Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

RIA is committed to working to improve Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) across the UK rail industry. We work with partner organisations and members to create positive change and promote rail as a good place to work. We also work closely with Women in Rail, our main initiative being the industry-wide RIA/WR EDI Charter. You can find further information on this below.

Internally, we work to ensure that our events see a diverse range of speakers whenever possible, and are accessible as possible. We also appoint an internal RIA EDI Champion, who works to champion EDI and consider it in our activities.


RIA Trailblazers
Our Trailblazers initiative is designed to bring together young rail professionals with experienced industry leaders to enable them to network, learn from each other and celebrate a vibrant and diverse rail workforce.

Trailblazers covers a variety of activities: networking receptions, workshops, and personal and professional development opportunities. Our events are organised around certain themes, such as social mobility and developing young people within the industry. Trailblazers events are held across the Nations and Regions of the UK. At Trailblazers events we also ask attendees to bring a 'plus one' - in that senior attendees bring a junior member of their team, and vice-versa. This acts to help newer entrants to the industry form professional connections and learn from more experience colleagues, and brings new perspectives to industry leaders.

Every summer, we hold a flagship Trailblazers Networking Reception at the KIA Oval in London. This popular event attracts over 150 people every year, and has in previous years seen speakers such as Dyan Crowther OBE of HS1, Florence Eshalomi MP and Loraine Martins OBE.

The EDI Charter

In 2020, the Railway Industry Association (RIA) and Women in Rail (WR) launched a Charter to champion Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the UK railway industry.

The joint ‘Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Charter’ is a commitment to work together to build a more balanced, fair and high performing sector. This is a voluntary initiative, open to all companies, clients and organisations working in the UK rail sector who wish to play a role in promoting positive change in our industry. It seeks to recognise and build upon the progress which has already taken place, providing the basis to encourage further collaboration and action across the sector.
 

The Charter involves several key commitments, including to:

  • Appoint a member of the senior leadership team as an ‘EDI Champion’;
  • Agree an action plan, monitor and report on progress made;
  • Provide opportunities for training and education of employees, support the progression of diverse individuals into senior roles to improve diverse representation at senior and executive level of the UK railway industry;
  • Create a culture that fosters inclusion and provide a safe space for all employees to talk openly, including at industry events and in meetings; and
  • Make recruitment and progression processes accessible and attractive to all to attract retain and develop people of all backgrounds, ages, genders and identities.

Sign up to the Charter

The Charter is open for all organisations in the rail industry to sign - your organisation does not have to be yet working  on EDI to sign up.

Please email [email protected] to find out more | Download the signatory FAQs here.

 

Charter Outputs

We work for and with Charter signatories and our Working Group to produce useful outputs on EDI topics. One such output in LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in the Railway Workforce, which was produced in partnership with PA Consulting. You can view the output below:

Annual Report 2023

In October 2023, WR and RIA released the second Annual Report for the Charter. The Annual Report showcases best practice and success from the Charter signatories, and will be released yearly. You can read the Report below:

Signatories

Thanks to the over 200 organisations who have so far signed the Charter. You can find further information and view all of our current signatories in the flipbook below.

 

Is your logo not listed? This page will be updated on a monthly basis, so if you have signed up to the Charter recently, your logo may not appear for a few weeks. Thanks in advance for your patience.

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