Saxmundham Sports and Recreational Club

Equality Diversity And Inclusion Policy

Equality

We recognise that some members of the community have been affected by discrimination and that as a result, they may be denied the opportunity to participate equally and fully in community life including in sport and recreation. We intend that there are no barriers to membership of the club or to participation in the club’s activities as a result of discrimination. If we identify barriers we will make every effort to overcome them. 

Diversity

We value and encourage diversity, appreciating individual differences and collective variety and the benefits that these different perspectives and experiences bring.

Inclusion

The club recognises that interest in sport and recreation as well as sporting talent are distributed across the population.  The club values inclusiveness.  We know we will do best if we are able to attract and retain members from the widest possible spectrum.

We are committed to making membership available to all local residents, subject only to the committee’s discretion to refuse membership to candidates the committee reasonably believes are unsuitable for example because of the risk that they would abuse other members.

Recognising Discrimination

We recognise that discrimination can result from a range of factors including, but not restricted to:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage / civil partnership
• Pregnancy / maternity
• Race, colour, ethnic or national origins
• Religion, creed or belief
• Gender or sex
• Sexual orientation
• Responsibilities for dependants
• Socio-economic background
• Political beliefs
• Offending background
• Employment status

We intend that no members or prospective members are treated less favourably than others as a result of discrimination whether intentional or unintentional, direct or indirect.

Culture Of Welcoming Respect and Fairness

We believe all members have a role to play in ensuring fairness towards each other and towards the community in which the club operates.  We therefore seek to promote an atmosphere in which all members have regard for one another’s rights and everyone is treated with respect and dignity.

Practical Steps to Promote the EDI Agenda

It is our intention to follow practices which actively work to eliminate discrimination and promote equality diversity and inclusion.

We will therefore seek to:

Identify barriers to participation, consult with those who may be affected by those barriers, and where there is cause for concern put matters right.

Monitor the diversity of our members when compared to the diversity of the local population.

Monitor the effectiveness of our EDI activities.

EDI Responsibilities and Review

Overall responsibility for this policy and its implementation lies with the management committee.

We will review this policy not less than annually.

We will have regard to the advice issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Our policy is based on the guidance made available by the Governance Code website.