Everyone is welcome
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
At Peel Ports we want every one of our employees to feel empowered to be themselves and thrive at work every day. This is why we are fully committed to supporting an inclusive, welcoming and fair culture where everyone is respected equally.
Whilst there is no denying there is a big challenge in the maritime industry around equality, diversity and inclusion, by proactively addressing these issues we aim to harness the full potential of a diverse workforce. We have a dedicated team who are strengthening the approach we take to:
- Working towards greater gender balance
- Nurturing racial and ethnic inclusion
- Fostering LGBTQ + inclusion
- Supporting people with disabilities
At Peel Ports, we are proud to announce the launch of our new Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) strategy, 'Everyone Is Welcome', reflecting our core company value of ‘Together’. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive culture where every one of our employees feels respected and valued equally. Our ED&I strategy is centred around creating a workplace that celebrates diversity and supports the growth and well-being of everyone, providing a true sense of belonging.
Taking action on gender imbalance
At Peel Ports we are working to achieve greater gender balance across all ports, operations and functions. Every one of our roles is equally suited to both men and women and we have set some big goals to ensure we have a greater representation of women.
We actively seek and encourage applications from female candidates and we have developed initiatives to ensure this is continued from the initial recruitment process to promotion and career progression opportunities.
Initiatives include greater female representation in senior roles, mentoring, agile and mobile working and bespoke support options where necessary.
Nurturing racial and ethnic inclusion
Peel Ports stands firm on ensuring racism, harassment or discrimination are not tolerated and everyone is treated equally no matter their race or ethnic background. We want to lead the way within the maritime industry and drive positive attitudes.
We have a number of initiatives and have the necessary support from dedicated consultants to help shape our strategy and reach our goals. From consulting, listening and learning from colleagues, to ensuring everyone feel safe and empowered to report any issues and know where to get support.
We are developing local initiatives to increase black and ethnic minority career applications for greater representation and to better reflect the communities at all locations.
We fully support the LGBTQ+ community
We fully support LGBTQ+ communities and want everyone to feel safe to be who they are without any fear of discrimination or prejudice. To achieve this, we are taking action on a number of fronts:
- As part of the ongoing equality, diversity and inclusion strategy we aim to create a network of LGBTQ+ champions at each of our locations to promote confidence and provide support
- Bespoke training programmes for staff
- Zero tolerance policy towards discrimination
- Awareness-building to promote a diverse and inclusive culture
- Supporting external events and showcasing our support for these communities
Supporting people with disabilities
As we strive to create an inclusive environment where all employees can thrive, it is imperative that we take proactive steps to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not only welcomed but also empowered to contribute their unique talents and perspectives. We are working to become a Disability Confident Employer, a UK government certification scheme designed to improve how we recruit, retain and develop people with disabilities. We are committed to challenging attitudes and negative perceptions and want to increase awareness and training to remove barriers, so every team member is given the opportunity to have a fulfilled career with Peel Ports, regardless of their abilities.
Better mental health
The health and safety of our employees and all port users is our top priority. We invest heavily to ensure we have every measure in place to protect people and this also includes mental health. We have developed a range of initiatives designed to provide people with the confidence to seek support without stigma:
- Actively promoting mental health awareness
- Our annual environmental, social and governance conference covers this important area
- Training programmes for all managers and supervisors
- Easy to identify mental health first aiders across all locations
Our Partnerships
Get in touch and join our team today
Jobs for the Future
Skills, learning & development
As the maritime industry continues to thrive, ports and the wider sector create growth through investment, bringing employment to the community and as most jobs are physically located on or near the port estate, these provide long-term, stable roles for local people. The extensive variety of jobs provides many opportunities for apprenticeships, on-the-job academic learning, and a varied career for life.
Our World
Net zero & the environment
We care about the environment and we are working to minimise the impact of our operations; from committing to becoming carbon neutral by 2040, to developing innovation strategies designed to find sustainable solutions, through to our use of HVO fuels and the enabling the development of renewable energy across all sites, all our past and future investments take into account our wider sustainable agenda.
Social & Good Causes
Supporting local projects
The charities we support are nominated by employees at each of our port locations and we encourage every team to be as engaged as possible in making a difference in their community. We have donated laptops, raised festive funds, organised litter picks and support a number of causes which benefit local communities and projects.
A Level Playing Field Whitepaper
The role of ports in achieving better outcomes for the UK’s levelling up agenda