Global Inclusion Week: Nicole Duddridge on the fight to tackle discrimination 

13 June 2024

Nicole Duddridge vividly recalls one incident shortly after she joined the Council in 2003 that left her feeling isolated and vulnerable. 

Of mixed race, Nicole was born and raised in Barry by her white Welsh mum and stepdad, while her biological father is black and from Sierra Leone. 

“When I first started here, the numbers of people from the global majority were few and far between,” she remembers. “Sometimes things were said in an office environment that were offensive, but because I was in the minority, I did not feel confident enough to pull anyone up on their bad behaviour, especially if everyone else was laughing. I felt like I had very few allies. 

“Once, somebody had gone on maternity leave and done the normal thing where they come in with their baby. This baby had taken a shine to me for some reason and, as I was holding her, someone said it’s because she thinks Nicole’s fingers are made of chocolate. 

“Everyone laughed and I felt so awful, but I felt I couldn’t say anything, otherwise I’d be the one who had a chip on their shoulder. 

“I don’t think they were racists, just ignorant and uneducated. It felt like it was acceptable, but now I know I wouldn’t accept that behaviour and would most definitely call someone out on it. 

“I didn’t have the confidence back then. I was a Clerical Assistant and most other people were more senior than me so there was a complete power imbalance.” 

After finishing university and spending a brief period as a resort rep in Majorca, Nicole got a job with the Council and has been here ever since. 

She spent ten years as a Student Support Officer and another decade with the Business Support Team in Learning and Skills before taking up her current role as Business Manager at Holton Road Primary School. 

It would be wrong to suggest instances like the one Nicole describes were commonplace 20 or so years ago, but the fact such a comment could be made at all in a Council workplace is still shocking. 

Clearly significant strides have been made in raising awareness around racism and its impact since the early 2000s, both within this organisation and wider society. 

But as the Council marks Global Inclusion Week, it is important to remember that there is still further progress to make. 

“As recent as 2017, someone tried to touch my hair repeatedly because I had it out and it was curly,” says Nicole. 

“There has been the odd situation where I’ve had to say something, but the older you get the more confident you get so you can look after yourself. 

“I have to say that when we started the Diverse Network, that in itself was empowering because you knew there were people that thought like you and were allies. Some had been through the same things. 

“There’s such a lack of global majority teachers in Vale schools – there are such small numbers. 

“We need to look at how we turn this around. Do we work with universities to get people from groups with protected characteristics to come and spend the day at our school to see what it’s like? 

“What can we do better to attract more members of the global majority?” 

Formed in 2020, the Diverse Network is a Council group that champions the cause of people from all ethnic backgrounds. 

It aims to promote an inclusive workplace, celebrating the varied heritage of staff and those living within our communities. 

Open to all, it strives for equality and offers members a social and supportive environment. 

“I’d seen something about Cardiff Council having a Diverse Network and I thought it was about time we had one too,” says Nicole. 

“I said, what happens if you have gone through an experience where somebody has said something racist, you don’t want to raise it as a grievance, but you want that person to be spoken to and the situation dealt with? There needs to be some kind of training but there was nothing actually in place. There was nowhere for that person to be signposted. 

“We saw the success of the GLAM Network (for LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies), so we decided to start this group.  

“Because we are such a mix of people working in different departments and at various levels, there is always someone to provide advice in a particular area, whether that be HR or anything else. 

“You have got people who can empathise and say the same thing happened to me and you’ve also got professional guidance. 

“There’s also the visibility – being seen. People underestimate that. 

“I remember as a kid not being able to find a mixed-race barbie doll, and then I found one in my 20s and bought it because I never had one that looked like me. 

“Meeting other people who are the same as you is empowering.” 

The Diverse Network meets regularly, hosts a series of events throughout the year and recently received a bronze trailblazing award from Race Equality Matters in recognition of efforts to promote equality in the workplace.  

It discusses matters relating to race and equality and links in with the Council’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to identify how efforts to combat racism can be improved. 

“We explained in that meeting that, if it’s mandatory for staff to do asbestos training and fire safety training, it should be mandatory to do anti-racism training. That’s now being implemented,” explains Nicole. 

“Every month we discuss a specific topic. Sometimes we are asked to look at policy and the next month it tends to be watching or reading something and talking about it. 

“I have to say, it has been really helpful. We just need to get more members. 

“We want to target school-based staff and staff that don’t have access to the Civic Offices as they can often get lost. 

“We are thinking of ways to do that, whether it be a coffee morning, and we’ve asked SLT to filter down to managers that people should be allowed to have that time to attend. 

“Managers may not always feel people should have an hour off for a meeting like this, but this is part of professional development.” 

Since starting her role at Holton Primary School, Nicole has also established a Diverse Network there. 

That represents pupils’ broad range of nationalities, with some 18 languages spoken by children at home. 

Nicole recently helped organise a celebration of Windrush Day at the school, which marks the contribution migrants, specifically those from Africa and the Caribbean, have made to Britain. 

That involved producing portraits of school staff with diverse backgrounds and led to her attending a royal garden party in recognition of those efforts. 

Examples such as this illustrate the work that is taking place to break down barriers and promote inclusion. 

The Vale is now a County of Sanctuary, with several schools also having sanctuary status, reflecting a welcoming attitude to those that have experienced forced displacement from their countries. 

Martine Booker-Southard, the Council’s Learning Links Manager, is also working to decolonise the school curriculum, helping to ensure children are taught from a more balanced perspective. 

Yet, despite these positive signs, there is still much to do. 

“We are actively an anti-racist school at Holton, says Nicole. “Being in that environment is quite uplifting. 

“Things have improved but we’re not where we need to be. 

“I sometimes worry that there’s not enough thought going into how we can recruit more members from the global majority, especially into the top roles. 

“We could also offer apprenticeships for people with protected characteristics. We could do more. 

“A person from the global majority who started working for the Council in 2024 would have a totally different experience to the one I had in 2003. 

“But my daughter’s 14. If she were to get a job at the Council in the future, I’d want it to be better than it is now. 

“I’d want it to be recognising people’s differences and celebrating them.  

“The end goal is to have a Council full of actively anti-racist allies who understand and support each other.” 

Global Inclusion Week is a five-day event running until Friday, June 14, designed to raise awareness around inclusion in a world context. 

Organised by Inclusive Employers, this year’s theme is Cultural Intelligence: Inclusion Across Cultures. 

Anyone who works for the Council is able to join Diverse regardless of their ethnic and cultural background. More information is available on staffnet.