Ethnicity inclusion scenario

A young Black woman rides a horse during an equestrian event.

The following scenario has been developed to enhance inclusion practices when it comes to supporting diverse ethnic communities. Ethnicity refers to a group of people who share the same national, racial or culture origins.

By working through the scenario below, you can gain a better understanding of how to respond to, and meet the needs of, different ethnicities and create a welcoming environment where everyone feels included and can benefit from being physically active.

The scenario has been constructed to reflect situations that you might encounter; any names or organisations used are fictional to aid your understanding.

The sport or activities referenced throughout these scenarios are also provided for context and aren’t intended to reflect the approach taken or promoted by any national governing bodies of sport.

We recognise that individuals from ethnically diverse communities have different needs and face different challenges and barriers to being active.

Individuals can also have additional needs or experience further challenges or barriers if they’ve one or more protected characteristic (a term often referred to as intersectionality).

While this scenario focuses on one individual, it’s been designed to provide some key takeaways and transferrable considerations to help your organisation become more inclusive to diverse ethnic communities.

Remember, people from similar backgrounds can still have differing needs and motivations; use a person-centred approach to avoid assumptions, stereotyping or other harmful behaviours.

The following three-part scenario features Rami. Rami is a 25-year-old Black British male who has always enjoyed physical activity and has been a member of his local swimming club for the past five years.

Rami has had a positive experience at the club and has always been made to feel welcome, but he’s aware that he’s the only member at the club from an ethnically diverse background.

A man splashes water on his face in a swimming pool.

As you work through this scenario, consider how you would respond, then click on the dropdown to understand the impact of your response. Responses are not monitored; be honest in your approach to get the most out of this learning experience.

Rami’s swimming club have recently recruited a number of new volunteers to support their running and the delivery of sessions.

One of the newly recruited volunteers says to Rami "you’re the only Black swimmer we have". Rami finds this comment insensitive and feels awkward that this has been highlighted.

Rami recognises that being the only Black participant is not reflective of their local community and decides to follow up with the club’s committee to see if anything can be done to address the lack of diversity within the club.

Response 1

After speaking with Rami, the club’s committee don’t feel the need to address the comment made by the individual as they don’t believe it was meant in a negative way.

Having just recruited new volunteers and with no need to actively recruit members, the committee also decide no action will be taken to address the lack of diversity.
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Outcome

By not addressing the comment made, the committee are ignoring the way this has made Rami feel, leaving him unsupported and possibly feeling uncomfortable.

This response also doesn’t address Rami’s wider concern regarding the lack of diversity within the club. This can often be seen as a barrier by different ethnic groups and can result in the organisation being perceived as ‘unwelcoming’ of other ethnicities or groups.

The club should aim to have a workforce and membership which is representative of their local community.
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Response 2

The club’s committee agree to discuss the comment with the new volunteer and ask them not to say anything like this again.

It’s also acknowledged that the club aren’t representative of their local community, and it’s agreed that during the next volunteer or member recruitment drive, the club will prioritise targeting different ethnic groups.
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Outcome

While responding to the comment is a good start, the issue should be treated in a more formal manner to ensure Rami feels heard and prevent it from happening again.

This response also acknowledges the lack of diversity but doesn’t proactively provide a solution to the concerns raised.

Depending on the club’s need or desire to recruit new members and volunteers, there may be no change regarding the diversity of people within the club anytime soon, which may make Rami feel as though his opinions and views aren’t important.
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Response 3

The club agree to discuss the comment and warn them that any further discriminatory comments will result in disciplinary action.

They further discuss with Rami how they can engage more ethnically diverse communities and ask for his support in promoting their offer and reaching new audiences.

Taking on board what Rami has said, the club actively reach out to different organisations (that already engage ethnically diverse groups) and parts of their local community, with the aim of attracting them to the club.
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Outcome

The response to the comment is positive and reinforces the fact that discriminatory behaviour or comments will not be accepted.

Taking immediate action to address Rami’s additional concerns and engaging Rami in the process is a powerful way to demonstrate that his feelings are valid and valued.

Taking steps to diversify the club will not only benefit them, through additional members and volunteers with different skills and experiences, but it also demonstrates to Rami that the club is an inclusive space that celebrates people’s differences and backgrounds.
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After a recent training session, the club post pictures on their social media channels, some of which include Rami.

