The People, Culture & Inclusion Committee of the Barbican Centre Board met on Wednesday, 10 December 2025, to discuss the draft Equity, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EEDI) Strategic Framework and receive an update on the Barbican's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy. The meeting also included the approval of previous minutes.

Draft Equity, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EEDI) Strategic Framework

A report was presented outlining the draft Equity, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EEDI) Strategic Framework for the City of London Corporation. This framework aims to enhance accountability and deliver a proactive, transparent EEDI service, aligning with the Corporate Plan 2024-2029, the People Strategy 2024-2029, and political priorities. The framework is designed to be flexible and adaptable, supporting the delivery of the City Corporation's Equality Objectives. It comprises several key components: the City of London Corporation EEDI Theory of Change, an EEDI Roadmap, a bespoke EEDI Maturity Matrix, an EEDI Operating Model, and a Staff Network Operating Model. The report indicated that the finalised EEDI Strategic Framework and its implementation plan were scheduled to be shared at a future EDI Sub Committee meeting for final agreement, with annual updates to follow. Members were asked to note the report and provide feedback on the draft framework and its components.

Barbican Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy Update

An update was provided on the Barbican's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy, which was launched in February 2023. The report highlighted progress made since the last update in June 2025, noting that the Barbican is in the latter implementation phases of its main action plan. The anti-racism action plan and the access and adjustments action plan were nearing completion. The report indicated that the Barbican aimed to meet 29 out of 35 EDI competencies in 2025 but had met 26. Progress on certain key competencies, such as general learning and development, recruitment practices, objectives and performance, and wellbeing, had been slower than predicted, largely due to resourcing within the People, Culture and Inclusion (PCI) team. However, it was forecast that 31 out of 35 competencies could be met by the end of 2026, with the remainder by the end of 2027, assuming timely delivery of related projects.

Key achievements highlighted included:

• Anti-Racism Line Management Training: Over 130 line managers participated, rating the training highly, with 99% of staff finding it helpful for their teams.
• Anti-Racism Online Learning Module: Launched in October 2025, this module is now a standard part of onboarding for new staff and recommended as an annual refresher.
• Barbican Workplace Adjustments Guidance: Developed as a practical resource to remove barriers for all staff, this guidance is now live on The Nest ¹, the Barbican's intranet.
• Pay Gap Reporting: For the first time, institution-specific data on gender, disability, and ethnicity pay gaps for Barbican staff was reported.

The update also detailed progress against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across three EDI strategy themes: Create equitable outcomes, Serve a larger, more diverse audience, and Build an inclusive culture. For instance, regarding audience numbers, figures for April-September 2025 showed increases in both Silk Street Footfall and ticket sales compared to previous years. The report also detailed the activities of various staff diversity networks, including the Barbican Parents, Carers & Guardians; Barbican Women; Barbican Global Majority; Barbican Disability; and Barbican Pride networks.

Members were asked to note and discuss this update.

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The committee was scheduled to approve the minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting held on 23rd September 2025.