A good employer - Fundraising Manager Orchid Project Employee Review

A great cause, as well as stimulating work

Diversity and Inclusion used to be a joke (may not be the case now under the new CEO). The previous CEO and founder paid lip-service to valuing equity and inclusion yet the workforce at Orchid were mostly white, middle class and from Russel Group universities.

Great cause - there is a real motivation to make a difference in the lives of girls and women at risk of female circumcision. Funding for training/courses is available (but you need to be proactive in accessing it)

There is little chance of progression or promotion. Frustratingly, there is a complete lack of diversity in the organisation, and none at all at management level. Julia Lalla-Maharajh, the founder and CEO (who ironically is a woman of colour) pays lip service to attracting a diverse workforce yet, despite interviewing a high calibre of candidates for various roles (many of whom were from working class backgrounds or people of colour) offers were always made to white, middle-class candidates. When I suggested that the organisation adopt the Guaranteed Interview Scheme to give disabled candidates a chance, this was never taken on board. Furthermore, Female circumcision is mostly practiced in sub-Saharan Africa, so it is a real shame as well as a disservice to the anti-FGM campaign that people of African descent are not adequately represented at the Orchid Project.