Introducing our Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan

Date: 2 November 2021   Author: Energise Me

Energise Me strives to ensure everyone has the confidence, support, and opportunity to be active on their own terms. To achieve this, we need a diverse and knowledgeable team that is dedicated to making physical activity and sport more welcoming and accessible to all.

Our Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan is a commitment to action from our whole team and board. We have made progress and there are things we do well. But there’s more that we can do better. This plan sets out the next steps we will take to improve diversity and inclusion in physical activity and sport.

 

Our progress so far

In our 2017-2021 Diversity Action Plan, we committed to ‘diversity in all aspects of our business and activities.’ During this period, we:

  • identified new and diverse partnerships that we nurtured to reach underrepresented communities, including the work we do through The Agency
  • recruited new trustees through an open and inclusive recruitment process to begin diversifying our board
  • committed to being anti-racist, as a group of individuals and as an organisation. We are committed to tackling racism and racial inequality in physical activity and sport.
  • built new relationships through our Investing in Communities program
  • supported more women to become coaches through Project 500 to increase female representation in the workforce
  • commissioned Pride in Our Workforce research to help understand and address issues that affect LGBT+ people’s participation in physical activity and sport

Lady in Hijab stretching (Diversity and Inclusion plan)

To create our new Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, we have reflected on these successes and what we have learnt along the way. We have also invested time in training and learning to educate ourselves and evolve our thoughts and actions. And we’ve completed a survey of our team and board to test what we know about the diversity of our team.

 

Energise Me

Energise Me is a team of passionate and hard-working employees and trustees, who enjoy encouraging people to be active. So who are Energise Me?

 

The Energise Me team has 10 trustees and 17 employees. We have a wide range of ages with 27.3% falling into 35 - 44 year group and 55 - 64 year group. 77.3% of us identify as female and 22.7% of us identify as male. 89.4% of us are white British. 86.4% of us identify as heterosexual with 9.1% as bisexual and 4.5% of us as gay female. 32.2% of us have a long term health condition. 40.9% of us are Christian and 59.1% of us do not have a religion. 31.8% of us are primary carers for young people under 18 years. 59.1% of us are married with 27.3% of us in a long term partnership.

*Data taken from Staff Equality Survey taken in August 2021. 22 responses from 27 staff and trustees.

 

Why Diversity and Inclusion is a priority for us

Physical activity and sport must be open and accessible for everyone. It is vital to our health and wellbeing. Yet people from under-represented communities face significant inequalities, causing a decrease in physical activity.

Currently people who have a disability, who are from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, LGBT+ or women are less likely to be physically active than those who are not. People with caring responsibilities or long-term health conditions are less likely to be active than those without. And, people who are on low wages or are long-term unemployed are the least likely to be active of all. This is not what equality looks like. Tackling these inequalities sits at the heart of everything we do.

Energise Me is the Active Partnership for Hampshire & Isle of Wight and is one of 43 Active Partnerships in England. Hampshire & Isle of Wight has a population of over 1,531,500 of which 51% are females and 49% are males. 27% of the population are over 65 years old. 6% of the estimated population have a long term health condition or disability that affects their everyday lives. Although the Hampshire & Isle of Wight is a predominantly white British, it is important to know the population of those from ethnically diverse backgrounds is as follows: 3.6% of the population Asian/Asian British, 1.6% mixed/multiple ethnic groups and 0.6% Black African/Caribbean. There is national evidence to suggest that LGBT+ people, particularly those who identify as something other than male or female, are less likely to be active enough to maintain good health.

 

Why we are sharing our plans publicly

We want to be open and transparent about our plans so we can be held to account. This is a public invitation to tell us when we miss the mark and need to do better.

It’s also our way of paying it forward. Over the past year, partners and colleagues from the national Active Partnerships network have shared their plans and experiences with us. Their honesty and generosity have helped us dive deeper into this subject and identify actions we can take. By sharing our plans and what we learn along the way, we hope to help others do the same.

Lady exercising (Diversity and Inclusion Plan)

 

6 broad goals

Our plan focuses on 6 broad goals, each with its own set of actions. We will:

  1. Ensure that Energise Me is a safe, inclusive, and supportive work environment for all
  2. Build our knowledge, skills, and confidence to improve diversity and inclusion in physical activity and sport
  3. Ensure our recruitment processes are fair, accessible, and attractive to applicants from all backgrounds
  4. Increase diverse representation so everyone can recognise or relate to someone ‘like them’ in physical activity and sport
  5. Work with underrepresented communities to create pathways into workforce roles
  6. Create opportunities for the workforce to share learning and gain confidence to improve diversity and inclusion

Read the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan

Get in touch

If you would like to work with us to make physical activity and sport more inclusive and welcoming to all then please get in touch with Helen.

Contact Helen

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