Equality in Sport

Providing an overview of recent activity across the sector: News, Newsletters, Jobs and Reports

News

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (17 May 2013)
Fear, isolation and discrimination common in Europe’s LGBT community
The EU’s largest LGBT hate crime and discrimination online survey ever conducted shows that many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people cannot be themselves in their daily lives. Many hide their identity and live in isolation or even fear. Others experience discrimination, and even violence, when being themselves.
The survey was carried out by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). The results underline the need to promote and protect fundamental rights for LGBT people so they too can live their lives with dignity.............
View the full press release

The report: European Union lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgender survey: Results at a glance



Disability Sport Wales (17 May 2013)
Major boost for disability sport in Wales as 2012 figures revealed
More disabled people in Wales are taking part in sport than ever before, figures from Disability Sport Wales (DSW) have revealed.

Nearly a year on from London 2012, the rise in participation reflects a trend over the past 10 years which has seen disability sport become one of the most successful community sporting programmes in Wales.

In 2002 there were just 30 clubs with a handful of members getting the chance to play sport in Wales.

Over the last year, disability sport clubs have increased by nearly 20% - growing from 269 to 331 - helping to boost membership by around 10%.

The number of participation opportunities delivered in 2012 rose from 927,000 opportunities to 1,012,000. There has also been an increase in the number of active coaches working on the programme, from 1,621 to 1,766, while volunteers have increased from 2,130 to 2,390.....
View the full news item




Sport England (10 May 2013)
Bury chosen for women’s sport town take-over
The town of Bury has been unveiled as the location for an intensive year-long sporting experiment to get more women and girls active and tackle the gender gap in sport.
Bury beat off competition from towns across England to secure up to £1.8 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England to rigorously test what works in changing the sporting habits of women and girls.

Despite a big increase in the number of women playing sport regularly over the past year, women are still much less likely to be active than men. As the pilot progresses, Sport England will work with partners across community sport to make sure lessons coming out of Bury are put into practice across the country.............................................................................
The activities will be highly visible, using every available space in the borough - from local parks to leisure centres – and will be backed by a major marketing campaign to encourage girls and women from the town to get moving. The sports on offer in Bury will evolve, based on feedback from local women and girls, but will fall into four broad areas:

Well-known sports offered in different forms or settings such as cardio tennis or school- gate rounders, which offers mums on the school run a chance to get active
•    Outdoor fitness such as bootcamps in parks or group runs
•    Dance and fitness sessions such as zumba or aerobics
•    Programmes to encourage older women to get involved, such as pilates.
View the full news item




* EFDS / IFI - Inclusive marketing in gyms workshops:

Wednesday 12 June 2013 9.30am – 12.30 pm, SportPark, Loughborough

Wednesday 19 June 2013 9.30am – 12.30 pm, Sport England Offices, London

We are delivering two FREE marketing workshops to reveal our ‘Marketing Gyms to Disabled People’ resource. The new resource is being launched to support IFI Mark facilities to attract more disabled people as gym members.
The two pilot workshops are for those IFI Mark facilities that want to proactively increase the numbers of disabled gym users at their facility and receive a sound return on their investment to inclusion. The resource and workshop will provide you with a better understanding of disabled people as a target market, how to adapt your marketing and outreach tools and develop an inclusive marketing campaign.

The half day workshops will be delivered by John Ainsworth of Make Sport Fun.

If you want to attract more disabled people to use your facility then This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Places are on a first come first served basis - limited to 15 delegates per workshop– one per facility.

To book your place on the workshop This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone 01509 227750 to let us know which workshop you would like to attend.
Source of information

* 10 May 2013 - the workshops are now fully booked



English Institute of Sport (9 May 2013)
Paralympic Potential Launched To Discover New Talent For Rio 2016
Future Paralympic stars will have the chance to be fast-tracked on the road to Rio 2016 thanks to an exciting new initiative.

A partnership between UK Sport, The English Institute of Sport (EIS) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA) has launched Paralympic Potential: Bring on Brazil - the first Paralympic talent identification initiative since London 2012.

Competition is intense in Paralympic sport and the search is now on for new talent to prove they have “got what it takes for Rio”, to ensure continued success for ParalympicsGB after the team won a superb 120 medals at London 2012.......

Since 2007, the UK Talent Team have worked in partnership with 20 Olympic and Paralympic sports and over 100 World Class coaches and run eight national athlete recruitment campaigns assessing more than 7,000 athletes.

These projects have been highly successful and resulted in more than 100 athletes being selected by sports for the World Class Performance Programme with a total of 102 international medals won.

Athletes wishing to prove they have “got what it takes for Rio” can sign-up for at: www.paralympics.org.uk/potential with assessment days planned in June and July.
View the full news item



English Federation of Disability Sport (9 May 2013)
Panathlon Challenge returns to Stoke Mandeville
On Friday 10 May, the Panathlon Challenge returns to Stoke Mandeville for the second year. Seven counties will take part in the event, which is in its second year. The event is run in partnership with the English Federation of Disability Sport and supported by Everyone Active.

Schools from Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and  Wiltshire will be competing in the multi-sport Panathlon Challenge. It aims to provide more opportunities for disabled children so they can represent their school in a fun but competitive environment.

The event features boccia, polybat, table cricket as well as track and field athletics events. Children with a range of impairments will take part with support from Panathlon young leaders, who have been especially trained to support of the activities. Leaders for this event are coming from the local Beaconfield and Alfriston School in Buckinghamshire................
View the full news item



Kick it Out (3 May 2013)
AIFF launches new project to highlight South Asian football community
Grassroots leader Butch Fazal is heading up an exciting new documentary recently launched by the Asians in Football Forum (AIFF) to highlight the legacy of the South Asian football community in England.

Butch, chair of AIFF and member of the National Race Equality Advisory Group, has overseen a number of campaigns and initiatives which aim to encourage the Asian community into football and has been a proactive equalities campaigner in the area of South Asians participation for over 30 years.

