EDIB: when the words matter and the work matters more

Tracey Thomas, Associate Co-Director of Create Gloucestershire shares her thoughts on their journey to be a truly inclusive organisation ‍ ‍

I have noticed that local leaders have become increasingly careful with their language when referring to the work of equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging.  We sometimes say this slowly, we often use acronyms in no particular order, sometimes we say this with a quiet pause as we check we are using the right terms and sometimes we say this at such speed followed by the words ‘or whatever’.  There is care, there is intention, there is a desire to not offend and a desire to morally do the right thing.  All of this matters, but I have become increasingly interested in what happens after we have found the right words. ‍ ‍

I believe that inclusion is a ‘verb’, a doing word; it is not something an organisation is, but it is something an organisation does. As leaders we must pay attention to this because, if left unattended, systems do not drift towards equity. They drift towards familiarity, towards established power, dominant norms and those already most comfortable in the space. Paying attention to inclusion interrupts that drift and requires effort. ‍It requires time on agendas, not just statements. It requires budget, not just hope. And it requires leadership that is willing to be challenged, not just affirmed. ‍

An uncomfortable truth is that if inclusion does not cost us something, in terms of time, financial resource, comfort or control then it is unlikely to be inclusion. Like many organisations, Create Gloucestershire has invested time and care into EDIB. We have developed policies, created a Racism Risk Assessment; we have reflected on governance and board composition and we have responded to funder expectations. These are significant steps, but they also create a particular risk; an illusion that if we say the right things then we are also doing the right things. ‍ ‍

“True inclusion requires redistribution of attention, voice, opportunity, resource and that redistribution needs to show up in budgets, agendas, decision-making and access”‍ ‍

Create Gloucestershire is a laboratory that helps create the conditions for a more creative, collaborative and equitable Gloucestershire. We are predominantly a freelance team and, as we are not co-located daily, our monthly team meeting, referred to as a ‘huddle’, is an important anchor point. From a governance perspective, it supports risk management, oversight and alignment across a distributed team. It is also at our huddles where culture becomes visible. This came into sharper focus during a recent team huddle when I asked the team ‘what does EDIB feel like when working here?’. Colleagues spoke about their working-class backgrounds, social housing, caring responsibilities, disability and access barriers, neurodivergence, global majority identity, connections to Muslim and Asian communities, and motherhood. These were not shared as categories, but as lived realities that shape how we move through our organisation and experience of inclusion. ‍ ‍

EDIB feels more present when these experiences are actively informing our governance, decision-making and ways of working. Alongside this, psychological safety emerged as something practised in small, everyday ways, in the ability to name when something feels “off,” to engage in flexible check-ins, and to show appreciation for one another. In these moments, inclusion is not abstract, it is tangible, relational, and actively lived. We did not shy away from discomfort or the acknowledgement that our organisation may appear “very white” externally, and that social class, despite being deeply influential, often remains invisible within diversity discourse. ‍‍‍‍ ‍

It is also interesting to notice that despite external perceptions recent EDI monitoring revealed that Create Gloucester's board and team exceed the Gloucestershire Equalities Profile 2026 comparative percentages of people identifying as being disabled or living with a long-term health condition; people from the global majority; people from the LGBTQI+ community and those identifying as female. Over many years Create Gloucestershire has worked to build trust within communities that are under-represented in, and furthest away from, the arts and cultural sector so that opportunities, including governance roles, are visible, accessible and relevant to the diverse communities we serve. It is only now that we are seeing this hidden work start to come to fruition.‍ ‍

Internally, we are bold in sharing our different identities and we step forward knowing that externally sometimes difference may be noticed and not always held well or safely.  Personally, without safety, the choice to share my identity is a calculation and if I am calculating risk, then I am not fully participating. 

“Inclusion that never unsettles existing power is unlikely to be inclusion”

In a principally freelance model like ours, the dynamics of power can be even harder to see as power is not only structural; it is relational. It is present in tone, in confidence, in who speaks first, in whose voice is listened to and understood and, as we are not together daily, intentional culture is even more critical.  ‍ ‍

My experience is that if inclusion feels comfortable for everyone it may not be reaching those who are least comfortable. Inclusion that never unsettles existing power is unlikely to be inclusion.  This is not about creating discomfort for its own sake, but it is about recognising that equity work will sometimes feel uncomfortable and the question is “can we all stay present in this discomfort?”.‍ ‍

True inclusion requires redistribution of attention, voice, opportunity, resource and that redistribution needs to show up in budgets, agendas, decision-making and access.  What I value, reflecting on our conversation at the huddle and in our ongoing work, is that it is not defensive. There is no claim that we have “got it right”. In fact, the phrase that surfaced at the huddle was that we are not done yet and this feels important. EDIB is a practice that is ongoing, relational, structural and lives in small moments of how we open a meeting, how we respond to challenge, how we design for access and how we share power.  ‍ ‍

Consider within your organisation, if someone brings their full identity into your space, their class background, their race, their disability, their faith, their neurodivergence, their responsibilities, will they still feel safely held and that they belong? ‍ ‍

At Create Gloucestershire this work does not sit only in strategy documents, but it happens in our monthly huddles, Board meetings, alliance meetings, in other Create Gloucestershire-convened spaces and events; in moments of honesty; in how we respond when things feel uncomfortable. It happens when we choose to pay attention because inclusion is not something we achieve, it is something we keep choosing.‍ ‍

Tracey Thomas is Associate Co-Director at Create Gloucestershire. Her work sits at the intersection of leadership, creativity and equity, drawing on trauma-informed, systems-aware and relational approaches. She brings over 20 years’ experience in the NHS alongside her practice as an executive coach, supporting individuals and organisations to work more consciously with power, identity and change.

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