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Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity actions 2014-2024

07.03.25

What have we done?

"We believe in supporting equal access to our sport for people from all backgrounds. We also believe that all people have the potential to develop leadership and coaching skills if trained appropriately."

 

This is an extract from our ethos and it describes the approach we’ve taken to our equity, diversity and inclusivity work since 2014. This blog is a summary of what we’ve done, what the data shows and where we’re heading next. Apologies in advance if we've missed anything - please do let us know.

 

In the beginning, there was data

In 2012 the Mountain Training network implemented a new digital platform for candidate registrations, provider course reporting and association membership. The system allowed us to interrogate the gender and ethnicity demographics of our candidates in a way that was previously not possible or very time-consuming. The data showed what most people already knew: our candidates were mostly white men. As we looked a little deeper, we noticed that there was some variation in gender representation depending on the qualification, furthermore representation of people from ethnic groups other than white was minimal. We didn’t have (and still don’t) a similar level of data about disability and various other protected characteristics, though we have started including demographic monitoring questions in our post-course feedback.

 

Since 2012, we’ve continued to look at the data while considering what practical steps we could take to diversify the demographics of our candidates. Everyone acknowledged there was no quick fix and that change would require long-term commitment. Inequity and discrimination exist in all spheres of the UK and Ireland despite decades of campaigning and legislation. We also recognised that we needed to start somewhere and chose the Women’s Climbing Symposium (established in 2011) as the place to begin. We wanted to understand the reasons why more women weren’t pursuing our qualifications and so alongside attending the event in Sheffield in 2015 we created our Women in Mountain Training Facebook group.

 

The full history of our journey towards gender equity will be covered in a new section being added to our 60 year history soon. This blog is intended to provide a record of our actions relating to all elements of equity, diversity and inclusivity in the past 10 years.

Then there was action

Event presence including financial support and/or course provision:

 

Funding for people facing barriers to participation:

Colour Up Climbing Wall Instructor training
Women's Trad Festival 2022, photo: Lena Drapella
ClimbOut Festival 2024
ClimbOut instructor training courses
Women in Mountain Training 2024
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Research:

 

Data provided for external research:

Dr Adele Doran & Dr Jenny Hall – Researching Women in Mountaineering (2019)

 

Resources:

  • Creating a Life in the Outdoors resource for people from ethnically diverse backgrounds – in collaboration with Phil Young, The Outsiders Project and Soraya Abdel-Hadi, All The Elements (2023)
  • What’s Possible – a film about three recipients of MTE’s disability training fund (2024)
  • OutdoorHer – in collaboration with BMC (2024)

 

Engagement initiatives and interventions:

  • Women in Mountain Training Facebook group (2015)
  • Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor mentoring pilot with women, led by Libby Peter. 6 women gained the qualification (2016)
  • Outward Bound Trust’s Women's Outdoor Instructor Development course – 2023 + 2024 (leadership training support), resources since start (2019)
  • Rhiane Fatinikun MBE (+Black Girls Hike) becomes a Mountain Training ambassador (2021)
  • Rehna Yaseen (Lindley Educational Trust/Ashton Youth Club) becomes a Mountain Training ambassador (2024)
  • 14 webinars delivered to demystify Mountain Training to new audiences e.g. ClimbOut community, Every Body Outdoors community (2022-25)
  • National Trust Walk Together Pathway – supporting leaders from established community groups to access training and the journey to getting a Mountain Training qualification (2023-25)
  • New Mountain Training website designed with accessibility in mind, particularly with regards to screen readers, dyslexia and colour-blindness (2024)
  • Candidate handbooks updated to accessible format for easier use by screen readers and Adobe liquid mode (2024)

Governance:

  • Introduced SKATE (Skills, Knowledge, (personal) Attributes, Training, Experience) – a person specification approach to fulfilling a role that looks beyond just the minimum qualification
    • Course director and staff requirements for our climbing qualifications have been reviewed using this approach. It appropriately reduced reliance on the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor qualification which is one of the least diverse and arguably beyond the level required to work on and course direct certain courses now CWDI is established and RCDI exists. 
  • In 2022 Mountain Training UK & Ireland and Mountain Training England introduced a menstruation/menopause policy for staff.
  • Changes to the recruitment and approval process for Mountain Training England tutors and course directors – it now includes several online training courses including one called ‘Our People’. Content provided by Aneela McKenna from Mor Diversity. (implemented 2024)
  • Long term member of Mountain Training staff Cath Luke changed roles to become Governance and Equity Officer (2018)
  • Mountain Training England, in line with their 2021-25 strategic plan, began reviewing applications from new providers with a particular interest in those who can demonstrate access to underrepresented groups e.g. women, ethnic minorities, people with a disability etc.

Training and qualifications

  • Indoor Climbing Assistant – a qualification for people taking on an assistant role, much more accessible than our instructional qualifications for people with certain disabilities (2018)
  • Staff training session on Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity delivered by Aneela McKenna (2021) and internal staff (2022)
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity training provided for course directors and staff by the national Mountain Training organisations (since 2018)
  • The leadership competencies in our qualifications have been updated (2022 walking qualifications and 2025 climbing qualifications)

 

Diversity data

This data was shared with attendees at the Women in Mountain Training Conference 2024. Data for 2024 goes up to 16th October.

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What’s next?

  • Training while pregnant guidance will be added to OutdoorHer (2025)
  • Guidance for working whilst pregnant in the adventure activities sector will be added to the Mountain Training website (2025)
  • Expansion of Colour Up pilot to more community partners
  • Create an online community to support all three cohorts of trainees from the National Trust Walk Together Pathway (2025)
  • Women in Mountain Training online workshops (2025-26)
  • Women in Mountain Training Conference (2027)
  • Support for ClimbOut (2025) & Wanderers of Colour Festival 2026
  • Several of the projects listed above will continue, along with lots more work we've not even thought of yet.

 

Availability of resources in terms of money and staff time continue to dictate what work we can and can't action whilst maintaining core awarding organisation functions.

 

We're not where we want to be, so we will continue to commit to this work.