Butch said: “Our aim is to go up and down the country looking to film the real heroes of the South Asian Football Legacy. The mistake people make is they judge our legacy on the embarrassingly low amount of players playing professionally. However, our legacy runs deeper than that and this documentary will celebrate and acknowledge the south Asian contribution to football.”..........................................................................................................

Butch wants to hear from anyone who would like to make a contribution to this project. Please contact him on 07720 311 520 or via: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

View the full news item



Scottish Government (30 April 2013)
Equality Evidence Reviews
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance on setting equality outcomes states that public authorities, such as the Scottish Government, should use a range of evidence relating to people with protected characteristics to set their equality outcomes. A series of seven evidence reviews has been conducted to inform the development of the Scottish Government’s equality outcomes. The reviews explore available evidence about the scale and severity of issues faced by people with protected characteristics.

The protected characteristics addressed by the reviews are Age, Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexual Orientation & Transgender, Pregnancy & Maternity, and Religion.

The seven evidence reviews can be found by clicking the relevant link below:

Age Evidence Review

Disability Evidence Review

Ethnicity Evidence Review

Gender Evidence Review

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Evidence Review

Pregnancy and Maternity Evidence Review

Religion and Belief Evidence Review

Source of information



Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (24 April 2013)
Calling for male-only golf clubs to join the 21st century and stop damaging the sport
WSFF has called on male-only golf clubs to rethink their policy on membership ahead of the 2013 Ricoh British Women’s Open and the 2013 Open Championship. The charity has called on the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and Muirfield, who will play host two of the biggest golfing events in the calendar, to reverse their policy on female members, warning that men-only policies are damaging the reputation of the sport.
Currently, 15% of Scottish men play golf once a month, compared to just 2% of Scottish women.
Responding to comments made by Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal & Ancient, that golf clubs will not be asked to alter male-only membership policies, WSFF CEO, Sue Tibballs said:
"While it may be lawful for private member clubs to remain men-only, it is clearly damaging to the sport’s reputation that these two iconic clubs don’t allow female members. Not only is it ridiculously outdated, it sends out completely the wrong message to women and girls thinking about taking up the sport. A number of golfing bodies are working very hard to break down the traditional perceptions of the sport and encourage a new generation of female participants, and these clubs do nothing to help that cause.....
View the full news item



Sporting Equals (23 April 2013)
New report - The role of ethnic media in delivering sport to BME communities as part of the post Olympic Legacy
The Sporting Equals Ethnic Media Campaign was launched in February 2012 with the aim of engaging and brokering relationships more effectively with the ethnic media and the sports sector. The purpose was to facilitate sustainable working partnerships to take the promotion and coverage of sport to new audiences and many of the currently untapped markets to enable increased participation in sport.

In this exclusive report we look at how we can continue driving forward the ethnic media network to increase sports coverage. We look at progress to date, achievements and impact in light of the Olympic and Paralympic legacy. Through consultation with ethnic media the research aims to identify key issues affecting the sector alongside key challenges and opportunities for 2013/14 to help inspire a new generation of Olympian representatives from all communities.

Headline Findings
2013-14 brings new challenges to the sector in continuing the visibility of ethnic media sports coverage. There are clearly defined mutual benefits for the sports sector to utilise ethnic

media to reach those communities who are hard to access to help grow participation and interest in their sports. The research findings and consultation with ethnic media providers has demonstrated that the Sporting Equals Ethnic Media Campaign has: .........
View the full news item and access the report



Race Equality Foundation reports (22 April 2013)
"We have serious reservations about the process of this review": Race Equality Coalition responds to Public Sector Equality Review
The Race Equality Coalition has today released a response to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) which outlines a number of recommendations for the PSED, as well as a number of concerns, notably that equality considerations are being undermined by being labelled as ‘red tape’.  Whilst the Coalition recognises that there is scope for improvement in the requirements and practical application of the PSED, the response argues that few pieces of legislation have been subject to this level of scrutiny, particularly when the short time it has been in effect is considered. Combined with concerns about the process of the review, for example, the level of consultation with those effected by the proposed changes and the lack of clarity on the grounds on which the review will be conducted, the Coalition argues that the review has undermined the government’s apparent commitment to transparency and accountability, and to equal citizenship........

Read the full response, and the recommendations of the Coalition on this page



Cricket for Change (19 April 2013)
Lloyds TSB Foundation to support young disabled people with Team Tufnell
The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales has awarded Cricket for Change a grant of £36,000 over two years. The funding will go towards the organisation’s new Team Tufnell project - a sport based “training for work” programme supporting disabled young people who are not in education, employment, or training.
The Team Tufnell project will engage with young disabled people, providing them with the opportunity to gain a sports coaching qualification and be part of the charity’s development team. This project builds on the charity’s previous ‘Hit the Top’ programme, extending it to include more work focused training and work placements...........
View the full news item



Equality and Diversity Forum reports (18 April)
Early Day Motion on the Public Sector Equality Duty
On 17 April 2013, Sandra Osborne MP proposed an Early Day Motion on the Equality Duty, calling on Ministers to reaffirm their commitment to the Duty and to support public bodies in implementing it effectively.

The full Motion reads:
That this House notes the review of the Public Sector Equality Duty now in progress; believes the Duty, albeit only recently introduced, has considerable potential to achieve the goals of eliminating all forms of discrimination, harassment or victimisation, advancing equality of opportunity, and fostering good relations; recognises the value placed upon the Duty by public bodies, non-governmental organisations and others; and calls on Ministers to reaffirm their commitment to the Duty and to supporting public bodies in implementing it effectively.

View the full details



Equality and Diversity Forum reports (18 April 2013)
EDF and other submissions to the review of the Equality Duty
In March 2013 the Government issued a call for evidence to inform the review of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). The Review was announced by the Home Secretary in May 2012 as part of the outcome of the Red Tape Challenge spotlight on equalities. The review sets out to establish whether the duty is operating as intended. The review is expected to be completed by June 2013, rather than the previous announced date of the end of April.

