It is widely recognised that the rail industry is not as diverse as it should be. Challenging and, perhaps more importantly, changing this, is not an easy task. But November 2020 marked a significant landmark on that journey when Women in Rail and the Railway Industry Association came together to launch the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Charter as part of the ‘Skills, opportunity and inclusion’ panel during RIA’s annual conference.
The Charter represents a commitment to work together to build a more balanced, higher performing sector. Even at the time of its launch it had been backed by over 100 organisations, a number which has since grown to over 150. The Charter builds on the work of the Women in Rail charity, launched in 2012 by Adeline Ginn MBE, to raise awareness and offer solutions to both individuals and businesses to help promote the shift to better EDI in UK rail.
The EDI Charter involves several key commitments from companies, including:
■ appointing a member of the senior leadership team as an ‘EDI Champion’;
■ agreeing an action plan, monitoring and reporting on progress made;
