Low Attendance at City of London EEDI Training Raises Concerns

Low attendance marred the City of London's recent Equity, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EEDI) training sessions for members, with only 37 out of approximately 120 members participating.

The EEDI Sub-Committee met on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, to discuss the progress of member training and development. While 90% of evaluation responses indicated the training was helpful and applicable, a significant concern was raised regarding the low turnout.

Training Feedback

Three EEDI learning sessions were delivered as part of the new member learning and development strategy. These covered legal EEDI obligations, managing bias with cultural intelligence, and engaging with businesses and workers in wards. The session on 'Legal EEDI Obligations' specifically addressed the Member Code of Conduct, discrimination as outlined in the Equality Act 2010, the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), and upcoming changes from the Employment Rights Act 2025. The meeting information does not detail the specific legal ramifications of non-compliance with these obligations.

Bar chart showing member agreement percentages for EEDI legal obligations training.
Bar chart showing member agreement percentages for EEDI legal obligations training.Source: Equity, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Sub-Committee papers, 30 September 2026

Despite positive feedback on the content, with 90% of evaluation responses indicating the training was helpful and applicable, the attendance rate was a key point of discussion.

Bar chart showing the results of a "Managing Bias with Cultural Intelligence" session, indicating high agreement on facilitator knowledge and engagement, and improved understanding of bias and cultural intelligence.
Bar chart showing the results of a "Managing Bias with Cultural Intelligence" session, indicating high agreement on facilitator knowledge and engagement, and improved understanding of bias and cultural intelligence.Source: Equity, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Sub-Committee papers, 30 September 2026

Bar chart showing the results of a training session, with 93.33% agreement on both helpfulness and confidence in applying learned material, based on responses from 3 members.
Bar chart showing the results of a training session, with 93.33% agreement on both helpfulness and confidence in applying learned material, based on responses from 3 members.Source: Equity, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Sub-Committee papers, 30 September 2026

Members expressed concerns about encouraging wider participation, particularly from those who may not typically attend such sessions. Suggestions for improvement included clearer sponsorship and communication about the purpose of the training, as well as exploring more practical learning formats to facilitate constructive discussion.

Future Learning

Discussions also touched upon the effectiveness of hybrid training formats, with some members favouring face-to-face interaction for sensitive topics, while others noted the success of some virtual sessions. Future plans include developing more role-relevant examples and exploring alternative learning formats, such as podcasts, to make the content more accessible.

The committee acknowledged the challenge of making training compulsory for members and discussed alternative approaches to encourage engagement. The importance of embedding EEDI across all member development was stressed.

For more details on the committee's discussions, refer to the Public reports pack from the meeting on 30 September 2026.