28 October 2019

UK Athletics has collaborated with the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) to deliver a 12-month mentoring programme between equality, diversity and inclusions advocates at UKA and HR leads at the ECB.

This cross-sport collaboration showcases the commitment to the ED&I programme at the respective organisations. Part of ECB’s commitment included providing a cohort of all female senior leaders to act as mentors to UKA’s equality, diversity & inclusion advocates which is an exciting opportunity to share best practice, learn from each other and continue to develop in this area, and upskill the mentees.

The mentors were carefully matched according to the needs of the mentees, and at a ‘meet and greet’ workshop in mid-October at Lords Cricket Ground, the rapport building between mentor and mentee took place ahead of their 12-month development plan.

UK Athletics Equality, Diversity & Engagement Lead, Donna Fraser said: “The personal development of employees can often take a back seat in high performance sport due to the demands, but it is imperative to not lose sight of the importance of personal development as an opportunity to enhance skills and knowledge. After many conversations and a lot of planning, I am pleased to see this initiative come to fruition and I am excited for the next 12 months. 

“I am thankful to the ECB for supporting the programme because without their buy-in and commitment, the programme would not happen.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board’s HR Director, Rosie Ranganathan said: “We are delighted to be partnering with UK Athletics on a 12-month mentoring programme. It is a brilliant way of developing talent across both of our businesses and to learn from each other. Following the success of our Women’s Development Programme, participants were passionate about continuing to develop themselves and others, so leapt at the opportunity to be mentors. It seemed an obvious partnership to work with UKA, who are as equally committed to diversity and inclusion and developing their people as we are.”

Mentee, Paula Gowing, Officials Manager and ED&I Advocate added: “I had a great day meeting my mentor yesterday as part of the ECB and UKA mentoring programme. I’m really looking forward to working together over the next 12 months and undertaking this journey together. I feel really fortunate to be part of this programme which will provide the opportunity to really focus on specific areas for personal development and encourage me to continually challenge myself and consider and explore different approaches to achieve my goals.”