The closing date for submissions was 19 April.

The Equality and Diversity Forum (EDF) submitted its response in March 2013 and also produced a template and a background briefing to help organisations to engage with the Government’s Review of the public sector equality duty.

On 19 April, EDF submitted supplementary evidence covering:

• What the equality duty can achieve that individual non-discrimination provisions cannot achieve
• The equality duty in relation to procurement

The review is particularly focusing on the following key themes:

• how well understood is the PSED and guidance
• what are the costs and benefits of the PSED
• how organisations are managing legal risk and ensuring compliance with the PSED
• what changes, if any, would ensure better equality outcomes (legislative, administrative and/or enforcement changes, for example).

View the full details - including submissions from other organisations



Leonard Cheshire Disability (18 April 2013)
Leonard Cheshire Disability appoints two new trustees
Leonard Cheshire Disability has appointed two new trustees with outstanding careers in the sporting world, Alastair Hignell and Mark Dyer.
Alastair Hignell, CBE, is a UK household name as an England rugby player, a talented county cricketer and sports broadcaster. He has been a teacher and television presenter as well as patron for the national multiple sclerosis charity, The Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre.

He said: ‘I am delighted to join the board of Leonard Cheshire Disability and look forward to supporting the charity’s vital work. It is essential that we improve the lives of disabled people with greater employment and leisure opportunities.’

Mark Dyer has championed improved access for disabled people throughout his career. In his most recent high-profile role, Mark was responsible for the travel and accessibility arrangements for disabled spectators attending the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

He said: ‘There has never been a better time to continue the inclusive approach shown at London 2012 and create a genuine legacy by improving access for disabled people. The Paralympics gave inspiration to so many individuals and proved what could be done so I’m looking forward to doing more with Leonard Cheshire Disability, and to getting involved in the charity’s campaigning work around access'.......
View the full news item



Equality Challenge Unit (17 April 2013)
ECU announces pilots of schemes to bring about systemic change to improve equality
ECU is developing national charter marks to kick-start initiatives tackling race and gender inequality in employment in higher education.

The charter marks are being developed to help the sector address the continuing underrepresentation of black and minority ethnic staff and the similar underrepresentation of women at senior levels.

They are intended to instigate long term systemic and cultural changes to tackle discrimination. Our experiences with the Athena SWAN Charter (improving gender equality in STEMM subjects) have shown that such a scheme can have a significant impact on entrenched exclusionary practices and be successful in changing behaviour within higher education institutions.

• A race equality charter mark will focus on improving race equality for staff, concentrating on career progression and pipeline issues.
• A gender equality charter mark will extend the Athena SWAN scheme to cover all disciplines.

The charter marks build on programmes run by ECU over the past year investigating effective initiatives.....
View the full news item



Inside the games reports (16 April 2013)
Men far outnumbered women at London 2012,  report reveals
The London 2012 Olympics included 1,233 more male athletes and offered 30 more medal events for men than for women competitors, according to a new report by researchers at University of Southern California (USC) and the University of Toronto's Centre for Sport Policy Studies.

Nearly half of the sports, including :racewalking, canoe/kayak, rowing, shooting, boxing and wrestling, at last summer's Games allowed more men the chance to compete with no matching equivalent for female athletes, despite some calling it "The Women's Olympics".

In 11 of 26 sports, international rules more severely limited the number of female competitors who were allowed to compete.

In boxing, as many as 250 male boxers were allowed to compete but the number of female competitors was capped at 36, while in water polo up to 156 men could compete compared to 104 women and judo allowed for up to 221 male competitors and just 145 female competitors.....................
View the full news item

The report: The London 2012 Olympics: A Gender Equality Audit



Welsh Government (15 April 2013)
Communities Minister launches Hindu Council of Wales - new organisation to speak as one voice for Wales’ Hindus
Communities Minister, Huw Lewis, will launch the newly formed Hindu Council of Wales later today at the Senedd.

The Council will act as a single voice for Wales’ Hindu population and have three main roles:

• To promote Hindu culture, religion and values.
• To voice issues that concern Hindus at local and national levels.
• To represent Hindus in interfaith work that promotes mutual understanding amongst other faith organisations and their members

............................................................................................................................................................................

According to the 2011 census, there are 10,434 Hindus living in Wales, almost double the number from 2001 (5,439). There are Hindus living in every local authority in Wales with the highest numbers in Cardiff (4,736), Swansea (780), Newport (685) and Wrexham (504).
View the full press release



sports coach UK (April 2013)
New Coaching Deaf People in Sport Workshop
scUK is delighted to announce the development of a brand-new workshop Effective Communication: Coaching Deaf People in Sport.
Developed in partnership with UK Deaf Sport and the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) – the interactive and practical workshop develops the communication skills a coach needs to enable deaf people to be fully included in sports and leisure activities.
It also helps all coaches develop their non-verbal communication skills so their day to day coaching sessions will improve.

The workshop includes information on:

• the barriers facing participants
• appropriate communication methods
• how to support the needs of participants
• the international pathway for competitors.

View the details



Special Olympics GB - 2013 National Summer Games
28 August – 1 September 2013, Bath University
Latest new (15 April 2013):
The countdown to the country’s biggest multi-sport disability event of the year continued with the formal signing of contracts for the University of Bath to host the Special Olympics GB 2013 National Summer Games.
The Games run from 28 August through to 1 September and will see more than 1,700 athletes with intellectual disabilities from across Great Britain taking part in a programme featuring 12 different sports.
The majority of sports will be held at the University of Bath’s high performance facilities and the University will also provide accommodation and catering during the Games.

Professor Kevin Edge, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath, said the University is delighted to be hosting the four-yearly Games for the first time......

