What is your professional background?

I have been in talent management for most of my career and for the last 15 years have focused on diversity equity and inclusion and I also sit on three boards, including UN Women UK.

You are the UK Inclusion & Diversity Lead at GSK. What does that role involve?

I work across the organisation, business units and sites and cover all aspects of diversity and inclusion.As you can imagine the role is very varied and different every single day.I work closely with our Employee Resource Groups (LGBTQ+, Gender, Disability and Race) to create an ever more inclusive working environment. We work in an intersectional way to ensure people feel that they belong and can be themselves.One of the things I enjoy the most is being involved in many events throughout the year to really bring it alive, educate and hopefully inspire. 

 How important do you think a positive Inclusion & Diversity culture is in the workplace?

It’s incredibly important and offers so many benefits.A diverse culture leads to a happier workforce, improved innovation, better business decisions, better interaction with your clients and customers and it will enable an organisation to evolve and thrive.Also it helps the organisation to attract the talent it needs and to keep it.

How does one go about creating this positive culture?

The tone has to be set right from the top and the leadership team needs to both understand, develop and totally buy into the vison.The middle of the organisation needs to embrace it and the values need to be interwoven into every part of the organisation.Hiring managers need to understand the impact of their decision-making.And lastly the culture and behaviours need to be visible throughout right from the start when anyone joins There is a real need for trust and safety to be embedded so that people are able to speak up if there is an issue and action needs to be visibly taken.

In terms of Diversity & Inclusion we have achieved much. What more needs to be done?

We have come a long way but there is still so much to be done.The playing field still needs to be balanced and equal opportunity created – aiming for equity rather than just equality.Stigma, fear and ignorance still need to be addressed for so many, and people with privilege, whatever form that comes in, need to use it to help others.It is up to everyone to educate themselves and see life through a different lens – then we will achieve a much richer and hopefully kinder society.

On either a personal or professional level what do you consider to have been the achievement of which you have been proudest?

My proudest achievement is creating a network called Inspire in 2008, firstly in the UK and ultimately globally, linking over 8,000 of the most senior businesswomen worldwide. Over the ten years I was involved I coached thousands of women and helped them reach their goals, which contributed to the increase in the number of senior women in prominent positions and improved gender balance overall –and I was honoured to receive an OBE for the work I had done.

But there is still so much to do and I haven’t finished yet!!

What’s next for Carol Rosati?

I will always be an advocate for improving the lives of women and girls but equally important to me is creating a more balanced society where anyone is accepted for who they are.