01 March 2019

UK Athletics has today signed the Business in the Community (BITC) ‘Race at Work Charter’ which is designed to ensure workplaces are tackling barriers that ethnic minority people face in recruitment and progression, and that organisations are representative of British society today.

On 1^st March 2019, UK Athletics will become the first sport governing body in the United Kingdom to sign up to the Charter alongside hundreds of well-known organisations and government departments.

With a commitment to the 2017-2020 Diversity Action plan, developed in line with UK Sport’s Code for Sports Governance, UK Athletics continues to advance their work in equality, diversity and inclusion. By signing this charter, it is another step in establishing an inclusive workplace at UK Athletics, as well as attracting a wide pool of talent during recruitment.

The ‘Race at Work Charter’ follows five calls to action for leaders and organisations across all sectors.

Those include signatories appointing an executive sponsor for race to provide visible leadership on race and ethnicity as well as capturing ethnicity data and publicising progress.

There will be a commitment at Board level for zero tolerance of harassment and bullying, and primarily there will be a focus on making clear that supporting equality in the workplace is the responsibility of all leaders and managers at the organisation.

Finally, by signing up to the Charter, there is a commitment to taking action that supports ethnic minority career progression.

Interim Chief Executive of UK Athletics, Nigel Holl said:

“This is another significant step in the equality, diversity and inclusion work we are implementing at UK Athletics and I am delighted we are the first sport governing body to be taking the step to sign the Charter.

“With a strong commitment to our 2017-2020 Diversity Action plan, signing the ‘Race at Work Charter’ is a positive development and provides us with the opportunity to further advance this. I am proud to be the board sponsor for this important commitment – setting this at the heart of our priorities moving forward.”

Race Equality Director at Business in the Community, Sandra Kerr OBE, commented:

“It is great to see UK Athletics leading the way for their sector by signing the Race at Work Charter. It is excellent that they are demonstrating a clear commitment to taking action to ensure inclusive access, opportunity and ensuring there are no barriers for ethnic minority people in the UK to progress in their sector. I hope that other sports governing bodies will follow this great example.”