- Written by the team at PwC
In a series of people stories, we find out more about what it means to our people to 'be myself' at PwC. Join us for our Diversity and Inclusion week to be part of the conversation.
Evie joined the PwC Student Recruitment team as an experienced hire and has recently become a ColourBrave advocate.
“Being mixed-race, I have two different cultures within my family and being able to talk freely about any celebrations or festivals, traditions and values and what they mean to me, helps make me feel like my whole self is seen at work.”
As a ColourBrave Advocate, Evie encourages conversation around Inclusivity and is someone people at PwC can speak with, in confidence, to talk about everyday practices or personal experiences they feel are unfair or confusing.
“As an Advocate I believe the most important thing is to speak up and keep learning. It may only be a small action but sharing how you feel or an idea you have for change could be the key to bringing action on a larger scale.”
In her day-to-day career Evie is part of the Student Recruitment team for the Central region (The Midlands, West and Wales), helping bring talent into the business via our Graduate, Undergraduate or Apprenticeship programmes. She organises and attends recruitment events and works closely with schools and universities to raise both awareness and aspirations of students. She admits her favourite part of the role is offering successful candidates a place at PwC.
Joining as an Experienced Hire into such a high performing team can be quite intimidating, especially when you’re trying to find your feet and you can see others not only doing their day job, but taking on extra responsibilities. However Evie was really open and honest with her manager when she first joined which created a relationship of trust, and she quickly settled into her role. This gave her the confidence to scope out other opportunities within the firm.
“It really was a surprise how much is going on at PwC outside of everyones ‘day job’. You read about these teams/groups/networks and may think they’re for a select few, but it’s completely the opposite. People are encouraged to get to know others outside of their immediate teams, whether it’s through charity activities such as One Firm One Day, or leisurely sports teams. There’s always something going on where you can meet new people and be involved in something new.”
Not many people will know this, but Evie qualified as a Women’s Artistic Gymnastics coach at the age of 14 and she’s kept up with her love of sports ever since. Volunteering for a number of sports events such as the British Athletics Championships, the World Indoor and Outdoor Athletics Championships and the London 2012 Olympics has allowed Evie to be part of something truly unique.
“Outside of work, I’m usually out walking somewhere in the countryside or I’m seeking out a new independent restaurant or café to sample their food! I’m a keen traveller, and always try to visit somewhere new, even if it means travelling solo.”
At PwC we encourage conversations about mental health and want everyone to know they’re supported. Evie has anxiety and finds the open conversations about mental health at PwC gives her the confidence to be able to speak up when she needs help and the confidence to discuss her workload when she recognises it’s becoming too much.
“Having access to a 24hr helpline and the ability to be referred for further support has been a great help for me, professionally and personally.”
As part of Diversity and Inclusion week we’ve asked all our people what makes working at PwC enjoyable, and what the terms Diversity and Inclusion mean to them:
“I love the environment at PwC as it makes it feel more than just coming into work to do your job. There’s a strong sense of community within our offices; whether it’s finding someone to chat to at the coffee machine, the networks you can join to meet like-minded people or the support available should you need it to help you with your day job or with something personal.
To me, Diversity and Inclusion means being able to bring your whole self to work and that everyone around you can do that too. It’s important for us to learn about each other, our different ways of working and different experiences so we can build a space where everyone feels comfortable and confident to be themselves, without fear of judgement of not fitting in.”
At PwC all voices are heard. Be you at PwC.
To read more about our focus on ethnicity in the workplace and ColourBrave, click here.
