Over 140 rail businesses make pledge for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

A new charter set up to transform the rail sector has been signed by more than 140 organisations involved with the rail industry.

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) charter was launched last November jointly by Women in Rail (WR) and the Railway Industry Association (RIA). The aim of the Charter is to help improve equality, diversity and inclusion within the rail workforce and to make sure everyone in the industry feels included and supported regardless of their background, personal circumstances or gender identity.

Adeline Ginn MBE, Founder of Women in Rail, said: “The response from the industry has been outstanding which is an encouraging start for our sector’s renewed EDI journey. We now need to work together to drive positive change, create a more diverse workforce and foster an inclusive culture throughout all grades and roles within our sector.”

The scope of the EDI charter is not just limited to increasing female representation throughout all grades and roles within the UK rail sector but covers people of all backgrounds including race, ethnicity, religion, gender, socio economic background and any form of disability.

RIA Policy Director Kate Jennings said: “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, increasing diversity and promoting equal opportunity must remain a priority for our industry. We look forward to working with fantastic organisations to help drive change and highlight progress in this area.”

An EDI Charter Working Group, representing the diversity the industry is striving to achieve in terms of the protected characteristics but also companies, grades and roles, has been set up. Its aim is to drive the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda with the UK rail industry. The Group will meet regularly, with its first meeting scheduled in the next two weeks.

Joining the likes of Bombardier, HS2, British Transport police and Siemens is the Business Daily Group, which includes railbusinessdaily.com.

David McLoughlin, CEO of the Business Daily Group, said: “This is not just about fairness, but it is also the right things to do from a business perspective and I am 100 per cent behind everything that the Charter is trying to achieve.

“The railway industry is a wonderful industry to work in and the passion for change, highlighted by the response to the Charter, shows that everyone is committed to make sure we have an inclusive workforce, representative of our customer base and generating the right decisions for the future of rail.

“As an organisation we are committed to championing equality, diversity and inclusion in the rail industry and working together to build a more balanced and fair and high performing sector.”

The charter is open for all organisations in the rail industry to sign. Email info@edicharter.co.uk for more details.

Download article