Events and Reports
31st January 2023
Diversity Series Newsletter: Welcome to 2023
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Just to confirm it’s most definitely past the stage of wishing you a ‘Happy New Year’, but I do wish you all the best for the year ahead, and as we close in on the end of the first month of 2023, I hope you’re off to a flyer!
I’d like to open with a huge thank you to you all, the ‘Leader Meet: Diversity Community’, as you continue to engage, show up, speak up and hold to account. We thank our partners, Meta, Wasserman, Deltatre, Nielsen, TEAM Marketing, Prime Video, and IMG, for aligning with the series to champion executives within sport to come together to drive diversity within the industry, accelerate the pace of change and inspire the next generation.
Last year saw the introduction of a number of new offerings within the Series, such as the Leaders Diversity Club and The Leaders in EDI Podcast, which saw the Leaders Meet: Diversity Series back in full swing, following two years of being heavily restricted by the global pandemic.
This year will see the Leaders In EDI podcast move from a monthly to seasonal format, taking deep dives into varying themes and topics across EDI, and featuring guests across sport and a variety of other neighbouring industries. You’ll see a continuation of various in-person touchpoints across the series calendar, starting with our marking of International Women’s Day, on March 30th at Meta’s Brock Street Offices, London.
Economic Uncertainty – Giving the challenges being faced financially by a number of organisations across different industries, we need to be mindful that EDI efforts and agenda’s don’t fall off the priority list. In an attempt to recession-proof the company, reducing EDI efforts could be deemed a go-to solution.
Working creatively with different people from different backgrounds – As we look to continue strides and lengths to bring about equity, diversity and greater inclusion, we’ll need to open-up the individuals that we bring into the conversation and subsequent actions. As we seek to engage people in meaningful dialogue along with education, we need to ensure this is ‘All’ people
Support for DEI Leaders – Having a working remit focused within diversity, equity and inclusion, can see those individuals faced with the continued burden of expectation, by being the only one to who is solely focused on advancing EDI in an organisation. Let’s look to ensure that DEI leaders are adequately resourced, emotionally supported and empowered to deliver.
2023 is fully underway, let’s continue to move forward.
The Marathon Continues…
Wales’ men’s and women’s senior teams will be paid the same for representing their country for the first time in history. Wales men’s and women’s teams said in a joint statement: “We hope that this will allow future generations of boys and girls to see that there is equality across Welsh international football, which is important for society as a whole.” This landmark deal comes after the Men’s team agreed to take a 25% pay cut to enable the Women to have a 25% increase, embodying their mantra of ‘Together Stronger’.
– Sarah Evans, Senior Community & Account Executive
In the wake of the news that World Athletics plans to continue allowing transgender women to compete in the female category, there is much to unpack when it comes to the impacts and ramifications of the organisation’s “preferred solution”. World Athletics President Lord Coe last year stressed the importance of being ‘guided by science’ and that ‘fairness is non-negotiable’, but the proposed guidelines arguably do not fulfil these criteria. As we continue to strive for a world where trans athletes are included and their very existence isn’t a topic of debate, what is clear is that further research into trans athletes and with differences of sexual development is vital.
– Emily Tuson, Marketing Executive
Former Crawley manager John Yems was recently issued with a 15month ban from football after being found guilty of breaching the FA’s rulings on multiple occasions in relation to discrimination and racist abuse. The ban, set to run till June 2024, has been met with calls of outrage at what seems to be a very lenient punishment for Yems actions, which were found to be ‘not conscious racism’. Yems, who admitted one charge, but was then found guilty of a further 11, has again brought into question the governance of the decision makers within football, and the message against racism and discrimination. These sentiments are felt in the words by VERSUS’s Editorial & Brand Officer, Mayowa Quadri: “Fewer reports. Fewer empty words. Fewer campaigns for the sake of campaigns. More real work. More accountability. Please.”
– Javan Odegah, Strategic Account Manager
Publisher Stephen Rubin has asserted that a “bizarre reliance on diversity” is ironically making books less diverse. He asks: “If you’re publishing mostly books by people of colour and people who are gay, then where’s the diversity?” As Leon Mann stated on our podcast last year, everybody including straight, cis, white males contribute to diversity. However, Rubin is incorrect that only BIPOC’s and LGBTQ+ authors are having their books published; Penguin Random House found that white contributors accounted for a huge 76% of recent books, and only 16% contributors were LGBTQ+. That’s an overwhelming majority of straight, white creators; and to quote Rubin: “I don’t care who you are. Nobody wants to only read those kinds of books.”
– Jade Amies, Content Producer
Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir has won her landmark case against Olympique Lyonnais who failed to pay her full salary during her pregnancy. This marks a significant step forward for female footballers, who can go through their pregnancies knowing the minimum terms they’re entitled to and that they will have the support of Fifa. While there are implications to be considered for individual athletes and for athletes with sponsorships, Sara’s experiences not only highlights the encouraging progress that is being made through protection policies but also that we have a long way to go yet. In her piece for The Players Tribune Sara wrote, “The victory felt bigger than me. It felt like a guarantee of financial security for all players who want to have a child during their career.” We must work for a future where victories aren’t needed.
– Rachel Woodland, Senior Membership Success Manager
This month we’re shining a light on the Ace Programme, working to improve Afro-Caribbean engagement in cricket, and their Impact report. Over to Chevy Green, of Surrey County Cricket Club, Director of ACE programmes…
“Our vision when we set up the ACE Programme was to tackle the huge decline by 75% of the black British community in the game, however our journey over the last few years has come to mean so much more. Our team who have engaged over 10,000 young people working in inner cities and mainly deprived communities have come to see the bigger picture of what sport can do and also some of what our sport, Cricket, needs to be doing more of. We truly believe cricket has the ability to be representative of our society and support young people from diverse and lower socioeconomic backgrounds to thrive. The desire from the game to become truly inclusive is at the highest it has ever been, and we are excited to play out part.” Click here to discover ACE.
A space to shine a light on and celebrate some recent and well overdue firsts in EDI.
• Nicole Lynn becomes the first Black woman agent to represent a player (Jalen Hurts) in the Super Bowl
• Michelle Yeoh makes history as first Asian-identifying best actress Oscars nominee
• Laura Sanko will be the first woman to commentate on a UFC event in modern era
Thanks for reading this edition of the Diversity Series newsletter. We’ll have another for you in February; and if you haven’t subscribed yet, do remember to opt-in here.
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