Nine of the 12 sports on the Bath 2013 programme will take place at the University of Bath – athletics, badminton, boccia, bowls, five-a-side football, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, table tennis and tennis, with golf to be held in the Bath Golf Club, whereas as Bristol will host aquatics in the Hengrove Park Leisure Centre and ten-pin bowling in Bowlplex.
View the full news item

View more details on the Games' site: www.bath2013.org.uk



Kick it Out reports (15 April 2013)
‘Sidelined-to-Sidelines’ aiming to develop Asian coaches
The Zesh Rehman Foundation (ZRF) has announced the start of its unique ‘Sidelined-to-Sidelines’ programme which is being funded by the Premier League and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).

There are currently no suitably qualified coaches working in the Premier League or Football League originating from South Asian (Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan) backgrounds. Given that South Asians make up over 50% of the UK’s non-European population there is a clear under-representation within British football......

The ‘Sidelined-to-Sidelines’ is a coach education and mentoring programme which will see the ZRF link with the Chelsea FC Foundation and QPR in the Community Trust to give 50 young participants the opportunity to gain football related qualifications, learn from professional club coaches, acquire the necessary skills to act as role models and help develop provision in predominantly Asian areas.

Simon Morgan, head of the Premier League Charitable Trust said: “The Premier League is fully aware of the under-representation of British Asians at all levels of the game.

“We have worked closely with the ZRF to develop Sidelined-to-Sidelines and are confident this programme will offer viable coaching pathways for young people from minority communities......
View the full news item



Sport Northern Ireland (11 April 2013)
Sporting organisations tackle inequality
Seven sporting organisations that are committed to tackling inequality have received awards from Sport Northern Ireland.
Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland, Cricket Ireland, Northern Ireland Sports Forum, Irish Rugby Football Union (Ulster Branch), Irish Football Association, Ulster Hockey Union, and Disability Sports Northern Ireland have all achieved foundation level in The Equality Standard: A Framework for Sport (the Standard)......

Reflecting on the achievement of the sporting organisations, the Chair of Sport Northern Ireland Brian Henning commented: “The Equality Standard provides our local sporting organisations with the adequate support to open sport up to all sections of the community. I am delighted that these organisations have engaged with equality, both within their internal structure and process, and in the form of developing actions and initiatives which encourage participation in sport by everyone."
View the full news item



BBC Sport (10 April 2013)
Uefa proposes 10-match ban for racist abuse
Players and officials found guilty of racist behaviour face 10-match bans as part of new plans proposed by Uefa.
Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino also revealed clubs could be forced to close part or all of their stadiums if fans racially abuse players.
Infantino said: "It's still a scourge on the game. We have to have sanctions.

"What we are proposing is that if a player or official is found guilty then they will be suspended for 10 matches."

Speaking at the Soccerex event in Manchester  today, Infantino added: "If supporters are found guilty then there will be a partial closure of the stadium.

"This means the section where offence took place will be closed. If there is a second offence by the club's supporters there will be full closure with a minimum 50,000 euros (£42,700) fine."........

The Uefa executive committee will vote on the new anti-racism proposal in London in May and, if passed, the ruling could apply to all Uefa competitions from as early as July. Uefa is also asking all of its member associations to apply it to their own domestic competitions with the plans going to a vote of the congress in May.

The FA said it welcomed Uefa's comments and pointed out its own sanctions were being reviewed. It added: "This is ongoing and takes place in full consultation with the leagues, clubs, managers, players and match officials.
"We remain committed to tackling all forms of discrimination including racism".......
View the full news item




Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Business Innovations and Skills and the Government Equalities Office (10 April 2013)
Women on Board two years on
Latest annual report published on the number of women represented in Britain's boardrooms.
In 2010 government commissioned Lord Davies of Abersoch to find out what was preventing women becoming board members, and to develop a strategy to increase the number of women on the boards of listed companies.

His latest annual report shows that two years after the review there are more women in the boardrooms of the UK’s top companies. There is also a growing recognition that this benefits business, the economy and wider society.

As of 1 March 2013 the figures show within the FTSE 100:

• women now account for 17.3% of all directorships, up from 10.5 per cent in 2010
• women have accounted for 34% of all board appointments (45 out of 134 appointments)
• There are currently 94 boards with female representation
• There are now 192 women directors on FTSE 100 boards out of a total of 1,110

Cranfield School of Management’s Female FTSE Report published at the same time notes that progress with the Women on Boards agenda in the FTSE 100 has stalled over the last six months. It does note that the UK is on target to meet Lord Davies’ original report recommendation that the UK should have 25% women on FTSE 100 boards by 2015.....
View the full press release

English Federation of Disability Sport (10 April 2013)
Calling young disabled people to join in the sporting fun
In May, the English Federation of Disability Sport will deliver three days of sporting fun for young disabled people at the home of disability sport- Stoke Mandeville Stadium. The Festival of Sport is being held on 10-12 May 2013 and is for 6 to 16 year olds with all impairments to try a range of sports. Supported by Everyone Active, the event is free for participants to take part*.

The event is so popular that is has featured on the Disability Sport Events (DSE) calendar for over twenty years. DSE is the events programme for the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS), the national body for disabled people in sport or physical activity throughout England. This Festival at Stoke Mandeville is just one of the opportunities in the programme, which encourages young disabled people to find a sport and enjoy the benefits of being active..........
View the full news item

Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (10 April 2013)
RBS Women's Six Nations Saved After Strong Campaign
The campaign against the proposals to split the RBS Women's Rugby Six Nations into a two tier tournament has been successful after rugby bosses on the Six Nations Council decided to retain the tournament's current structure.......
View the full news item


Equality Network Forum (Scotland)- Equality Updates Newsletter, 10 April 2013
This newsletter provides an overview of equality developments in Scotland. One item included:
Scottish Government Learning Disability Strategy Launch
29 May 2013, 10am – 2pm, Thistle Suite, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh

View the newsletter



British Cycling (25 March 2013)
One million more women on bikes by 2020
British Cycling today set out ambitious plans to get one million more women riding bikes by 2020 at an event hosted at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in London.
The new strategy, supported by Culture Secretary Maria Miller, Sport England and British Cycling’s Principal Partner, Sky, covers getting more women into the sport at all levels from recreational riding and racing to volunteering and sitting on British Cycling’s Board......

