We’re proud to be taking part in Race Equality Week this year. It’s a UK-wide initiative launched by community interest company Race Equality Matters aiming to tackle race inequality at work. We have a jam-packed schedule planned in celebration.
Every Action Counts
This year’s theme is #EveryActionCounts. It reminds us that everyone has the power to make a difference. And together, our small actions can make a big difference in creating a more inclusive workplace.
Akthar Hussain BEM, a senior project engineer and co-chair of the Black, Asian and minority ethnic employee network Cultural Fusion at Network Rail, said: “Race Equality Week is important to Network Rail because it shows our commitment to fairness, supports a welcoming workplace, and helps bring positive change toward racial equality in our company and the wider rail industry.”
That’s why we’re taking part in the Race Equality Matters five-day challenge. This asks our staff to spend five minutes each day on an activity that encourages us to become a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Celebrations and challenges
We’ve also planned events throughout the week.
We’re kickstarting the week with a collaboration with Rail Unites for Inclusion, our employee network Cultural Fusion and industry bodies like Great British Railways Transition Team.
We’ll also hold a workshop exploring code-switching or masking. This is when people from diverse background change the way they speak or act in an effort to fit in with their environment.
And we’re putting the spotlight on privilege in an interactive session that’ll break it down, demystify it, and explore how it shows up in our lives.
An all-year-round effort
We’re committed to becoming a diverse and inclusive organisation that employs and serves people from all backgrounds.
And we’re proud to be recognised for these efforts. For the first time ever, we won a spot in the Top 10 Outstanding Employer category at the Ethnicity Awards last year.
The Ethnicity Awards began in 2018 to celebrate individuals and organisations across the UK that support Black, Asian and diverse ethnic communities. Our place in this highly competitive list showed our meaningful and impactful efforts to become a more open, diverse and inclusive organisation.
And there’s still more to be done.
Faizza Rumani, an equity, diversity and inclusion specialist at Network Rail, said: “At Network Rail, our race programme works all year-round to remove barriers that we know Black, Asian and minority ethnic employees and candidates face in the workplace. It’s part of our Everyone Belongs strategy – which is our commitment to making Network Rail an inclusive place to work, where everyone can thrive.”
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