Diversity policy inclusion

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How we worked with a recruitment company include stammering in its equality monitoring form.

Summary

When STAMMA's Chair couldn't mention stammering when filling out Peridot's equality monitoring form, he raised the issue with them. After working with us over the wording, their forms now include it.

Outcome: People using the recruitment company now have an easy way of informing organisations that they stammer.

Background

In June 2024, when our Chair Roger Pim was asked to complete a equality monitoring form by the executive recruitment company Peridot, he noticed it didn't include stammering. Whilst it allowed users to disclose their ethnicity and sexuality, for example, they couldn't state that they stammered.

Roger highlighted this to Peridot, and invited them to work with STAMMA to include it. They were apologetic and happy to oblige. Kirsten Howells, STAMMA's Service Director, then liaised with Peridot over the changes. 

This will mean that people who stammer are 'seen' and that Peridot can review their ways of working to ensure they are accessible to candidates who stammer.

Changes

Kirsten pointed out that some people who stammer don't feel comfortable ticking the 'Do you have a disability?' She suggested adding the following supporting statement: "By this, we mean a condition, difficulty or difference that makes it difficult for you to do some of the everyday things that other people take for granted or find easy".

Kirsten also suggested adding the following category to the dropdown list of differences: "A speech, language or communication difficulty such as stammering, developmental language disorder, aphasia or dysarthria".

Peridot emailed us a few months later, in September 2024, to say that they had implemented the changes to their equality monitoring form.

Significance

Why is this important? Kirsten says, "When stammering and other speech differences aren't included in such lists, it reinforces the idea that stammering doesn't 'count', that it's not worthy of monitoring or understanding. And that then links to peoples' willingness to request adjustments. It's also important for organisations to understand the populations they're working with. If they are not monitoring for speech, language and communication differences, they are less likely to 'see' these groups and consider how their ways of working may advantage or disadvantage them.

Thank you to Peridot for working with STAMMA to include stammering on its equality monitoring forms. This will mean that people who stammer are 'seen' and that Peridot can review their ways of working to ensure they are accessible to candidates who stammer.