The new target will be measured using British Cycling and Sky’s Annual Cycling Survey. Sport England’s Active People survey will be taken into account but, as that survey only measures recreational cycling in England, it won’t provide the full picture....
View the full details and access the strategy



Sporting Equals (March 2013)
Swimming participation in a multicultural society
Sporting Equals is working with the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) to support a research project to look at the motivations for swimming and barriers which affect different groups. We would very much like input from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Individuals and Community based organisations to help support the research to ensure a cross section of views are captured.

The purpose of this data collection is to gain a better understanding of why members of the public, from all walks of life, swim. We are particularly interested in BME individuals their swimming experiences, needs and barriers they have faced. This information will help the ASA to better accommodate the public’s motivations to swim and remove barriers that get in the way of them swimming more often.....

The survey can be completed on line

Alternatively, we can send out the survey in hard copy format by sending an e-mail request to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text42124 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Source of information




Show Racism the Red Card (March 2013)
No Place for Hate - A new resource from Show Racism the Red Card [launched 25 March 2013]
Show Racism the Red Card has taken delivery of the campaign’s latest educational resource today!

‘No Place for Hate’ has been funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the National Union of Teachers, is aimed at teachers and youth leaders and is packed full of information and activities designed to:

• Educate young people about the dangers of racism and how it can lead to extreme behaviours
• Explore what makes a person susceptible to racist or extreme thoughts, behaviours and actions
• Highlight the dangers of becoming involved with far-right groups and engaging in extremist behaviour
• Help young people to think more critically about the information they receive in order to help them reject racism, prejudice and approaches from far-right groups

SRtRC will be launching this resource with the support of the NUT & DCLG at a central London location at 18:30 on Monday 25th March 2013.

Copies of ‘No Place for Hate’ can be ordered from Show Racism the Red Card for £15.00 inc. P&P. Please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more details

Source of information



Department for Culture, Media and Sport (22 March 2013)
Increase in sports participation and museums and galleries visits
Latest DCMS Taking Part Survey figures published, covering adults and children in England.
The number of women participating in sport and physical activity has increased by more than 1 million since London won the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2005, according to the latest figures from participation survey Taking Part.

And since 2010, there has been an increase of 1.2 million people who have participated in at least one 30 minute session per week of moderate intensity sport, 700,000 were women.

Taking Part, a survey conducted by DCMS, Arts Council England, English Heritage and Sport England on participation in sport, heritage and the arts, has released its figures covering January to December 2012 and boasts some of the highest participation figures since it began 8 years ago......
View the full news item and access the survey results



Disability Sport Wales (22 March 2013)
Swansea, Wales to Host 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships
Swansea, Wales will stage the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced, the first time the event has been held in Great Britain.

Around 600 athletes from 40 countries will compete in the event which will be staged at Swansea University between 18 and 23 August 2014. It will be the first major international multi-day para-athletics event to be held in Great Britain following the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The successful bid, submitted by Swansea University was based on a strong partnership approach involving the Welsh Government, the City and County of Swansea, Disability Sport Wales and British Athletics....
View the full news item



British Paralympic Association (22 March 2013)
BPA congratulate Swansea on successful 2014 IPC European Athletics Championships bid
The British Paralympic Association (BPA) sends congratulations to the successful Swansea bid to host the IPC European Athletics Championships in 2014.

Tim Hollingsworth, Chief Executive of the BPA, said:

“This is fantastic news for disability sport in the UK. The London 2012 Paralympic Games demonstrated that the British public have a big appetite for disability sport and this event will provide them with a further excellent opportunity to see elite level disability sport.

“The success of the Swansea bid means our athletes will have the opportunity to compete at an elite level on home soil once again in 2014, and I am confident that this event will form a crucial part of their preparations for Rio in 2016. It also provides the British public with an opportunity once again to show their support British athletes as they take on the best in the world......
View the full news item



England Athletics (21 March 2013)
Tacking discrimination in athletics
We all enjoy athletics - whether training, competing, volunteering, coaching, officiating or supporting - it is a sport that should be open to be enjoyed by anyone. We want to provide a welcoming environment for all, and ensure people at every level can enjoy athletics without experiencing prejudice.
However, for some people, sport is not as welcoming as it should be. Prejudice against people because of their faith, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or disability still exist and our sport must work to challenge and address these prejudices........
View the news item – also worth looking at EA’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion pages as they have some very useful links



Loughborough University (20 March 2013)
Football fans’ attitude to gay players has changed dramatically, according to Loughborough study
The attitude of football fans towards the presence of gay players has changed dramatically in the last 25 years, according to a Loughborough University academic.

Dr Jamie Cleland’s research has revealed that 93 per cent of fans say that a player’s on-field performance, not his sexuality, is the most important thing to them.

And that shows just one example of a cultural shift in attitudes since Justin Fashanu came out in 1990 and was ostracised by former team-mates, fans, the media and even his own brother John.

Dr Cleland has done three studies into homosexuality in football: (1) an analysis of 3,500 fans’ views towards the presence of gay footballers with Professor Ellis Cashmore of Staffordshire University; (2) an analysis of 2,500 posts surrounding homosexuality on fan message boards; (3) an analysis of the print media’s reaction to Anton Hysén coming out in March 2011. 

“The conclusion from all three studies is that the environment in football is a lot more inclusive towards sexuality than is being reported,” said Dr Cleland, a lecturer in criminology in the Department of Social Sciences.......
View the full press release



Equality Challenge Unit (19 March 2013)
Responding to the public sector equality duty review
The government has announced a call for evidence for the review of the public sector equality duty (PSED). Evidence on the key themes of the review would be welcomed from higher education institutions in England, Scotland and Wales.......

ECU's response
Due to the short consultation period, ECU has discussed a response with the steering committee of the Higher Education Equal opportunities Network (HEEON) and the chair of the Higher Education Race Action Group (HERAG).

