Beyond Black History Month: what will we do next?

I came away from our two Black History Month sessions encouraged by the people working to make water a more welcoming sector, and uncomfortable with how much work remains.

In the first session, we talked about safety and belonging when communities feel under threat. Michael Nicholas (Northumbrian Water) described how it responded to the 2024 summer riots: preparing leaders, checking on colleagues and giving people space to talk about fears affecting their families. Dana James-Edwards (Supply Chain Sustainability School) challenged us to support community spaces for Black colleagues, and to ask if they're working for the people those spaces are for. In the second, we turned to careers, connection and what we could change in the next 90 days. That shift matters. A good conversation is a start, but it cannot be the outcome.

The figures shared with us were stark. Ethnic minority candidates made up 53.6% of early-career applicants in the data presented, but their share fell significantly at recruitment. Just 8.8% of leadership roles were held by ethnic minority people. We need to ask not only who is interested in joining water, but who gets the opportunity to join, stay and progress.

Daniel Scott spoke about how at 18, he had never considered a career in water. Once he saw its connections to construction, architecture and engineering, he was open to it. We cannot expect young people to choose a sector they rarely hear about. We have to go to schools and communities, offer work experience, and make the next step visible. Rommell Wallace (SAY) described an outreach model connecting employers with schools, colleges, job centres and underrepresented young people, a good example of what that looks like in practice.

And we must look after people once they arrive. Gabriel Njoku (Mott MacDonald) spoke about the importance of a visible next step and genuine advocacy. Chukwudi Nmeka (Affinity Water) described the effect of limited senior role models and a lack of informal sponsorship, and credited an 18-month mentoring programme with helping him prepare for his current role. Roselyn Unegbu (Thames Water) put it plainly: people stay where they feel looked after and believe they have a future. Anne-Marie Coe (Anglian Water) spoke about the company's reverse-mentoring programme, which has grown from 25 pairs to 150 participants since April, shows what that can look like. Lisa Browne (Thames Water) explained more on developing a mentorship programme with Black Professionals in Construction, which is soon intended to be shared more widely. These are reasons to do more of what works, not to declare the job done.

I do not want Future Water's contribution to end with a webinar or a blog. Participants made 90-day commitments, and we will review progress at Networks November event Year in Water Review and keep this conversation in our wider programme. When we meet again, I want to ask a simple question: what did we actually change?

My invitation to every water company, supplier and sector leader is this: choose one action you can take in the next 90 days. Offer a young person work experience. Sponsor a colleague's progression. Make space for an honest conversation about belonging. Then share what happened: what worked, what did not, and what you will do next.

We'll be soon setting up a LinkedIn community - a chance to join in and share what you're doing in the industry to make a difference - watch this space...

Let us make Black History Month a starting point for work we can see and sustain throughout the year.