Equality, diversity and inclusion at The Welcoming

All are welcome at The Welcoming

Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of The Welcoming.

Our vision is of a Scotland where everyone feels welcome and can achieve their full potential. To make our vision a reality, we know we must lead by example.

We are committed to making The Welcoming a place where people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, religions, ages, nationalities and identities feel safe, welcome and heard.

We are anti-racist and pro gender equality, LGBTQIA+ rights, disability rights, and refugee and asylum seeker rights.

Our organisation is not perfect. We are striving for ideals which will take time, energy and passion to make a reality. We welcome you to hold us accountable. We also ask you to be patient while we take positive steps towards change.

Lifting voices

We are not interested in box ticking. We are proud of our diverse community and passionate about honouring our differences.

We aim to empower our community members through celebration and advocacy. Each year, among other events, we mark Black History Month, International Women’s Day, LGBT+ History Month and Refugee Week Scotland.

But we do not only advocate once a year. We are dedicated to campaigning for and with our community members and taking an active role in local and national politics.

Creating space for learning and growth

We recognise there are many cultures and beliefs within The Welcoming community. We also deal with language barriers.

We aim to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable to ask difficult questions and potentially say the “wrong thing”.

By having those conversations, we can build bridges, address misconceptions and develop our own understandings of the world together.

Protecting our community

While we encourage an open environment, we are serious about protecting our community members from bullying, harassment and discrimination.

We ask everyone in our community to agree to a policy of respect. Our members agree to the Code of Conduct for Members when registering. Our volunteers sign a volunteer agreement. Our staff are held accountable for upholding and implementing our policies.

We take serious action when anyone in our community breaks this trust.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group

We set up our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group in March 2021. Our current staff members in the working group are Adil Ibrahim, Chris Growcott, Lizzie Ashworth and Jill Stevens.

Aim of the group

The purpose of the group is to set The Welcoming’s direction for equality, diversity and inclusion in line with our values and strategy. And to raise the profile of equality, diversity and inclusion within The Welcoming.

We do this through monitoring our commitment and practice towards people with ‘protected characteristics’ as identified in the Equality Act 2010.

Contact us

Have a question about our equality, diversity and inclusion statement? Or want to offer feedback to the EDI Working Group? We want to hear from you.

Please email [email protected]