An unknown person comments underneath the photo with racially abusive language. Rami sees the comment and, feeling hurt, asks the club how they’re going to respond.

Response 1

The club decide it’s best to ignore the comment, as they don’t want to draw any attention to it. They commit to looking after Rami while he’s understandably upset by the comment.
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Outcome

Ignoring the issue can send a message that the club don’t take incidents of racial abuse seriously and is unlikely to show the club in a positive light to the rest of the community.

This may also lead to others thinking that there would be no consequences if they were to make racially abusive or other discriminatory comments.

Rami is likely to feel unsupported, hurt and question why he is part of a club that doesn’t respond to incidents of racism. The support for Rami behind closed doors isn’t enough to make him feel fully supported on this matter.
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Response 2

The club decide to remove the picture from their social media channels and reiterate to Rami that the comment made doesn’t reflect the thoughts of the club.
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Outcome

While this response removes the danger that any further comments will be made, it doesn’t respond to the issue of racism.

By removing the picture, the club are hiding the issue and allowing racist remarks to be made without any consequences.

Rami may appreciate that these aren’t the feelings of the club, but he’s likely to remain hurt by the club's failure to address the issue.
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Response 3

In line with their social media policy, the club respond to the comment, outlining that racist and other discriminatory comments will not be tolerated, and report the issue to the social media platform provider and the police.

The club offer support to Rami to discuss the issue and ensure he’s okay following the incident. The club, with Rami’s consent, proudly continue sharing images of their members across their social media channels.
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Outcome

Response 3 is positive and demonstrates that the club take incidents of racism or other discriminatory behaviour seriously.

The steps taken to report the issue and prevent future abuse demonstrate their commitment to their people and club culture.

By supporting Rami and continuing to safely share pictures of all members, the club are prioritising their inclusive environment where everyone is welcome, respected, safeguarded and supported.
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Following a successful recruitment drive and after the positive action taken towards the racial abuse Rami received, the club have manged to engage several new members from ethnically diverse communities.

Rami agrees to join the new members at their first session, to help them settle in, but the coach is unsure and has concerns about what session they should join.

Response 1

The coach asks the new members to join the beginners' session because, from their experience of coaching, those from ethnically diverse communities are unable to swim.
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Outcome

This response stereotypes different ethnic groups. This is a form of discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 and is likely to have a negative impact on the new recruits and Rami’s experience of the club.

Without understanding their ability or experience, the coach risks making them feel excluded and judged based on their ethnicity rather than their ability.
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Response 2

The coach asks the new members to join the beginner session but explains that this may only be short-term until their ability can be assessed.

The coach explains that this is to ensure their own safety and allows them to progress at a speed that is suitable for them.
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Outcome

While the rationale behind this response is to ensure the participants' safety, this may still impact upon their experience.

Without understanding their ability, asking them to attend the beginner session may feel as though they are being stereotyped based on their appearance or ethnicity.
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Response 3

Before the session starts, the coach asks the new participants about their experience, previous activity levels and ability.

From this, the coach is able to effectively judge what session would suit the new members best, to ensure they have the best possible experience.

The coach checks in with the new members at the end of the session to ensure the group felt right for them and to confirm which session they would be in the following week.
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Outcome

This is a more proactive approach and seeks to fully understand each individual, their ability and any support needs.

The coach makes the initial decision based on this information but then assesses how the new members found their sessions at the end to ensure it’s the right group for both the club and the members.

By taking this approach, the club can ensure they offer a safe, welcoming and positive experience for the new members, with decisions that are based on mutual respect and preferences, not stereotypes or ethnicity.
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Different people will require different support. It’s important that the needs of one person aren't assumed to be the needs of the next just because they have similar ethnicities or backgrounds.

In other scenarios, when including different ethnic groups, consider:

a person-centred approach that ensures that person’s needs and motivations are front and centre to your decision-making
the imagery, language and communications you use to ensure it’s inclusive and visible to a range of different groups and people
the role models and community connections you have to do your best to ensure your organisation is representative of your local community.

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Ethnicity inclusion scenario

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Response 1

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Response 2

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Response 3

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Response 1

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Response 2

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Response 3

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Response 1

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Response 2

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Response 3

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Ethnicity inclusion scenario

Chapters in this topic

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