Don’t just fit in. Belong.

Welcome to a workplace for all

We promote a culture of respect in the workplace so everyone can feel free to be themselves. Diverse viewpoints combined with teaming and leading inclusively are the catalysts that lead to better questions and better answers. That’s when creative ideas flow, igniting innovation and inspiring more effective solutions. 

We also believe candidates should be given the opportunity to be their best selves throughout the application, and at work. And, we have adjustments in place to make all individual applications accessible. Find out more here. 

A sense of belonging is key to helping people contribute fully at work and enjoy what they do. That’s why we want to enable everyone at EY to feel recognised, valued and part of the EY family. 

EY Networks and Communities

These groups are run by passionate EY people who volunteer their time outside of their day job. They support our people, embrace our culture and ensure everyone at EY feels like they belong. And, you don't have to identify as a member of that community to join. Many of our people join for the opportunity to learn, show allyship and grow their network.

Feel part of something special

When people feel valued for their many differences, they feel a part of something greater; they feel like they belong. This can have a powerful effect on performance. When we feel we belong, we feel more confident, competent and secure, able to be ourselves and offer differing viewpoints safe in the knowledge that they will be heard and that they matter. We feel less stressed and more motivated and engaged, more likely to come up with inspired contributions. We feel like trusted insiders.

We want all EY people to experience that feeling of belonging, yet the increasing diversity of EY teams can also make it harder to feel like you belong. By building truly inclusive teams, we can create an environment to foster a sense of belonging for all team members and create a virtuous cycle: the more you feel you belong, the more likely you are to behave inclusively.

We each have multiple aspects of our identity, many of which may not be visible to others. How much we share differs from person to person depending on factors such as personality and culture, but also on how safe we feel. By being open and showing we care we help to build trust, allowing you to reveal more of who you are to inspire fuller and better contributions.

We foster better collaboration and business outcomes by engaging each member of our teams in discussions and decisions, supporting each other professionally and personally, and investing in each other's success.

What are we doing to help create a greater sense of belonging at EY?

It goes without saying that we expect our leaders and managers to set positive examples by leading inclusively, and we provide learning and development to educate and inspire people to do this. But we also encourage everyone across the business to help create an environment where others feel they belong. We can all play our part.

How? It starts by accepting people for who they are, and all the things that make them unique. Their experience, their personality, their ideas, their ethnicity, their sexuality – everything that makes up the person they have become. The feeling of belonging is vital to strengthen our teams and get the very best from everyone. We can celebrate our differences and still find common ground.

It’s up to everyone to behave in a way that makes people feel part of the team, and to call out behaviours that can make people feel excluded. Doing so means that everyone’s voice is heard and they feel that their contribution matters.

But it’s about more than acceptance. It’s about empowering those you work with to maximise their skills, be recognised for their achievements and encouraged to reach their potential. Everyone at EY is here for a reason – because they have the experience, skills and mind set to help shape our business. We can all recognise each other’s strengths and support each other every day in the work we do.

Even the smallest actions can go a long way to help others feel like their personal and professional aspirations are accepted and supported. And that’s when we all benefit.

What training are we investing in to help put this into action?

Naturally, we all have different strengths, and varying degrees of experience in leading, or being part of, a team. Training can help our leaders, managers and employees to sharpen social antennas in order to recognise environments and situations that encourage others – as well as those that are not conducive to belonging.

At EY, we have inclusive leadership training that helps people develop certain skills to strengthen belonging – which includes things like recognising insider/outsider group dynamics and taking positive steps to remove unconscious bias. We are rolling out a digital tool for our leaders to help them understand how they can foster a greater sense of belonging in their teams. EY also has a performance management system where leaders are rewarded for putting their skills and learning into action.