THE HRA VIEW
HERITAGE RAILWAY ASSOCIATION CHIEF EXEC STEVE OATES TACKLES STEAM’S BURNING ISSUES
More diversity is needed
IN MAY 1995, England captain Will Carling described the Rugby Football Union general committee as ‘57 old farts’. At face value, Carling’s comment was merely an amusing jibe at 57 men, most of whom tended to be former players with time on their hands and, therefore, of an older demographic. As one commentator has since stated, ‘they had a jolly way of life of blazers and mutual back-scratching – just as long as nothing went wrong’ (inews.co.uk, May 4 2020).
Carling was initially sacked. But his comment led to something deeper. A realisation that, although individually each member of the committee undoubtedly had much experience and expertise to offer, a whole committee comprising 57 mostly retired white males just might not be totally reflective of all those – both male and female, young and old – who played, contributed to, and watched and enjoyed the sport. In other words, more diversity ‘at the top’ was needed.
Blindingly obvious really. And to those of us running businesses who understood our customers and audiences, perhaps also a slight sense of bewilderment that such a popular mainstream sport was still run in such a way.
Fast forward two and half decades and the underlying message of Carling’s comment has twice come to mind recently. The first was during a series of HRA members’ seminars with the ORR on leadership, when discussion inevitably turned to the make-up of heritage rail boards and, often, their limited diversity.
Our love for what we do rightly focuses on the preservation, restoration and operation of our cultural heritage. But none of this is possible without people. People are our lifeblood. They are our visitors, our staff, our volunteers, our fundraisers, our suppliers, our regulators and our political influences. In other words, they are our customers, our stakeholders and our audiences. And they come in all demographics, genders and ethnicity.
So could Carling’s message equally apply to heritage rail? Does a board or management team that is devoid of women, young people, those with disabilities or from varied ethnic groups possess the breadth of vision to truly understand an existing customer base, let alone new untapped markets? Can such a board or management team provide the appropriate breadth of challenge and thought on matters such as the railway’s food offering, its facilities for families, or the comfort and cleanliness of the carriages? Is the railway missing out on potential new volunteer recruits, particularly younger people who might look at heritage rail and think ‘Boring!’ because they don’t see ‘people like me’ running the organisation?
And might a narrowly made-up board be missing a wider range of very useful views on safety, operational issues and different ways of doing things? I know the Office of Rail and Road thinks this is quite possible.
None of this is a dig at those who already do so much as directors, trustees and managers. But we need to be more attractive to more people more often.
I’d contend that solving the problem starts at the top.
Not ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water’, but introducing new blood and genuine diversity to understand and engage new audiences, attract new volunteers, offer new ideas and innovations, and provide a fresh impetus to get things done… And, vitally, to ensure a balance of expertise, life skills and knowledge reflective of all those – both male and female, young and old – who work and volunteer on heritage railways, contribute to heritage railways, and who visit and enjoy heritage railways.
COULD CARLING’S MESSAGE IN 1995 EQUALLY APPLY TO HERITAGE RAIL?