Our commitment to Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism
Birmingham Hippodrome is committed to placing inclusion at the heart of all we do, making it central to our decision making. We have heard the calls from our Black, East and South Asian communities, from our disabled and our LGBTQ+ neighbours and friends, from our region’s younger generation and we acknowledge that we have a huge amount of work to do.
We are energised and excited to move forward breaking down barriers and building relationships for us to meet our commitment and become a more equitable place for audiences, artists, participants, and our own teams.
We have spent the last few months listening, learning, and identifying where we can improve and make meaningful and systemic change. Over the coming 12 months we will implement 3 phases of work – the first of which is already underway – addressing areas including but not exclusive to:
Phase 1 (in progress) includes:
- Identifying and addressing structural issues of bias and systemic racism within Birmingham Hippodrome and our industry.
- Listening to and understanding current as well as former staff experiences of working at Birmingham Hippodrome.
- Developing and implementing a sustained, long term training programme for our staff and Board, focused on Inclusion and Anti-Racism.
Phase 2 includes:
- Overhauling our recruitment and induction processes to diversify our workforce to better reflect our region.
- Addressing our processes to better support our workforce to progress and develop.
- Addressing Board membership, recruitment, and the inclusion of different voices at the highest levels of governance and decision-making.
Phase 3 includes:
- Action plan for continual progression.
- Publish an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement that clearly sets out the practical ways in which Birmingham Hippodrome upholds its organisation-wide commitment to placing inclusion at the heart of all we do.
We recognise that we are on a journey and that this is ongoing work. We are collectively open to change, facing hard truths along the way. We are committed to truly reflecting the city and region that we know and love within our workforce, our programmes, our audiences, and opportunities. We will embrace change because we believe that it should and will be a part of our DNA.
We welcome your feedback at Change@birminghamhippodrome.com