We’ve published our Equality report for 2021-2022, as well as our Strategic Equality Plan for 2022-26.

Our Equality report looks at the progress we’ve made towards delivering our equality objectives between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022.

We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made so far with most of the equality objectives we set in our previous Strategic Equality Plan being met. Our gender pay gap has narrowed to 12% and many of our audit reports have shone a light on inequalities in our society. One recent study looking at the effectiveness of impact assessment arrangements across the Welsh public sector.

Overall, we recognise we’ve still got work to do. We’re committed to being an employer of choice and increasing the diversity of our workforce. Our Strategic Equality Plan for 2022-26 sets a fresh suite of objectives for equality, diversity and inclusion.

Shifting the dial on some diversity measures will take time and so we’re passionate about expanding our outreach work as part of our trainee and apprentice recruitment strategy. We believe this will increase our diversity, as well as helping us attract the best talent and ensure we’re representing the communities we work in. We were delighted to be part of and collaborate with other public sector bodies in the first Social Mobility Business Partnership event in Wales this year aimed at breaking down barriers for students from low-income backgrounds in their pursuit of a professional career.

We’re also endeavouring to ensure our work is accessible and inclusive – enabling the people of Wales to engage with us in a way that is easy and meaningful for them.

Internally, we want to provide a culture in which everyone can thrive, and we’ll be working with our staff networks to determine levels of support needed and to learn from staff experiences. We’ll also be refreshing and updating our mandatory equality, diversity and inclusion training and regularly reviewing our equality guidance. All staff deserve to feel safe, respected and valued at Audit Wales and we’ll continue to gather feedback to ensure this is happening.