England Netball is supporting Race Equality Week, from 7-13 February 2022, which will unite thousands of organisations in action to seriously address race inequality.
A UK-wide initiative, Race Equality Week was launched by community interest company Race Equality Matters to turn words into meaningful action; a movement spurred on by the events of 2020, which have heightened the country’s collective consciousness of the racism, inequality and injustice experienced by ethnic minority communities. Over 2,000 organisations participated in the inaugural Race Equality Week in 2021.
The 2022 theme #ActionNotJustWords was selected by Race Equality Network leaders and those with lived experience of racial discrimination and race inequality.
Race Equality Week is a positive force for action. 71% of those surveyed think Race Equality Week 2022 will help tackle race inequality in their organisation – it is time for #ActionNotJustWords.
EN is committed to ensuring netball is an inclusive sport and improving diversity at all levels.
Back in September 2021, our Diversity and Belonging Report was published. The report, which provides an overview of our understanding of the current diversity within netball and lived experiences within the game, followed a series of forums with over 200 members of the Netball Family which were held throughout 2020 as well as England Netball’s partnership with VERCIDA Consulting that explored further opinions and experiences through additional surveys and forums.
The experiences and baseline statistics contained within the report were then used to inform the new Adventure Strategy, where inclusion and belonging are at the forefront of our future ambitions to ensure that more people can access our sport and feel the benefits of being part of the Netball Family.
Making sure everyone can enjoy our sport and feels comfortable and welcome is everyone’s responsibility. You can read our Belonging Commitment Statement and pledge your support here.
We’ve also developed conscious inclusion training to raise awareness of how equity, diversity and inclusion issues play out within the Netball Family, and to support all our people to be more inclusive to ensure a culture where everyone feels they can belong in netball. We encourage all England Netball members to take the time to complete the training available (you will need the Virtual Netball Club password to access the site) and to read our Religion and Belief in Netball Guide.
During Race Equality Week and beyond, Race Equality Matters are running a number of workshops and initiatives, including one called #MyNameIs – a simple, practical solution to driving inclusion through normalising phonetic spelling. When you say people’s names right you make them feel accepted, included and that they belong.
We’re asking the Netball Family to join us and thousands of other organisations by participating in Race Equality Week, including the #MyNameIs initiative, and taking meaningful action towards tackling the barriers to race equality.
For more information, visit raceequalitymatters.com
