How EDI supports sustainable growth across Greater Manchester

Melissa Wong, our Events and Programme Manager for the EDI committee, discusses the importance of programmes that champion equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and how pro-manchester supports businesses across Greater Manchester with their initiatives.

Across business right now, EDI can sometimes be reduced to language – surface-level policies, one-off calendar moments, or a badge to display rather than a capability to build.

At pro-manchester, we take a different view. If Greater Manchester wants inclusive growth – growth that is sustained, competitive and shared – then EDI must be treated as part of business infrastructure. It shapes who gets access to opportunity, who progresses into leadership, and how effectively organisations attract, retain and develop talent in a fast-moving regional economy.

That’s why our EDI work focuses on helping members move from intent to action -building strategies that are commercially grounded, practical and strong.

Member-powered, outcome-focused

Our EDI committee is a cornerstone of our pro-manchester growth network – helping ambitious businesses across Greater Manchester to connect, develop and shape the future of the city region. We don’t treat EDI as a siloed topic as we understand how it is a driver of better decision-making, stronger teams and wider access to talent which all underpin competitiveness and resilience.

Since joining pro-manchester, a key focus for me has been building greater cohesion across the committee’s six sub-committees, so the work doesn’t become fragmented, and learning is shared widely. A more joined-up approach strengthens our ability to generate insight, create practical member value, and shape activity that leads to real change – not just good intentions.

Reflecting real workplaces

People don’t experience work in neat categories or through one lens, and businesses can’t respond that way either.

Intersectionality is central to our approach, helping members understand how lived experiences overlap, and what that means for progression into leadership, day-to-day culture, and who feels they belong in business communities.

The commercial reality of EDI

Across our network, we also ensure that members are clear on the commercial case for EDI. Conversations on social mobility, progression for ethnic minority talent, and

representation at every level all point to how businesses thrive when they widen access, build trust and develop talent more effectively. Those that don’t will increasingly find themselves on the back foot.

Striving for inclusive growth across Greater Manchester

Inclusive growth isn’t a statement of intent. It’s a proactive strategy built into how opportunity is created and shared. For Greater Manchester, the strength of the city region depends on whether businesses can connect talent, ideas, investment and ambition more evenly across communities and sectors. EDI is essential to making that happen.

Convening events with tangible outcomes

The aim of our events isn’t simply to host timely conversations. Activity around awareness days like International Women’s Day, alongside continuous discussions linked to justice and representation, are designed to create space for informed dialogue, practical allyship and stronger leadership responses that members can apply in their own organisations.

Our upcoming Racial Equity Group (REG) Conference shows what EDI work can look like when it’s built for outcomes. It’s about bringing together ethnic minority businesses and talent with investors and corporates in a way that creates access, strengthens relationships and widens routes to growth. That’s EDI as a platform for competitiveness and opportunity, not a side programme.

Looking ahead

Although we have made significant progress, there is still much more to do. Topics such as giving space for parents and carers to share their experiences, and more attention put on neurodiversity, are two areas that would benefit from broader participation and fresh voices. As member-powered network, we must evolve in response to where energy, need and opportunity are emerging.

EDI is not only about culture or compliance. Done properly, it helps organisations build stronger relationships, develop people more effectively, and shape a business community that is more connected, resilient and fair in how talent and opportunity flow. It’s not only valuable for individual organisation, but essential for inclusive and sustainable growth of Greater Manchester’s business community.