Leicester City’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion is a living principle in our organisation, embedded in our processes, fundamental to our goals and championed by our personnel.
It is, however, an ongoing journey and our work to ensure the club is representative of one of the most diverse cities in the UK is a constantly evolving process.
A key part of staying true to this commitment is identifying opportunities to initiate meaningful change – an opportunity the Football Leadership Diversity Code firmly represents.
Increasing diversity within our organisation and in football is the key to better representation of our communities, better understanding of the challenges they face and more effective action to use the power of football as a vehicle for positive social change, which ultimately will make us a better and stronger club in the longer term.
Issues of equality and diversity are still among the most important challenges football faces, yet under-representation in the game’s leadership continues to limit its ability to effectively tackle them.
Positive action to break this cycle, making clubs and stakeholders more reflective of the communities they represent, has the potential to be transformational for the future of the game.
The introduction to football’s leadership of more lived experiences through diversity has the potential not only to better equip the game in the fight for equality, but to equip its stakeholders to inspire their communities through a deeper, more relevant, more relatable form of engagement.
To better understand and relate to the communities we represent, we have developed an Equality and Diversity Action Plan with particular focus on gender, BAME, disability and LGBTQ+ representation within our organisation.
Through the work of our internal and external equality working groups, the club is able to engage and learn from key representative organisations in our communities – such as Foxes Pride and our Disability Working Group – and utilise such learning to affect our action plan.
The club won particular commendation from Stonewall for our efforts to engage LGBTQ+ supporters and is proud of its status as a Stonewall Diversity Champion.
Club personnel are encouraged to explore opportunities to affect change in the wider game, where chief executive Susan Whelan has been appointed to the FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship Board, while club captain Wes Morgan provides a widely acclaimed voice in the Premier League’s BAME Advisory Group.