Our core messages will be:

• Where it is operating well, evidence shows that the PSED has provided impetus for step-changes to address inequality in education generally, and more specifically in higher education.
• More time is needed to embed operations. The PSED has only been in place for two years and HEIs are still embedding practice to meet the current requirements - meaning that this review is premature.
• While legislation is not the only mechanism to enact change, it is a key mechanism. The PSED has been effective in providing a goal for public bodies to progress towards a fairer society.
• To change legislation at this stage would be counter-productive. Institutions have spent time and resources developing mechanisms and work to implement the PSED. Major changes will create uncertainty and further work for HEIs.
• There are different specific duties for England, Scotland and Wales. Therefore consideration of the different operations and impacts of the duty in each country is required.

We hope that colleagues agree with these messages.....
View the full news item

Also, view more details of the PSED 'call for evidence' that closes on 12 April 2013



BBC Sport ' Football (19 March 2013)
Sports minister supports anti-homophobia target for clubs
Minister for Sport Hugh Robertson has backed calls for professional football clubs to do more to combat homophobia.

Only 29 of 92 clubs are actively engaged in the 'Football v Homophobia' initiative which launched in February.

But campaigners are hoping 50% of clubs join the scheme by the end of March, with The Football Association issuing a toolkit to help them.

"The toolkit from The FA is a good initiative and I urge more clubs to use it," Robertson told BBC Sport.

"Discrimination of any kind must be stamped out. I want to see the football authorities increase their efforts to tackle homophobia.

"I was encouraged that their joint anti-discrimination strategy, published in December, includes action in this area as more needs to be done."

The toolkit,  made public on 25 February by The FA and devised by Football v Homophobia (FvH), is intended to help clubs challenge homophobic behaviour while welcoming more lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) people to football...
View the full news item



Sportaccord represents its members at Securing Sport 2013 to highlight the power of sport to erase discrimination
Doha, Qatar, 18 March 2013 – Securing Sport 2013 opened powerfully today with a panel composed of Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, United Nations (UN), Honey Thaljieh, Former Captain, Palestine Women’s National Football Team and Ingrid Beutler, Director, Social Responsibility and Integrity Units, SportAccord.

The Panel ‘Leveling the Playing Field: The Power of Sport to Erase Discrimination’ looked at the perspective of the UN and the sports movement on how sport may be used to erase discrimination, before examining the various ways in which discrimination may be manifested: race, age, gender, disability and religion. Highlighting the numerous policies and practices in place by SportAccord members, particular mention was made of SportAccord’s Social Responsibility Unit and the initiatives underway to engage the sport movement with anti-discrimination policies.

The panel noted the importance of awareness, prevention and education in fighting discrimination. It was agreed upon that athlete role models play an important part in the conveying of positive messages....
View the full news item



England Athletics (18 March 2013)
Blind and Visually Impaired Run England group launched in Sutton
The first blind and visually impaired Run England group of its kind in the country successfully launched last Sunday 10th of March. Many Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) running enthusiasts attended the launch of the group and took part in the session on the indoor sprint track at Sutton Arena Leisure Centre. The group had a great ethos with people from simply wanting to get fitter to already established Blind or Visually Impaired runners wanting to improve their racing times!
The group will be a weekly running group welcome to all blind and visually impaired runners or joggers!

The group will run every Sunday morning 11am-12pm meeting at Beddington Park in Sutton. A pickup service can be arranged from Wallington Station to Beddington Park for those requiring it...........
View more details


The tender application date has now elapsed... the news item is still listed for your awareness of this development...

English Federation of Disability Sport (15 March 2013)
EFDS seek tenders for access improvement guide resource
EFDS continually seek to provide well-researched, appropriate and user-friendly resources to sport providers, including sports clubs. These support them to provide a welcoming environment for disabled people. Recent resource examples include the online toolkits Diversity Challenge:www.diversitychallenge.co.uk and Inclusive Club Hub:www.inclusion-club-hub.co.uk

To complement this growing portfolio, EFDS seek to commission a good practice guide for sports providers to improve physical access to sports venues for disabled people.
Ultimately this publication will form part of a range of resources, which will cover topics such as coaching and training, policy and procedures, accessible equipment, engagement with disabled people in sport, inclusive sports events and funding, etc........

Potential tenderers are invited to submit their proposals (including proposed budget breakdown) and should be sent by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by 5pm on 26 March 2013.
View the full details



US Girls/ StreetGames (post 15 March 2013)
Us Girls in partnership with Welsh Netball Association
As part of the celebrations for International Women’s Day, Us Girls and the Welsh Netball Association have come together in partnership to provide more young women and girls from deprived communities the opportunity to play netball in a fun and friendly environment on their doorstep.......

The first phase of the partnership is going to develop doorstep netball provision for young women and girls in nine deprived communities, where there is currently limited or no doorstep netball provision. This will be supported by partnering the existing StreetGames network, with Welsh Netball Community Coaches and Development Officers, working to pinpoint Young Volunteers from these trailblazer communities, to ultimately offer sustainability for the netball sessions. Bespoke training is being provided from both StreetGames and Welsh Netball to provide a toolkit of know-how for the project leads............
View the full news item

sports coach UK (March 2013)
Female Coaches Talk Inspiration
sports coach UK spoke to three female coaches and asked them how they got into coaching, why they love coaching, and any hints and tips they have for women who are interested in coaching.

The coaches are:
Kerry-Ann Sheppard: Badminton coach
Priti Senghani: Football and netball coach
Trish Heggie: Hockey coach

Access the 3 case studies produced by scuk for International Women’s Day 2013



sports coach UK (8 March 2013)
Project 500
sports coach UK is working in partnership  with County Sport Partnerships (CSPs) and governing bodies of sport on Project 500,  a campaign to address the imbalance in the number of female to male coaches and create  a more diverse workforce to drive the growth of female participation in sport.

