equality, diversity, and inclusion
Although we have always been aware of the important role Bike for Good plays in ensuring cycling is diverse and inclusive, we made this a top priority for the charity in 2020.
We are still at the early stages of our diversity and inclusion journey and are committed to ensuring equality, diversity, and inclusion is ingrained within everything that we do – both as an organisation and as a service provider.
To keep our work on track, we formed a Diversity and Inclusion Working Group (DWG) in August 2020. The full group meets bi-monthly, with sub-groups meeting monthly. Our sub-groups focus on:
- HR, Training and Volunteering
- Communication and Language
- Disability Awareness & Accessibility
The DWG consists of 17 members, including staff, volunteers and board members. Membership includes a diverse range of ages, genders, cultures and backgrounds:
- Doug Somerville (Service Mechanic),
- Fariha Saeed (Communications Lead),
- Greg Kinsman-Chauvet (CEO),
- Hannah Hughes (Skills & Development Lead),
- Jula Goebel (Volunteer Coordinator),
- Karen McGuire (HR Officer),
- Lee Bodkin (Volunteer),
- Marketa Buricova (Skills & Development Coordinator),
- Matthew Smedley (Chair of Board),
- Paul Mclusky (Board Member),
- Pippa Thomas (Health & Wellbeing Coordinator),
- Robin Duval (Health & Wellbeing Practitioner),
- Shgufta Anwar (Active Travel & South Hub Lead),
- Tilly Halworth (Health & Wellbeing Practitioner),
- Victoria Leiper (Board Member)
To date, the Diversity Working Group has:
- Updated our communication channels to showcase the work we are doing including staff, volunteer and board blog posts highlighting and celebrating the diversity within Bike for Good.
- Coordinated a programme of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) training for the staff team (delivered over two days by Positive Action in Housing and attended by all staff members).
- Continued conversations, discussions and self-led learning with the wider team, covering topics like privilege, being called out & in, how to apologise, unconscious bias.
- Initiated a D&I Audit with Mor Diversity and led by Aneela McKenna (more detail regarding this below).
- Designed a programme of training and volunteer opportunities for New Scots following a series of consultation sessions with refugees and asylum seekers. To run this, we have successfully secured two years of funding from the Big Lottery, ensuring a range of training, development and volunteer opportunities specifically for New Scots.
- Conducted a review of our external communications to ensure our content is diverse and representative of the people we work with.
- Made changes to our recruitment process and expanded where we advertise roles.
- Established a ‘Glasgow Cycling Diversity Collective’ to work with other community cycling organisations to address diversity in cycling.
- Created a paid training/employability programme specifically for women and non-binary people to train as bike mechanics which will launch later this year.
- Hosted LGBTQ+ events – Queer Bike Tour and Gears for Queers and are working on securing funding to have an LGBTQ+ programme of activities.
- Continued expanding the programme for women & non-binary people, including a mountain bike training course that will lead to an overnight bikepacking expedition
- Working towards the launch of a women of colour cycling group as part of a wider Glasgow Women on Wheels programme for women and non-binary people.
- Broadened board recruitment to include seeking members from amongst service users.
While these achievements are great, we are conscious that an external perspective on our organisations is essential if we wish to be truly diverse and inclusive. So, earlier this year, we enlisted the support of Aneela McKenna from Mor Diversity to perform a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Audit.
A D&I Audit helps an organisation generate a real and unbiased look at the equity, diversity, and inclusion conditions of both the workplace and the services they provide. Importantly, it also provides objective information and actions to help an organisation create a culture of inclusivity.
When complete, the audit will provide a holistic view of our progress, as well as highlight where we need to do better. This will also form the basis of our D&I Action Plan which we will share here once complete.
Language is ever-changing and as an organisation, we want to be proactive and hence Aneela will also help us produce a glossary of appropriate language that we use in our communications and during delivery.
We are keen to hear your thoughts and perspectives on diversity in cycling and what we can do to ensure that Bike for Good is a welcoming environment for all. Please contact us here.