Board diversity policy
Our Policy
Our vision is to be the world leader in betting and gaming, and we know that the most successful businesses are the most sustainable ones.
Sustainability drives everything we do and doing what’s right is one of our core values. Diverse teams have more creativity, imagination, innovation and problem-solving capabilities. And we’ll have a better impact in the marketplace because these teams will deeply understand consumers’ needs, wants and challenges, which creates greater career opportunities and happier customers.
Diversity and inclusion is key to sustainability and success. Our goal is to attract, engage and retain the best talent globally, bringing the best thinking to our business from inside and outside of our sector.
Our ambition is to make sure everyone at Entain feels valued, respected and included. Inclusion is embedded in everything we do, because we know when we feel respected and heard, we do our best work.
We are committed to tackling inequalities and creating a diverse and inclusive business. This Global Group policy sets out the Group responsibility to employees, customers and suppliers and also talks to our commitment to have a diverse, equitable and inclusive Board who represent society, our customers and our workforce.
Our Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Commitments
We do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender or gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or marriage/civil partnership. We are an equal opportunities employer, and we promote diversity, equity and inclusion in all our working practices.
Our aim is to attract and retain a diverse workforce of people who are passionate about what they do, live our values and want to do their best for our customers.
We understand that to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace it is the responsibility of everyone in the organisation.
Our Global Responsibilities
We recruit, promote and reward our people on the basis of merit and ability.
It is unlawful to discriminate against or harass somebody because of their age, disability, gender or gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or marriage/civil partnership.
We measure and publish data on our gender pay gap in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
We seek to avoid unconscious bias through our Global Inclusion Learning Program and do our best to ensure our procedures and working practices are fair and transparent.
Some key terms explained
Unconscious bias
People can be ‘unconsciously biased’ against a group of people (for example based on an inaccurate assumption or belief). It’s not deliberate, and all of us have some unconscious bias on varying subjects. Our diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) team provide training to ensure that our managers and leaders understand what unconscious bias is, and how to recognise and minimise it when making decisions.
Harassment and victimisation
Harassment and victimisation of people in one of the groups mentioned above is also a form of discrimination. You can find more information in our bullying, harassment and victimisation policy. Less favourable treatment will always be un-lawful on the basis of somebody’s: race, gender, age, disability (mental or physical), marriage or civil partnership, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy & maternity, religion or belief.
Our focus areas
We aim to ensure there is no unlawful discrimination in any of our working practices, but we pay particular attention to the following:
- Improving our diverse talent throughout our business and in senior leadership roles. We do this by providing development and progression opportunities for diverse talent already in our business and hiring new diverse talent to join Entain.
- Concentrate on creating an inclusive workplace and do this through education and creating safe spaces for our people to connect, collaborate and celebrate. We achieve this through our Employee Resource Groups. This helps to build an inclusive workplace where decision making is fair.
- Improving our recruitment processes to ensure we attract people from a wide range of cultural, social and economic backgrounds.
- Providing our managers and leaders with leadership training to help them be role models in an inclusive and fair workplace.
- Promoting equality and fairness in terms of pay, benefits and conditions of employment.
- Doing our best to accommodate everybody’s needs by making reasonable adjustments to our working environment where necessary.
- Dealing with complaints of discrimination.
If you believe you are being discriminated against (or you witness discriminatory behaviour), your first option is to discuss it with the person whose conduct you feel is discriminatory, unless it is particularly serious, or you feel unable to discuss it with them. In many cases, issues can be resolved through informal discussions quickly and amicably. Otherwise, please discuss the matter with your line manager or HR who will try to resolve the problem with your permission.
If the problem can’t be resolved informally, you are free to raise a formal grievance which will be investigated in accordance with our grievance procedure. There may be occasions when we will decide to investigate a complaint whether or not you decide to raise a formal grievance, particularly if it is serious. In accordance with our Speak Out policy, we make sure that nobody is victimised for bringing a complaint made in good faith, even if it turns out that no wrongdoing took place. Deliberately false or malicious allegations will however be dealt with under our disciplinary procedure.
Measuring progress
To ensure we deliver on our commitment to build a business based on principles of equality, diversity and inclusion, we have measures in place that will help us to monitor and report on the diversity of our workforce.
These include:
- Gathering people’s views on diversity and inclusion issues via our annual people survey, employee forums and listening groups.
- Gathering information about age and gender during the onboarding process where possible (this will be kept separate from the actual selection process).
- Asking colleagues to update their personal data so we can understand the diversity spectrum within our organisation.
- Monitoring the number and outcome of complaints of unlawful discrimination; and
- Measuring and reporting on the gender split at different levels and tracking change.
Board Responsibility
The Board believes a diverse and inclusive membership results in optimal decision-making and assists in the development and execution of a strategy which promotes the success of Entain for the benefit of its stakeholders.
The Board agrees that the membership of the Board should include a diverse mixture of skills, professional and industry backgrounds, geographical experience and expertise, gender, tenure, demographics, disability, ethnicity and diversity of thought.
We commit to having a diverse Board with a range of views, insights, perspectives and opinions that will improve decision making and be of benefit to Entain’s shareholders, customers and other stakeholders.
The culture of diversity, equity and inclusion is promoted by a clear tone from the top, with the Board and Executive Committee championing diversity, equity and inclusion in support of Entain’s values.
The Board’s Objectives
Objectives for achieving Board diversity will be reviewed on an annual basis while recognising that periods of change in Board composition may result in temporary periods when this balance is not achieved.
On gender diversity, the Board’s aim is that there should be no less than 40% female representation on the Board.1
On ethnic diversity, the Board’s aim is that at least one director is from an ethnic minority background.2
The Board supports and monitors management’s actions to increase the proportion of senior leadership roles held by women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and other under-represented groups across Entain.
Monitoring and Reporting
The People and Governance Committee is responsible for ensuring that the Board has the right balance of skills, experience and knowledge and, in accordance with its terms of reference, shall:
- Regularly review Board composition, succession planning, talent development and the broader aspects of diversity.
- Work with executive search firms who understand Entain’s values and approach to diversity, including the Board Diversity Policy, and will comply with those values and approach in identifying and proposing suitable candidates for appointment to the Board.
- Identify suitable candidates for appointment to the Board on merit against objective criteria having regard to:
- The benefits of diversity in promoting the success of Entain for the benefit of its stakeholders as a whole; and
- The skills, experience, background, independence and expertise of current members of the Board.
- Report annually in the corporate governance section of the Annual Report on the implementation of the Board Diversity Policy and other matters as required by the UK Corporate Governance Code and other regulatory and statutory requirements; and
- Review the Board Diversity Policy regularly and recommend any revisions to the Board.
The Chairman is responsible for ensuring that Board diversity is considered as part of the annual evaluation of the Board’s effectiveness.
Raising your concerns
If you see any evidence of unlawful discrimination in terms of somebody’s conduct or in any of our working practices, please let your line manager or HR know so that we can investigate and take appropriate action. This includes discrimination of or by our customers, suppliers or partners.
Who does this policy apply to?
This Policy applies to everyone working for, or on behalf of, Entain plc and its wholly or majority owned subsidiary companies and joint ventures, such as directors, employees, consultants or self-employed contractors.
We take breaches of our policies seriously. Failure to comply with this policy may result in disciplinary action.
Policy Owner: Joanna Bleasdale, Group Director of Engagement and Inclusion
September 2023