Project 500 aims to recruit develop and/or deploy 500 female coaches across the seven South East counties between April 2013 and March 2015.
Sport Hampshire & IOW (SHIOW), Oxfordshire Sport Partnership, Bucks and Milton Keynes Sports Partnership, Get Berkshire Active, Active Surrey, Active Sussex, Kent Sport and Physical Activity have worked in partnership to develop the project – which has so far been
endorsed by England Netball, England Handball and the Exercise, Movement and Dance Partnership.

The seven South East CSPs will deliver the project supported by a number of national sports organisations including Sport England, sports coach UK and the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation.........
View the full news item



BBC Sport (8 March 2013)
GB sportswomen tell BBC Sport survey they 'lack support'
Four out of five British elite sportswomen believe they are underpaid and that their financial rewards are inadequate compared to their male counterparts, according to a new BBC survey.

While over half of elite sportswomen surveyed said they do receive enough coaching support, just under 45% said their governing body did not support them equally in comparison to male colleagues.
BBC Sport surveyed elite sportswomen across a range of national governing bodies including Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic sports, as well as non-Olympic sports.

A total of 503 athletes were asked to take part, of which 252 responded in the time frame. The survey was anonymous.
Only a third of those who responded said they made enough from their sport to be able to make a living.

Baroness Sue Campbell, UK Sport's outgoing chair, told BBC Sport: "The funding UK Sport makes available to male and female athletes is allocated on performance merit and is therefore completely equitable, and we expect our funded sports to allocate their resources accordingly..........
View the full news item

sports coach UK welcomes BBC Survey - view their news item on the BBC's survey



Sport England (8 March 2013)
Gear 4 Girls launch
Marking International Women’s Day, Us Girls alongside Olympic Gold Medallist Nicola Adams have today launched a new initiative, Gear 4 Girls. The programme aims to raise money to supply sports equipment and clothing to young women and girls from disadvantaged communities who want to get active but don’t have the appropriate gear.
As well as raising funds, Us Girls will also be working alongside a number of sports including The FA and England Handball, who are donating equipment to the initiative which can then be distributed to where it’s needed............

Us Girls is the public face of the Active Women Consortium, which is funded by Sport England and delivered by StreetGames. The project focuses on over 50 specific areas of high disadvantage spread throughout England, with 64 organisations working together to achieve a 30,000 increase in sports participation.
View the full news item



Girlguiding (8 March 2013)
Girls in Action campaign launch
Girlguiding has marked International Women’s Day by launching our first advocacy and campaigning project, Girls in Action. It is designed to empower our young members to take action about the issues affecting their peers around the world, from violence against women and girls to gender inequality.

The campaign launch followed extensive consultation with girls about the issues on which they want to take action, and is the next step of our on-going commitment to ensuring that girls have a real voice on issues affecting their lives and the lives of their peers.

‘This is an exciting new phase for Girlguiding. Girls in Action is a result of wide consultation with girls about how they want to take their community work forward for the future,’ said Chief Guide Gill Slocombe.

‘Half a million young members now have the opportunity to advocate for girls and to understand that they can be a powerful force-for-good in their community and around the world. I can think of no better way to mark International Women’s Day,’ she continued...........
View the full news item




BBC - Disability Sport (7 March 2013)
Mixed picture for disability sport post Paralympic Games
The London Paralympics were a breakthrough, teaching us all to focus on the abilities rather than disabilities of the extraordinary athletes on show.

That in itself was some achievement.

Six months on it's far more difficult to get a clear picture of the genuine sporting impact of the Games.

Evidence gathered by the British Paralympic Association and the English Federation for Disability Sport suggests something remarkable has been happening. Increasing numbers of disabled people are now seeing sport as a vital part of their lives.
Here are a few statistics which they say back up the point:

• 25% more people playing wheelchair basketball
• Participation in wheelchair rugby up by a third
• A thousand people turning up to try out a range of different Paralympic sports at the British Paralympic Association's first SportFest in Guildford in December

These are green shoots. And a survey by the Sport and Recreation Alliance published in December painted a less healthy picture.

It said almost 90% of the sports clubs they surveyed had seen no change in interest from disabled people.

As with all surveys this one had its flaws, but it provided a healthy counter point to the overwhelming urge to imagine everyone in a wheelchair had been inspired to emulate David Weir......
View the full news item

Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (4 March 2013)
Sports boards failing on female representation
New research from WSFF shows improvement has stagnated.
New figures released today (Monday) by the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) show that over half of all sports boards are failing to reach the minimum expectation of 25% female representation. The proportion of women on sports boards has remained stagnant at 22% since last year and has only increased by 1% since Sport England commissioned WSFF to produce the first Trophy Women? report in 2009.

The data, collected for WSFF's fourth Trophy Women? report, shows that:

• 33 out of 57 boards surveyed do not meet the 25% minimum expectation
• Six sports boards do not have any female representation at all
• In 2009, 21% of board members were women.  This had risen to 22% in the 2011/12 report  but no further change has been seen a year on
• Sport England and UK Sport guidelines expect all sports boards to be made up of at least 25% women by   2017
• 9 sports have female CEOs

This disappointing progress, particularly after the successes of women in London 2012, is underscored by the fact that WSFF research shows that only 58 additional women would be needed to ensure every board reached the minimum expectation of 25%.....
View the full press release and access the report




Department for Culture, Media and Sport (4 March 2013)
New education package to help stamp out caste discrimination in communities
A new education project which will work with local communities to tackle caste prejudice and discrimination has been unveiled by the Government.

The initiative follows work within Government to identify the most appropriate and effective way of tackling caste-related problems.

The Government Equalities Office and the Department for Communities for Local Government have appointed Talk For A Change to work with all interested organisations to find practical solutions to the problems that caste-based prejudice can cause. The programme will generate educational material for employers, schools, colleges and community groups to raise awareness of, and help tackle, the problem.

Talk For A Change has extensive experience of working with local groups to address tough issues, helping to build positive relationships and resilient communities......

