Diversity & inclusion
The power of difference.
We value diversity and inclusion
We value the power of inclusive culture, so we embed diversity and inclusion in everything we do.
Pearson promotes a company culture where differences are embraced as strengths, opportunities are equal and accessible, consideration and respect are the norm, and all employees are given the chance to reach their full potential.
Through our talent, we believe that diversity and inclusion make us a more innovative and vibrant company. People are at the center of our company. We are committed to a sustainable environment and workplace ecosystem where talent can learn, grow, and thrive.
Global diversity & inclusion
Global Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) at Pearson is built on our unwavering belief that diversity makes Pearson a more innovative and creative company. We seek talent with different perspectives and experiences and harness ideas to better understand and meet the needs of all learners throughout the world.
D&I, a center of expertise within Human Resources, works collaboratively with business units across Pearson to grow and support a diverse, creative, and engaged workforce empowered to shape company culture and imagine and deliver inclusive learning products and services.
D&I provides strategic leadership on employee training, facilitation of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and cultivation of a company culture that attracts and retains top talent. It operates on a global scale, ensuring that diversity and inclusion principles are integrated into business processes and practices, and that Pearson employees feel supported, heard, and valued.
Equally importantly, we embrace regional and local cultural considerations across our work in the many markets where Pearson operates, serves learners, or has a footprint.
Our goals
Our D&I efforts are focused on three primary areas: our people, our culture, and our learners through an approach that pivots on the workforce, the workplace and the marketplace.
Pearson is:
- An inclusive employer of choice for the world’s talent.
- Building a culture of innovation and learning where every idea and perspective is valued and the principles of diversity and inclusion are integrated into all business processes and practices.
- Fostering closer relationships with our customers and learners by ensuring that our people and products reflect who we are and whom we serve.
- Developing inclusive products, solutions, and services for our customers across the globe.
Global diversity & inclusion council
Pearson’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Council, chaired by our CEO, John Fallon, is the governing body for Pearson Diversity & Inclusion. Through close collaboration across the businesses, enabling functions, and geographies, the Council helps to advance a strategic D&I agenda company-wide.
Diversity & inclusion advocates
Global Diversity & Inclusion Advocates are full-time Pearson employees who apply for and are selected to help implement global D&I principles in their local offices. These passionate individuals care deeply about D&I issues and about helping Pearson make continuous improvements to our business practice and culture.
Employee resource groups
Pearson’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are voluntary, employee-created and -led teams made up of colleagues who join together because of shared interests, characteristics, and/or life experiences. These groups, with chapters located around the world, are aligned with Pearson’s mission, values, and business goals, and are an integral part of our company culture.
Pearson ERGs help individuals advance their careers through networking, mentoring, and professional development. On an institutional level, they foster company improvements, encourage innovation, increase employee engagement, and enhance the company culture. ERGs help make Pearson into a place that attracts and retains top talent as well as a company that develops business products and services that are accessible to and inclusive of all learners.
- Generation Pearson: Increase awareness, understanding, and acceptance of generational-based differences in the workplace.
- Pearson Able: Support accessibility and ensure that the needs of people with disabilities are understood and addressed.
- Pearson Bold: Empower employees of black and/or African ancestry through advocacy, community outreach, professional development, and networking.
- Pearson Latino Network: Create a supportive environment for Pearson’s Latino community.
- Pearson Parents: Serve as a resource for Pearson parents and their diverse families.
- Pearson PRIME: Act as the voice of black, Asian, and minority ethnic colleagues at Pearson. PRIME stands for People Representing the Interests of Minority Ethnicities.
- Pearson Spectrum: Advocate for Pearson’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex people, and their allies.
- Pearson Veterans: Develop, support, and promote the unique abilities of Pearson’s veterans and military personnel.
- Women in Learning & Leadership (WILL): Proactively drive change in support of women at Pearson.
- Women in Technology (WIT): Attract, develop, and retain women in technology.
Awards & recognitions
Pearson is the proud recipient of several awards that recognize our commitment to inclusion and being an incredible place to work.
Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index
Pearson received 100% - a perfect score - on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for 2020. The CEI is a benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices in the United States for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) employees. As a company achieving the top score of 100, we are recognised as a “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.”
Bloomberg Gender Equality Index
Pearson is on the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index (GEI) for 2020. The GEI equips companies with an international standardized disclosure method to measure and report gender data across multiple dimensions. Disclosures from companies included in the 2020 GEI provide a wide-ranging and comprehensive look at how companies around the world are investing in women in the workplace, the supply chain, and in the communities in which they operate. The GEI represents 325 global companies spanning 50 industries, headquartered across 42 countries and regions.
Stonewall Top 100 Employers
The Stonewall Top 100 Employers are the best performing employers on Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index 2020, an annual audit of lesbian, gay, bi and trans inclusion by employers across workplaces, services and communities.
Yahoo! Finance EMpower & HERoes Awards
Cindy Raumpersaud, SVP BTEC & Apprenticeships, was named to the 2019 EMpower Ethnic Minority Executives list, which recognizes the achievements of executive leaders across Europe and North America who lead by example and work to remove barriers on the pathway to success for ethnic minority employees.
Marlene Olsavsky, Managing Director of Pearson Canada, was named to the 2019 HERoes Women Role Model Executives list, which celebrates women who are driving change to increase gender diversity in the workplace.
The diversity & inclusion team
“This is a dream job. There can be no better role than one dedicated to creating inclusive, positive, and nurturing environments in which colleagues can work and students can learn.”
— Peter Hughes, Director Diversity & Inclusion, Talent and Performance
“Diversity & Inclusion is not just a 'box to check' at Pearson. My team, along with our colleagues around the world, are creative, inspiring, and passionate. It's a tremendous thing to look back at what we've done, and I’m beyond exciting to see where we're heading.”
— Lindsay Poehlmann, Diversity & Inclusion Program Manager
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