We are excited to share our new Strategy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with you.
Participation in sport is powerful for building healthy individuals and communities. We believe that volleyball should be welcoming and accessible to every individual who wants to participate. But we know that this is not always the case.
One of the key pillars of our 2021-2024 Strategic Plan is “expanding our reach” and creating inclusive volleyball experiences. This document outlines our commitment to this deliverable over the following years. The Strategy is broad, ambitious, and tackles some big areas. We know that work in this space is a journey rather than a destination but we are excited to start putting one step in front of another to make change.
For a copy of the Strategy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion click here.
Join our dei committee!
We are looking for people who are knowledgeable and passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion to join our new DEI Committee.
The DEI Committee will advise and support the delivery of the Strategy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and will provide input to staff to reflect the needs of the volleyball community. The Committee will comprise of 7-9 individuals who can bring understanding and experience of DEI in volleyball (or another sport context) through one or more of the following criteria:
- Understanding, passion, expertise, and/or lived experience of the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Understanding of the different components of the volleyball sport system (including grassroots, recreational, the club system, and high performance), and how each of them present different challenges and opportunities for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Experience and insight into inclusion considerations from a player, parent, coach, referee, or club administrator perspective.
Members will be selected to represent diverse backgrounds of age, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, physical or mental abilities. Consideration will also be given to geographic representation from around BC.
For more information about the Committee, read our Terms of Reference.
Interested applicants should send an expression of interest to [email protected] by February 28, 2023.
What have we done so far?
We have already started work in several areas of the Strategy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
- We participated in Canadian Women in Sport’s Same Game Challenge to identify how we could support gender equity across our organisation.
- We launched a Female Mentorship Program for female coaches and referees to support their development.
- We have created an Introduction to Volleyball program for Newcomers to Canada, working with social agencies in communities around the province.
- We are running a grassroots sitting volleyball program to provide accessible playing opportunities and to encourage the development of sitting volleyball coaches.
- We are working with ISPARC to support the Team BC volleyball team to participate in the 2023 North American Indigenous Games.
what is diversity, equity, and inclusion?
DIVERSITY
The visible and non-visible differences between people. It is what differentiates each one of us and might include gender, race, age, ethnicity, income level, and sexual orientation.
EQUITY
The process of allocating resources, programs, and decision-making fairly to all people without any discrimination and working toward fair outcomes for people or groups by treating them in ways that address their unique advantages or barriers
INCLUSION
Creating a culture that embraces, respects, and values difference so that all people feel they belong and are valued. An inclusive environment ensures equitable access to resources and opportunities and enables individuals and groups to feel safe, accepted and valued for who they are.
Our commitment statement in the Strategy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is:
“Empowering our community to remove barriers to participation and be welcoming to all participants.”
The Strategic Pillars of our Strategy are:
1.Increase Capacity
2. Supportive Pathways
3. Remove Barriers
4. Build Partnerships
We have goals articulated under each strategic pillar to help us direct our time and resources. Read the Strategy to find out more!