Friend of FAIRER interview: Claire Parker

About Claire Parker

Claire Parker is the Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at JLR. With nearly a decade of DE&I leadership experience across global organisations, she has built a reputation for transforming culture through intentional, practical, people‑centred strategies. Known for her collaborative approach, data‑driven insights and commitment to inclusion for all, Claire has been instrumental in embedding fairness, equity and belonging across JLR’s global workforce.

What fairness means at JLR

Claire considers what fairness actually means in practice, highlighting that small changes can have a big impact on building inclusion.

"For me, fairness is about inclusion for all. Making sure that everybody has a space to feel included and everybody feels that our policies, our processes, our ways of working, our benefits feel fair – feel like they have the opportunity.

"Equity is a real key for us. It’s about looking at all the programmes that we have and making sure that we’re doing everything we can to ensure everybody has that fair opportunity. It’s not about adjusting outcomes, it’s about adjusting what we have in terms of how people get to certain outcomes, and whether they feel the journey has been fair for them."

Inclusion in practice

Reflecting on some of the most impactful inclusion initiatives at JLR, Claire describes how the business was able to promote inclusion through accessibility, storytelling and removing barriers.

Creating fairer access to opportunities

"One of the big programmes that we’ve worked on quite recently is our talent programme. Previously, it was very much based on manager nomination, but we realised we could make this even more diverse and inclusive. As a result, we introduced the self-nomination approach. Each employee now has the opportunity to nominate themselves. To me, it feels much fairer. It’s massively increased self-worth, helped challenge imposter syndrome, and reduced that bias where certain individuals receive the tap on the shoulder.

"In terms of nominations, from an ethnicity perspective, we were previously around 12-13% and now we’re up to nearly 40%. From a gender perspective, we’re over 50%."

"We’re not changing the outcome – we’re just giving people every opportunity to be as successful as everybody else. That’s exactly what we’ve seen come through in the data. It’s been mind blowing."

Making inclusion accessible and relatable across the business

"When I first joined JLR, there was a noticeable difference between manufacturing and head office in how inclusion was communicated. We recognised that some of our messaging did not always resonate as strongly with manufacturing colleagues, and that we needed to bring the topic to life in a more accessible way. By using lived experiences, we’ve undergone a huge shift in storytelling.

"One of the big projects that I’m super proud of is connecting the unconnected. We’ve got 25,000 employees in our manufacturing plants across the globe, and it was really important for us to make sure that all the messaging landed across the entire business. Now all of our employees have access to content via their own devices – things like payslips, vacancies, network groups.

"Additionally, we created a smart book for our manufacturing staff, which has everything that you need in terms of DE&I, and it just fits in their back pocket. That was really powerful. We’ve also really pushed inclusive workwear, involving all of the inclusion councils and network groups to make sure the workwear was representative of all employees. We’ve got headscarves now, turbans, and workwear that's suitable for menopause and transgender employees. It definitely feels like it’s more of an inclusion-for-all approach."

Inclusive leadership - courage, curiosity and commitment

Claire considers what it takes to be an inclusive leader, highlighting the importance of vulnerability, asking questions, and remaining committed to the inclusion agenda.

"One of the big things we implemented when I first joined was providing a DE&I coach for every board member. They would explore areas they felt uncomfortable with, talk more about their own inclusion story and open themselves up to being much more vulnerable in representing the topic both internally and externally. I used to say, 'You need to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.' Accept and respect – that’s really key. It’s fine to be curious.

"Inclusion is essential to driving the business' success. However, meaningful progress doesn’t happen overnight – one has to be intentional and consistent in pushing this agenda. It is not only about attracting diverse talent, but about creating an inclusive culture where people feel supported, valued and able to thrive. By fostering an environment in which individuals can be themselves and feel recognised for their differences, we aim to build a workplace where colleagues choose to stay, grow and contribute at their best — creating positive impact for our business and the wider society."

A word from Laura

Laura Drakeford, Inclusion Partner at FAIRER, shares her key takeaways from Claire's interview.

One of the standout messages here is that inclusion should be everybody’s business. By changing the language, encouraging self-nomination, and recognising that not everyone’s journey is the same, inclusion moves from being exclusive to truly inclusive. At FAIRER, we say ‘inclusion never excludes’ – to be genuinely fair, everyone must be involved.

If you'd like to be considered for an expert interview, or want to further discuss any of the themes covered in Claire's interview, please get in touch.