Following on from the announcement of our new Chair Dr Howard Haughton. Sporting Equals is pleased to welcome four new trustees to our team. The Charity is grateful to Densign White MBE, who served the maximum term possible as Chair, and outgoing trustees Vanessa Wallace PLY and Urvasi Naidoo. Vanessa will continue to be involved with Sporting Equals through her work as an Ambassador for the charity. Our last two Founding Trustees Beverley Mason and Lorraine Deschamps MBE will also be departing within the year having served their maximum terms.
Our new trustees joining the board are Nikita Smith, Steve Shaw, Lindon Neil and Sherilee Charles. The new trustees have a broad range of careers each of which will add direction, drive and strategy to the mission of Sporting Equals.
Nikita Smith entered the working world specialising in brand, marketing, and strategic communications spanning Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Following a number of appointments to lead employee resource groups and networks focused on gender, race and ethnicity, Nikita pivoted her career to Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness in 2020. She now serves as a Global DEI specialist at a leading professional services firm, where her passion lies in removing heightened barriers for underrepresented groups and leveraging data to challenge talent systems and processes to increase equitable access and opportunities for the many, not the few.
Of joining the board of trustees Nikita said “It is a real honour to join a charity that continues to be an advocate for real change and works relentlessly to eliminate barriers so all communities can thrive. In a sector that impacts so many lives, I’m excited to partner with people who are committed to amplifying representation and fostering true inclusion.”
Steve Shaw is a seasoned HR professional with over thirty years of experience leading teams in both commercial and not-for-profit sectors. With more than fifteen years of executive boardroom experience across, housing, technology, advertising and e-commerce, he has spearheaded large teams in organisational transformations enhancing service delivery, engagement and culture. Steve’s core values revolve around sustainability, social mobility, diversity, and inclusion. He makes material contributions as a Non-Executive Director on Trustee boards and serves as a university governor. Additionally, he acts as a strategic advisor to an organisation specialising in evaluating the sustainability practices of professional sports entities.
Lindon Neil is a Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers (FCT) and recently completed a full five year term as an Independent NED for ARC Ratings UK Limited and ARC Ratings SA. He is also a Co-Founder and Director of Balbourne Renewable Investments Limited. Prior to that, Lindon was a Trustee of Stratford Arts Trust and held various Director roles at Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo), RBS, Credit Suisse First Boston (now UBS) and Standard & Poor’s. Lindon holds a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences form Cambridge University and a MSc in Nuclear and Particle Physics from Birkbeck College, University of London.
Lindon is looking forward to being part of the board saying ‘I welcome my appointment as a trustee of Sporting Equals and the opportunity to support Dr Howard Haughton, Arun Kang OBE, the other trustees, the team and the other stakeholders. I am looking forward to contributing to an organisation that is a standard bearer promoting racial equality and championing the benefits of diversity and inclusion in sport, health and physical activity.’
Sherilee Charles has over a decade’s experience as an HR generalist, operating at a senior HR level specifically in the sporting landscape. She is currently Head of HR at Professional Footballers’ Association and previously worked for UK Anti-Doping and UK Sport.
Sherilee has a keen interest in sport, particularly football and is a dedicated Arsenal supporter. Sherilee strongly believes that sport should be accessible and inclusive for all and that it should reflect both society and its participants.
The selection committee who made the appointments were particularly excited about the wealth of knowledge and skills which the new trustees have and the strengths which their appointments will bring to the board with areas of expertise in finance, marketing and HR.
Arun Kang OBE, CEO of Sporting Equals said ‘I am delighted to welcome four new members to the Sporting Equals Board of trustees. Their technical skills and lived experiences will bring valuable insight to the charity and help continue the charity’s mission and drive change in the sport and physical activity sector’
Dr Howard Haughton Chair of the Board of Trustees said “With Sporting Equals entering a significant period of strategic change, I’m delighted to welcome new trustees to the board. Their fresh perspectives and expertise will be invaluable as we build on Sporting Equals’s impressive track record of promoting inclusion in sport and continue to create even greater opportunities for all.”
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Sporting Equals was established as a project in 1998 in partnership with the Commission for Racial Equality and Sport England to support National Governing Bodies with their race equality work.
Sporting Equals shifted its focus and in 2005 became a standalone autonomous organisation – an independent voice to serve ethnically diverse communities, promote community cohesion and, importantly, to take action to eradicate racism in sport. Lorraine Deschamps MBE, Angela Francis and Beverley Mason, FRSA are the co-founders. Sporting Equals achieved charitable status in 2007.
Since that charitable status was achieved the Charity has delivered some key milestone projects and programmes.
Highlights include:
The Race Representation Index – launched in 2021 this annual report analyses the senior workforce diversity data of national governing bodies (NGBs). Specific groups it looks at are Board, Senior Management Team, Professional Coaches, Contracted Players and Officials. The rationale is that by transparently reporting this data to the public, NGBs are held accountable and able to illustrate their journey to greater race equality. In the most recent iteration of the index a 92% engagement rate was achieved.
LeaderBoard – while the Race Representation Index identifies gaps in diversity for the sport and physical activity sector LeaderBoard helps to address these. Rather than promoting diversity as a tokenistic gesture, LeaderBoard promotes diversity as an essential element. Candidates for LeaderBoard have a professional background that means they add value to a Boardroom beyond the colour of their skin. The programme trains and empowers the candidates to speak with authority and confidence. Vitally it builds bridges between ethnically diverse communities and the current Board and senior leadership teams, allowing candidates to network, feel welcome and apply for roles with confidence.
The Race Discrimination Support Service – a world first pro-bono legal support programme. Victims of racism in sport and physical activity are able to get legal advice before taking any action. This provides them with confidence on what the risk and reward of taking any action may be. The service often results in mediation, reducing conflict and finding sustainable solutions that reduce the risk of recurrence.
The Sporting Equals Awards – returning for the first time post-COVID in October 2023 the awards are a celebration of the achievements and contributions of ethnically diverse people and communities in sport. Categories focus on elite to grass roots participation. The Awards help develop role models, celebrate diversity and show the wider commitment of the sector to race equality.
Terminology and Language – Sporting Equals ran a campaign to end the use of the word BAME and to charge the sector with being more specific and inclusive in its language. By educating on the rationale behind these linguistic choices the Charity empowered the sector to think and behave differently in a sustainable manner. The language resource looks at why these choices matter and how they impact ethnically diverse people and communities.
Interviews with the new trustees may be available on request. For enquires please email media@sportingequals.org.uk
