Huddersfield Town Women FC is fully committed to ensuring that everyone can take part in football in an enjoyable, friendly, safe and inclusive environment. The club believes that everyone should have the
opportunity to be part of the football family and we are working hard to ensure that this is a reality.
Our Equality Policy below confirms our clear commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and that we will take firm action, if required, against anyone who behaves in a way that is discriminatory.
Policy Statement
Huddersfield Town Women FC endorses the principle of equality and will strive to ensure that everyone who wishes to be involved in football, whether as players, volunteers, coaches, referees,
Committee member or any other role are able to do so, with fairness and respect.
We will ensure that everyone:
- Has an equal opportunity to participate to the full extent of their own ambitions and abilities
without regard to their age, sex, gender identity, disability, marital or civil partnership status,
pregnancy or maternity, religion, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation; and Can be assured of an environment in which their rights, dignity and individual worth are
respected, they are able to enjoy football without the threat of intimidation, victimisation, harassment, abuse or discrimination.
Legal Obligations
Huddersfield Town Women FC is committed to eliminating discrimination of any kind in football, and will under no circumstances condone unlawful discriminatory practices. The club takes a zero tolerance approach to any form of bullying, harassment or abuse. Examples of the relevant legislation and the behaviours are provided in the Appendix.
Positive Action
The principle of equality, diversity and inclusion goes further than simply complying with legislation.
It entails taking positive steps to counteract the effects of physical or cultural barriers whether real or perceived – that restrict the opportunity for all sections of our community to participate equally and fully in football.
Huddersfield Town Women FC will therefore seek to institute, support or contribute to initiatives that enable access to football and participation in associated activities by people from any group that is under represented in the sport or has difficulty accessing it.
Implementation
The following steps will be taken to publicise this policy and promote equality, diversity and Inclusion in football:
A copy of this document will be published on the Huddersfield Town Women FC website
The club Welfare Officer will take overall responsibility for ensuring that the policy is
observed. The club Committee will take full account of the policy in arriving at all decisions in relation to activities of the club.
Huddersfield Town Women FC will collaborate fully with any surveys or other initiatives designed to assess the level of participation of different sections of the community in football and will take account of the findings in developing measures to promote and enhance sports equality in football.
The Huddersfield Town Women FC Committee, coaches and volunteers will undertake equality training and keep up to date with changes in any equality legislation.
Responsibility, Monitoring and Evaluation
The club Welfare Officer or their representative will review this policy annually (or more regularly if necessary due to changes in legislation) and will report with recommendation to the Committee.
Complaints and Compliance
Huddersfield Town Women FC regards all forms of discriminatory behaviour, including (but not limited to) behaviour described in the Appendix as unacceptable, and will ensure that individuals feel able to raise any grievance or complaint related to such behaviour without fear of being penalised for doing so.
Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against anyone who breaches the Huddersfield Town Women FC equality policy. Any person who believes that he or she has been treated in a way that they consider to be in breach of this policy should contact the club Welfare Officer or the club Chair.
Alleged breaches of the Huddersfield Town Women FC equality policy will be initially investigated by the club Welfare Officer, then escalated to the club Chair, the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA Football Services Department and/or recognised FA disciplinary procedures as appropriate. All investigations will be conducted impartially, confidentially and without avoidable delay. Any person or organisation against whom a complaint has been made will be informed of what is alleged and given the opportunity to present their side of the matter.
Where the alleged violation of this Equality Policy by way of harassment, victimisation or discrimination amount to a criminal offence, the appropriate authority will be informed. In the event that an individual or organisation associated with Huddersfield Town Women FC is subject to allegations of unlawful discrimination in a court or tribunal, the club Committee will co-operate fully with any investigation carried out by the relevant lawful authorities and, subject to the outcome, may consider taking action as above in relation to the matter concerned.
Huddersfield Town Women FC thanks its members and representatives for their continued commitment to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion into day-to-day practices and keeping the club an enjoyable place to participate in football.
Policy Review Date
Date last reviewed: September 2022
APPENDIX: Relevant Legislation and Forms of Unacceptable DiscriminationDiscrimination has been legally defined through a series of legislative acts, including the Race
Relations Act, the Sex Discrimination Act, the Disability Discrimination Act and the Equality Act 2006.
In April 2010, the Equality Act 2010 received Royal Assent. The Equality Act 2010 is a law which harmonises where possible, and in some cases extends, protection from discrimination. It applies
throughout the UK and came into force in October 2010.
Discrimination refers to unfavourable treatment on the basis of particular characteristics, which are known as the ‘protected characteristics’. Under the Equality Act 2010, the protected characteristics are defined as age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex (gender) and sexual orientation.
Under the Equality Act 2010, individuals are protected from discrimination ‘on grounds of’ a protected characteristic. This means that individuals will be protected if they have a characteristic, are assumed to have it, associate with someone who has it or with someone who is assumed to have it.
Forms of discrimination and discriminatory behaviour include the following:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance
1. Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination can be described as less favourable treatment on the grounds of one of the protected characteristics.
2. Indirect discrimination
Indirect discrimination occurs when a provision, criterion or practice is applied to an individual or group that would put persons of a particular characteristic at a particular disadvantage compared
with other persons.
3. Discrimination arising from disability When a disabled person is treated unfavourably because of something connected with their disability and this unfavourable treatment cannot be justified, this is unlawful. This type of discrimination only relates to disability.
4. Harassment
Harassment is defined as unwanted conduct relating to a protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity, or which creates an intimidating or hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person.
5. Victimisation
It is unlawful to treat a person less favourably because he or she has made allegations or brought proceedings under the anti-discrimination legislation, or because they have helped another person to do so. To do so would constitute victimisation.
6. Bullying
Bullying is defined as a form of personal harassment involving the misuse of power, influence or position to persistently criticise, humiliate or undermine an individual.
The exception to this is pregnancy and maternity, which does not include protection by association or assumption – a woman is only protected from discrimination on grounds of her own pregnancy.
