Building People has appointed Marsha Ramroop as its new equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) executive director.
The social enterprise, which ‘joins the dots’ to increase diversity across the built environment industry, was founded in 2018 and over the last 12 months more than 90 members organisations have backed it in its mission to tackle representation in the sector.
Ramroop’s remit is to to ‘bolster Building People’s product, services and leadership offering, whilst positioning the social enterprise as a centre of excellence for equity, diversity and inclusion in the built environment’.
She previously provided support to the BBC, is the former director of inclusion and diversity at RIBA and currently runs her own culture change and EDI business Unheard Voice Consultancy.
Ramroop, said: “I’m delighted to have this tremendous opportunity with Building People to drive forward and lead useful and practical EDI support for the built environment sector. I know it is crying out for the right input and expertise which will lead to better results for organisations across all trades and professions.
“In this role – with an initial focus on aligning the professions and working towards shaping inclusive communities and an inclusive world – I hope to help the sector move forward with better behaviours alongside practical policies, procedures and practices that will result in improved outcomes we all want to see.”
Rebecca Lovelace, CEO of Building People, added: “Marsha joining us as executive director of EDI is a significant step forward for Building People. Our goal is to be the centre of excellence for equity, diversity and inclusion in the built environment, and the knowledge and expertise that Marsha brings to the table will enable us to bolster our offering and impact in 2023.
“We’re looking forward to beginning our collaboration with a series of ‘EDI Briefings for the Built Environment’ in January, starting with ‘Answering Your Organisation’s Pain Points: EDI 101’. Marsha is not only a leader in her field but is also committed to the core Building People beliefs of collaboration and collective effort.
“There’s a huge amount of activity taking place in the built environment sector, and Marsha joining Building People means that we can dramatically scale up our work to provide the leadership needed to join together these disparate activities and achieve a more equitable, diverse and inclusive built environment sector. This is a very exciting time and I know that we are going to make a simply amazing team that will drive significant change.”
