The AoEC and Modern Slavery

The AoEC has made a long-term multi-year commitment to being part of the international campaign to end modern slavery. There are many ways in which we advance our ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) commitments; and modern slavery is our main company-wide external campaign.

Why would an executive coaching company choose modern slavery as its focus? Executive coaching focusses on creating and supporting workplaces at their best. At the other extreme, slavery embodies working conditions at their very worst – when rights, freedom and human dignity are all denied. We look to what we can do to support the campaigning, advocacy and rescue work of anti-slavery experts around the world.

We have two main priorities:

First, offering pro bono coaching and mentoring support to modern slavery organisations and networks. This could include:

• sharing of our own experience as a company on organisational priorities such as operations, finance, marketing, strategy-planning; 
• tailored executive coaching to individuals and teams working on modern slavery. We are not experts who can work directly with survivors; but we have resources to support those who do. 

Second, educating ourselves and our alumni and our networks about modern slavery – about the global trends, and also the realities of modern slavery in everyday communities. For example, did you know that in 2020, UK nationals were the third-most common nationality of enslaved people in the UK? 

Estimates of the number of people enslaved in the UK range from 10,000 (the cases reported to the UK Government) to 136,000 (estimated by the Global Slavery Index), and that globally 50 million adults and children are living in slavery, including forced marriages, domestic servitude, forced and bonded labour and trafficking. In many modern economies, you might expect to encounter slaves at your local car wash, shop or nail bar; it’s also prevalent in the hospitality, construction and IT industries and in agriculture. Learn the simple international recognition signal so that you know if someone is covertly signalling for help.

If you work against modern slavery, and you think you would benefit from support, please contact us today.

Modern slavery additional support resources:

• Six Things You Can Do - downloadable poster
• Spot the Signs - downloadable poster
• Key Commemorative Dates on Slavery
• Modern Slavery Helpline - for anyone wanting to report incidents or to access support
  

Testimonials: