‘Unifying Spur’ embodies Bentley diversity and inclusion strategy

MANILA: To cap off the European Diversity Month and to welcome the upcoming Pride Month, Bentley Motors has unveiled a uniquely designed Flying Spur that represents its diversity and inclusion strategy.

As the company acknowledges the significance of diverse experiences and standpoints to drive creativity and innovation, Bentley aims to become the most diverse luxury carmaker. The company targets to increase diversity in management to 30% by 2025.

Bentley’s diversity and inclusion plan involves five steps including outreach, recruitment, succession planning, culture, and development. Early careers talent acquisition will be over indexed toward organizations with diverse intakes, while the recruitment of established hires will explore new talent pools. Succession planning will be assessed to easily determine a diverse talent within the company and to ensure that all talents within the business are supported. Development programs will be conducted to ensure that colleagues from all walks of like are able to grow and achieve their full potential. Measurable KPIs and targets, as well as board-led engagement, will be implemented to maintain a positive culture and avoid unconscious bias. The company has also launched colleague network groups which will drive interaction within the business through strategic events and activities.

“We know that diversity drives success by bringing a greater range of experience, creativity as well as inclusion allows cooperation to play in business strategy, innovation and decision-making. We also want our business to reflect our global customer base and most importantly of all, to ensure that we all work in an environment where everyone feels safe to bring their true self to work and valued for who they are and what they can do,” Bentley’s Board for People, Digitalization, and IT Member Dr. Astrid Fontaine said. “That is why diversity and inclusion are profoundly important to us and as part of our Beyond100 program, we have therefore set ourselves the challenge to become the most diverse luxury car manufacturer.”

As part of the launch of the new strategy, the Bentley Design team was tasked to create an automotive artwork that celebrates diversity and inclusion. Designer Rich Morris, who considers painting as sculpting as his hobbies, accepted the challenge by designing a Flying Spur using the nine colors of the Progress flag. The statement “Love is Love” is written through a single line that traces faces and dancing figures. It signifies the unifying power of humanity regardless of race, religion, or sexuality. The four-wheeled art, which is called the “Unifying Spur,” will be displayed at Bentley’s Crewe factory to signify the start of a global calendar of external events and activities in the coming months.

“Through the reveal of the Unifying Spur, the internal activities that it will support — and the external engagements we are planning for it in 2021 — we aim to celebrate the individual talents and idiosyncrasies that make us all unique as — while at the same time highlighting the key themes that unite and bring us together,” Fontaine added.

Photos from Bentley

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