Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

UK Athletics is a world leading sporting organisation delivering clear and inspirational leadership for athletics to ensure a vibrant and empowered sport at every level that can evolve to meet every challenge.

UK Athletics is committed to the creation and enhancement of an inclusive culture which enables elite success, individual achievement, and a vibrant, attractive and sustainable sport that can captivate both existing and new audiences.

We have set ourselves goals to improve equality, diversity and inclusion:

1. We will ensure equality and diversity is driven by the Leadership of UK Athletics.
– We will publish our successes and commitments to achieving equality in athletics.
– We will strive to ensure UKA’s leadership represents and reflects the diversity of the national community.
– We are committed to achieving diversity in all its forms on the UKA Board and senior leadership team, as well as where possible cascading this ambition through our workforce plan.

2. We will improve our understanding of equality and diversity issues within our organisation.
– We will get a better understanding of the equality profile of our organisation.
– We will look at ways of improving our monitoring data in order to understand inequalities within our organisation and sport.

3. We will raise awareness of and embed equality and diversity throughout our organisation.
– We will ensure that all our employees will receive up to date training on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
– We will provide information for clubs, coaches, officials and members to help them tackle inequality and discrimination in athletics.
– We will look at our policies, procedures and processes to ensure that they are inclusive and do not discriminate.

4. We will understand and tackle barriers for under-represented groups in athletics and bring athletics to new audiences.
– We will encourage all sections of society to participate in our sport in line with the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010:

  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender reassignment
  • Marriage and Civil Partnership
  • Maternity and Pregnancy
  • Race
  • Religion or Belief
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation

We want to become a leading National Governing Body in promoting inclusion and equal opportunity and our board have made a commitment to champion equality, diversity and inclusion in everything we do.

How far have we come?

1. UK Athletics has a dedicated Equality Diversity & Engagement Lead who coordinates this agenda and is responsible for the development of the Diversity Action Plan, which is a requirement of UK Sport for NGBs. See our current Diversity Action Plan below.

Diversity Action Plan 2023-24

2. UK Athletics launched its Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Advocate Group in 2018. This is a staff network of individuals who are passionate about making a difference in the organisation. Each member is responsible for an underrepresented group and will raise the awareness with their colleagues through workshops, events and activities throughout the year.

3. UK Athletics are members of Inclusive Employers who support a wide network of companies from all sectors, to promote an inclusive working environment. They provide expert advice , and challenge and support organisations to be more inclusive and diverse.

The Athletics Pride Network was established in March 2020 to create a sport-wide community for LGBT+ people and allies from grassroots and elite level through effective communication, support and celebration. Find out more information about the network by clicking the APN logo below.

UK Athletics are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and have been accredited for its work: