SPORT WALES Equality Action Plan
Sport Wales new Equality Action Plan has been set out to identify ‘how’ we will work to meet our Equality objectives.
Introduction
Sport Wales fully embraces the Equality Act and the duties placed on Public Bodies in Wales. Through this, our first Equality Action Plan, we intend to demonstrate the steps that we will take to meet our 5 High Level Objectives.
Our Priorities
- To embrace Equality and Diversity within Sport Wales we need to be clear that equality is factored into our 8 corporate goals.
- We must better engage and consult and will outline a strategy detailing this.
- We are fully aware that we have work to do in understanding participation in sport, and some of the challenges faced by protected groups. Our data for BME groups requires consideration in order for us to fully understand this important group in our society. Localised work with BME communities in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea will be a focus.
- We need to support our National Governing Bodies and Local Authorities in capturing segregated data for their members, so that they can gage the extent of inclusivity, and equality of opportunity.
- We have a huge drop off rate for girls between the ages of 11-16. We need to work with partners to ensure that ‘the sporting offer’ is attractive to this group.
- There are gender imbalances on NGB Boards and in senior Local Authority positions, through our work with NGBs we hope to reduce these imbalances. We are hopeful that our Women in Sport Leadership programme will provide a platform for change.
- Sport Wales has previously done limited work with LGBT, we intend to start looking at some of the challenges for this protected groups, through engaging with Stonewall.
Equality Objective 1:
Embrace Equality and Diversity within Sport Wales and through our Policies
Outcome:An organisation that is diverse, where the workforce feels valued and treated fairly, and where the impact of equality of opportunity is recognised by staff and is integral to policy.
Protected Characteristics: Age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; ethnicity; religion or belief; gender, sexual orientation; marriage and civil partnership
Evidence Base: Assessment of impact on protected characteristics across policy and strategy, staff profile, complaints and grievances (public and staff); staff surveys; performance monitoring, staff appraisal, procurement policy.
What do we propose to do? / Lead / Target March 2013 / Evidence Base- Create a whole staff awareness of our responsibilities under the Equality Act and Our Equality Objectives
- Develop an approach to equip staff with information to challenge partners in terms of meeting equality objectives.
Establish a communication structure for effective use of our Equality portal / All teams taking responsibility for Equality Action planning and challenging.
- Share profile of Welsh Olympians with Development Staff
- Greater accountability for Equality Impact Assessment
- Monitor the workforce split between males and females to ensure it remains within 45%-55% for males/females
- Reduce the equal pay gap to below 6%
(to be reviewed after restructure) / Diversity report
- Increase employment of ethnic minorities to 5%
- Ensure that the percentage of the workforce stating they have a disability remains above 2.5%.
- Monitor the ages of staff to ensure all age groups are represented within the workforce.
- Decrease percentage of the workforce choosing not to state their sexual orientation
- Decrease percentage of workforce choosing not to state their religion
- Review equality monitoring process and aspirations
- Include Stonewall Diversity Champions logo on all internal and external web-based recruitment adverts.
- Include equality and diversity training within staff development programme.
- Promote Stonewall’s LGB mentoring scheme
- Review equality and diversity induction training provider
- Circulate Stonewall materials in conjunction with equal opportunities monitoring
What do we propose to do? / Lead / Target March 2013 / Evidence Base
- Deliver a marketing campaign targeting 7 Local Authorities. The campaign will promote Community Chest funding to protected groups and those in areas of deprivation.
- Increase community chest funding available to protected groups. (An additional 30%, to be targeted for Olympic legacy and protected, deprived groups.)
Dev teams / 15% increase in applications from targeted groups. / Campaign to be launched in May 2012, grant applications from targeted groups.
- Through our work with Sport Structures, support 27 NGBs to foundation level of the Equality Standard for sport by 2014
- Support 13 NGBs to prelim level of the Equality standard by 2014
- Work with key partners to challenge representation of NGB Boards through a ‘Better for Business’ approach.
- Work with Stonewall to conduct an investigative piece of work into LGBT
- Encourage NGBs and LA’s to demonstrate diversity on Boards.
All / Completion of work
Raise and Challenge partners / Further action identified
NGB data, LA data
- Produce annual diversity report, in compliance with Equality Act
- Ensure all new starters receive Equality and Diversity training within 3 months of starting
- Publish Equal Pay Report
- Ensure HR EIA’s up to date
- Complete Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index for 2012
- Obtain feedback regarding 2011 Stonewall results. Communicate findings and agree action plan with staff champions to enhance future results.
- Survey and analyse staff opinion on data monitoring specifically in relation to LGB. Communicate findings and agreed action plan to staff.
Equality Objective 2
Appropriately Engage, Consult, Inform and Challenge
Outcome:A transparent organisation that engages appropriately and challenges its partners to engage appropriately to advance
Equality of opportunity between those people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.
Protected Characteristics: Age; disability; gender reassignment; ethnicity; religion or belief; gender; sexual orientation;
Evidence Base:Assessment of impact on protected characteristics across policy and strategy, engagement with consultative groups, dissemination of grant to protected groups, key partners plans, attainment of the equality standard for sport.
Equality Objective 3
Increase Female Participation in all Aspects of Sport
Outcome: Sport in Wales is accessible to, accessed by, and organised by a higher proportion of females, where the drop off rate of participations aged between 15 and 24 is significantly reduced, and the number of females undertaking 3 occasions of sport each week is increased.
Protected characteristics: Gender, age
Evidence Base: Sport Wales survey results (Active adults, School Sport Survey). Active young people programme data, workforce statistics, National Governing Body membership.
What do we propose to do? / Lead / Target March 2013 / Evidence Base- Target grant applications from female groups as part of additional funding ring-fenced for under representative groups
£130 investment / Grants data
- Challenge NGBs to increase representation of women on boards
- Challenge Local Authority partners and NGBS to address gender inequalities, and particularly the ‘drop off rate’
- Request that through partner investment and key outcomes NGBs identify female membership
- Through our positive marketing and use of role models, to encourage more female volunteers into sport.
- Review WLDP and Recruit candidates for new WLDP programme
- Ensure Free swim admissions display no gender imbalance
Equality Objective 4
Increase Participation amongst Disabled People in all Aspects of Sport
Outcome: Sport in Wales is accessible to, accessed by and organised by a higher proportion of disabled people.
Protected characteristics: Disability, age
What do we propose to do? / Lead / Target March 2013 / Evidence Base- National Centre: Work with FDSW to better equip the gym for Disabled users
- National centre: Delivery an appropriate service for Paralympic teams
- National Centre: Evaluate user survey data to identify inequities in public use
- Target grant applications from disabled groups as part of additional funding ring-fenced for under representative groups
Investment £50,000
- Request that Small NGBs collate data for disabled members through grant application form
- Request that investment Sports collate details of disabled members
- Increase free swim structure swim sessions for disabled users
- Improve the collection of data on disability through the School Sport Survey. The School Sport Survey will be developed to include special schools in future years.
Evidence Base: Work with Disability Sport Wales, Sport Wales survey results (Active Adults; School Sport Survey); Active young people programme data, workforce statistics, National Governing Body membership
Equality Objective 5
Increase Participation in all Aspects of Sport amongst our Ethnic Minority Communities
Outcome: To be better informed to engage and challenge partners to addressany inequalities of opportunities with respect to Wales’s ethnic minority communities.
Protected characteristic: Ethnicity, age, gender
Evidence Base: Sport Wales’s survey results (School Sport Survey); Active young people programme data, workforce statistics, National Governing body membership
What do we propose to do? / Lead / Target March 2013 / Evidence Base- Target grant applications from BME groups as part of additional funding ring-fenced for under representative groups
£70,000 investment / Grant data
- Find a solution to the difficulties we have experienced in collecting participation data across ethnicity in our school sport survey.
- Collate ethnic origin membership for our small NGBs as part of the grant application
- Request Ethnicity data from our investment NGBs (long term to include this within partner investment and key outcomes)