Raleigh International reaffirms commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

At Raleigh International we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace culture that supports diversity and inclusion, so everybody can bring their whole selves to work or their volunteering placement without fear or judgement.

We know that as an organisation driven by young people, we must consistently look inwards to identify areas where we are perpetuating prejudices and not being inclusive. We are committed to ensuring that any staff member or volunteer on our programmes can be their true, authentic self without barriers or discrimination.

Our Global Youth Consultation of 2020 underpins Raleigh International’s current strategy (Now is the Moment) and demonstrates that young people want a world without discrimination against people on the basis of their race, ethnicity, nationality, gender identity, gender expression, religion, ability, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. They want a world where diversity is celebrated, and we are committed to being part of that with young people.

We recognise the significance of building greater levels of EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion) into all aspects of our work, so we have taken – and will continue to take – active steps towards achieving this. We are working to ensure that our programmes are reaching and facilitating participation of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups. We are striving to ensure that our organisational culture, working environment, policies and practices are encourage and support staff across a range of identities.

We know that often the burden is on marginalised communities to shout about the changes desperately needed to bring about equality. We will support those voices, focus on our own learnings and listen to what steps we can to take to become a more inclusive, anti-racist organisation.

Some notable changes we’ve already implemented internally within Raleigh International:

• The Leadership Team (ILT), which consisted of Raleigh International Senior Management and Country Directors, was replaced with a Global Leadership Team (GLT), an expanded team now made up of Country Directors and Managers from across the global organisation so that a wider range of staff are included in leadership.
• A Global EDI committee, made up of staff from each of our global offices, was set up to collaborate and deliver EDI actions under our current strategy. National committees were also established to focus on country-specific EDI areas.
• Our recruitment policy was rewritten with an EDI lens and a new recruitment process has been created to eliminate inherent bias through the use of an anonymised application form.
• Two online global sites were developed to assist employee wellbeing and learning.
• Our current programmatic inclusion practices were reviewed and the development of a programmatic inclusion toolkit is underway.
• The UK staff team has established a monthly anti-racism discussion group and convened various book clubs to support personal development and learning around the topic.
• Our December 2020 staff survey assessed perceptions of EDI at the organisation and provided feedback on areas that need ongoing attention. 81% of respondents agreed/strongly agreed that Raleigh International has made good progress towards being an inclusive organisation. We are currently gathering feedback to evaluate our EDI actions and development in 2021.
• A staff diversity data form was rolled out to assist the organisation in recording and understanding staff demographics. The data collected will support in identifying, tracking and addressing gaps in diversity.

Our work will continue over the coming years. Between 2022 and 2026, we want:

• To continue our work to ‘decolonised’, keeping pace with – and hopefully exceeding – the work of other organisations in the sector.
• To share power more decisively and build greater equity across the organisation.
• Greater diversity within staffing at all levels of the organisation, with increased representation of marginalised and excluded identity groups, particularly at senior and Board level.
• Our programmes to be open to – and accessed more equally by – young people from all backgrounds, with tangible action taken to engage individuals from marginalised and excluded groups.
• To continuously assess what teams across the organisation are delivering under EDI and hold ourselves accountable.