Chief Executive's statement

At Scope, we want a society where all disabled people enjoy equality and fairness. This means absolutely everyone.

To achieve this, we need to transform the way we work so that equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do.

The decisions we make as a charity must better reflect the needs of all groups in society. Our campaigns must spotlight the overlapping barriers faced by some disabled people and the unique experiences these create. Our services must be accessible and inclusive to all. We must be a workplace where everyone can thrive and feel that they belong.

Over the last 8 months, our colleagues, members and Scope volunteers have shared with us their experiences to help us develop our first Equality Diversity and Inclusion strategy. I am so grateful to them for their honesty, ideas and challenges.

Our 4 goals set out our ambitions and detail how we’ll start to take action to build a culture that’s accessible and inclusive. Some of our first priorities include improving our approach to recruitment, providing race equality training to colleagues and introducing equality impact assessments for new projects.

Delivering these plans will strengthen our inclusion and impact as an organisation. But we are just at the start of building the lasting change we need to see.

We know that this will take time and collaboration. We won’t always get things right and we won't have all the answers alone. We know we need to learn from experts and the people in society we are here to serve. We must actively listen to communities and respond to what we are hearing. We are keen to work with others as we start the journey of delivering our plans.

Scope has a long and proud history of championing disability equality. But we need a more inclusive future. From our helpline to our high street stores, our boardroom to our online community we want everyone to feel included.

We want Scope to be anti-racist and LGBTQ+ inclusive. We want to welcome people of all faiths and none. We will fight discrimination based on gender, social class, and much more.

We have a way to go to reach our ambitions. But, we are committed to listening, learning and improving. I look forward to sharing our progress with you.