29 June 2021
A new Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Director has been appointed to work across both Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press.
The appointment of Serita Bonsignore comes ahead of Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press coming together as a single organisation in August. She will lead the newly combined organisation’s efforts to become a truly diverse and inclusive place to work.
Serita holds a master’s degree in Global Diversity Governance and brings more than 15 years’ experience in human resources management to the new positon. She has spent the last four years spent specialising in equality and inclusion, most recently using artificial intelligence and technology to support business challenges around leadership, diversity and inclusion.
She said: “Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging has always been a passion of mine, and I feel lucky to have been able to develop my career in this field over the last few years.
“In the workplace, EDIB is proven to drive performance and competitive advantage, as well as being the key to unleashing talent and people's potential. In our communities it supports social cohesion and constructive dialogue, and it holds a huge moral value, being the right way to treat others and value their diversity, interests, knowledge, beliefs and needs.”
She added: “My vision is for all our employees and stakeholders to understand and support what EDIB means at the new organisation. This means that all areas of the business and decisions that affect, for example, the employee life cycle, customer journeys, procurement, CSR, leadership development, communications and engagement, are managed and delivered inclusively. Success would be when the words of our EDIB strategy translate into the lived experience of every employee and stakeholder.
“My immediate priority is to meet as many colleagues as I can, to help to understand the challenges and priorities and to think how best these can shape our strategy.”
Welcoming Serita to Cambridge, Mandy Hill, Cambridge University Press’s Managing Director of Academic Publishing and Champion for EDIB, said: “This is an important and exciting moment for our organisations. Serita brings a wealth of experience and a real passion for EDIB, which matches our commitment to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation.
“To thrive, we need to offer colleagues a workplace where they are free to be themselves and to do their best work. In this way we also build an innovative business that reflects the communities we serve and which produces products and services that are relevant to today’s world.”