The Government has also asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission to examine the nature of caste prejudice and harassment, and consider what other action might be helpful. The Commission will publish its findings later in 2013.
View the full news item



Northern Ireland Statistical Research Agency (28 February 2013)
Census 2011: Quick Statistics for Northern Ireland
Census 2011: Population and Household Estimates for Wards and Small Areas for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) has today released further results from the 2011 Census, which was held on 27 March 2011.In December 2012, NISRA published Key Statistics, which contained wide ranging statistical profiles of Northern Ireland’s 26 Local Government Districts (LGDs), covering demography, identity, health, housing, educational qualifications, labour market activity, travel to work and study and migration. Similar statistical profiles for each of Northern Ireland’s 582 electoral wards, 890 Super Output Areas (SOAs) and 4,537 Small Areas (SAs), as well as the 18 Assembly Areas (AAs) were published in January 2013.....
View the full statistical press release




UK Sport (27 February 2013)
Equality Standard - designated support leads and assessors
UK Sport is creating an 'Approved Suppliers List' of Equality Standard Designated Support Leads and Assessors. UK Sport will allocate members of this list to National Governing Bodies and other partners that they fund to provide support in submitting and evaluating applications for all levels of the Standard.

The closing date for receipt of proposals has NOW EXPIRED (it was 5 pm on Thursday 14 March 2013).

View more information in the UK Sport Approved Suppliers List document.



EFDS reports (27 February 2013)
Whizz-Kidz launches Generation Inspired report
The charity Whizz-Kidz launches its ‘Generation Inspired?’ manifesto at Parliament today. It is fronted by GB double gold medallist Hannah Cockroft MBE, who will later deliver the report to No.10 Downing Street.
The ‘Generation Inspired?’ manifesto is based on a late 2012 survey the charity conducted of its young Ambassadors and their parents - asking them about their hopes for a Paralympic legacy, and their ideas to improve opportunities for young disabled people.
Backing the report is Sir Philip Craven MBE, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and ex-beneficiary of Whizz-Kidz, Hannah Cockroft MBE. She received her first sports chair from the charity in 2007.............................................................................
The Whizz-Kidz research was undertaken via our young Ambassadors and their families from September 2012 – January 2013 through an online survey, focus groups and phone-calls. There were 117 respondents, whose opinions, experiences and recommendations are
reflected in this manifesto. They also drew on anecdotal evidence from young disabled
people and their parents obtained through the Whizz-Kidz Ambassador Network; which has over a thousand members, many of whom attend Whizz-Kidz Ambassador Clubs, Wheelchair Skills Training or life skills services.
View the full news item and access the report



Department for Culture, Media and Sport (22 February 2013)
Women in sport: Looking at the impact London 2012 has had on getting women involved in sport
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games produced outstanding performances from our female athletes and raised the profile of women’s sport. The impact was immediate: nearly 626,000 more women are playing regular sport since we won the Games bid. But though nearly 7 million women play sport weekly, 9 million more would like to start playing or to play more sport.

More than £1billion funding, from us and the National Lottery, will be invested over five years to help more people enjoy sport, and to develop sporting talent. All this funding is expected to ensure that, wherever appropriate, sports attract and retain women, but some initiatives have a particular part to play:

• ‘Girls only’ satellite clubs will be established to target the 14-25 age group. By 2017, every secondary school in England will have been offered a satellite community sports club on its site.
• The Us Girls project, part of the £10m lottery-funded Active Women programme, will work to attract into sport 30,000 young women living in disadvantaged areas
• On 14 January 2013 Sport England announced the Women’s Place Based Pilot, providing £3m investment in locality-based sports schemes for women
• £1,708,383 has been awarded to the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation to help sports understand how to attract women, and to work directly with county sports partnerships and the education sector
• All of the UK Sport funded elite athletes will offer up time (5 days per year) to provide support and role modelling for youth and community sport.

Government also wants to see more coverage of women’s sport in the media. Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport as well as for Women and Equalities, has written to all the major broadcasters and in January 2013 hosted a roundtable for broadcasters, journalists and women sports leaders to discuss what we can do to ensure that there is more coverage of all our sporting achievements.
Source of information

Recent Newsletters

Kick it Out News, May 2013 - available to view


Scotland Equality Law Bulletin, May 2013 - view a copy


Equality in Sport News, Issue 97, April 2013 - the monthly e-newsletter for the sector
View a copy

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Equality Commission for Northern Ireland - monthly newsletter 'Equality Focus'

View the latest editions on the website



Equality Challenge Unit - Equalitylink ECU's round-up of equality and diversity news, resources and our work with the sector

View the latest editions on the website

Current posts being advertised for equality delivery, or with an element of equality work:

Nothing we have been alerted to at the moment

Current posts being advertised to deliver specific developments:

Nothing we have been alerted to at the moment

Latest reports, research, etc:

Tackling racism and discrimination in sport: Guide of Promising Practices, Initiatives and Activities. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, May 2013 (28 pages)
This Guide of Promising Practices, Initiatives and Activities provides examples of successful action in the field that are transferable, in some cases inexpensive and can give inspiration to those who engage in the activities and those who support, organise and manage them. While not all the examples received by the Agency could be published for reasons of space and balance, we believe that this Guide reflects the wide-ranging and excellent work being carried out by many organisations and individuals throughout Europe, many of which go unrecognised and many of which impact positively on the communities involved.
It is hoped that this Guide will ignite wider interest and encourage individuals and organisations to seek out and support promising practices, initiatives and activities to combat racism and discrimination in sport.

The Guide is part of the wider project on Racism, ethnic discrimination and exclusion of migrants and minorities in sport: the situation in the European Union.

Download a copy



Youth Sport Trust Sport Changes Lives: Strategic Plan – 2013-18. Youth Sport Trust, May 2013 (15 pages)
The plan outlines the Trust's core purpose, values and the impact it aims to achieve over the next 5 years - all underpinned by its mission to use the power of sport to change young people's lives. It offers a simple overview of the Trust's vision and future ambitions for the period 2013-2018.
Download a copy

View the details of other key publications on our 'Resources and publications' page