Report
Right now, it’s a difficult time for refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants in the UK. The political and media debate has become more hostile, and there are fewer safe routes to protection. People looking for safety deserve dignity, kindness and fairness. When they are supported to settle and belong, they make extraordinary contributions to our communities and society.
This knowledge is the foundation of IRC UK’s 2026-2028 GEDI strategy, which underscores efforts to dismantle inequalities in our organisation and promotes ways of working which ensure client experience and knowledge is at the centre of what we do. Ultimately, this helps us achieve better outcomes with and for our clients.
It is also a hard time for our colleagues at IRC UK. Some have personal experience of conflict and displacement and are directly affected by the rise in hostile rhetoric towards refugees. There is more conflict globally than at any other time since the Second World War, and many of us have friends, family and colleagues living in active conflict zones, taking a huge emotional toll. In 2025, hate crimes were at record levels in the UK. In this divisive context, IRC UK’s new GEDI strategy aims to ensure that our workplace is somewhere our colleagues feel safe and supported to be themselves, completely, with the agency to make positive change through their work.
This GEDI strategy is fundamental to strengthening our organisation, continuing our active work to understand and dismantle systemic inequalities affecting our clients and colleagues, and creating a safe, fair and supportive workplace for everyone. This is essential to who we are as an organisation: we care deeply not only about the results of our work, but also about how we work to collectively deliver these. This strategy builds on our previous GEDI strategy and action plans, and is grounded in, aligns with, and contributes to the IRC’s global GEDI framework.
