2023… watch this space.
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Fabrics of Colour
Our Fabrics of Colour initiative is one of our latest. In collaboration with SuperDry, this is a wellbeing campaign based in Cheltenham. As we come together and create various designs with fabrics from around the world, we chat about identity, heritage, fabrics, food and culture. Find out more about Fabrics of Colour through our Instagram.
Free Legal Advice
Promoting a new way to get legal advice, the University House Advice Portal is a hub for organisations to receive support remotely from the Legal Advice Centre (University House).
The service is for advise/support workers to receive help on existing cases, or to make full referral of appropiate cases to University House.
The portal allows you to book an appointment/slot for clients to receive legal support directly.
Registered users can also receive professional development support, with up to date information and training on many areas of social welfare and practice.