Adopted by BAC committee August 2024
To be reviewed by BAC AGM 2025

All Voice Limited (“AV”) is committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible environment for all members. This policy outlines our dedication to equality, diversity, inclusion (“EDI”), and accessibility, ensuring that every individual feels valued and respected.

This policy integrates principles from the British Association of Barbershop Singers, All Voice Limited, and accessibility best practices, ensuring a comprehensive approach to fostering a welcoming and supportive choir environment.

This policy aims to:

• promote equality of opportunity for all members, regardless of background;
• foster a diverse, inclusive, and accessible choir environment;
• and ensure fair treatment and prevent discrimination and harassment (see Appendix 1 for definitions).

This policy applied to all members, including singers, directors, volunteers, and staff, as well as anyone else involved in choir activities, sometimes referred to as a “representative” of the choir.

We ensure equal treatment for all members, providing a fair and supportive environment. Discrimination based on protected characteristics such as sex, race, religion, age, disability, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, and others is strictly prohibited.

Diversity is celebrated as a strength in our organisation. We actively encourage and celebrate participation from individuals of various backgrounds to ensure diverse representation. This includes different cultural, socioeconomic, and personal identities, enriching our creativity as well as our diversity and representation.

We strive to create an inclusive atmosphere where every member feels they belong. This includes providing necessary accommodations and ensuring that all voices are heard and respected. We work against any form of harassment, bullying, or victimisation, maintaining a safe and supportive environment for all.

Accessibility is a crucial component of our commitment to EDI. We are dedicated to:

• physical accessibility: ensuring that all rehearsal and performance venues are accessible to individuals with mobility issues (this includes the provision of ramps, lifts, and accessible seating as needed);
• communication accessibility: providing materials in accessible formats, such as large print, braille, or digital formats compatible with screen readers, to accommodate members with visual or hearing impairments;
• programme accessibility: facilitating accommodations such as sign language interpreters or assisted listening devices during rehearsals and performances;
• and a supportive environment: ensuring that all activities and programmes are inclusive and accessible, with necessary adjustments made to support full participation.

• We promote inclusive recruitment practices and actively reach out to diverse communities.
• We ensure that all processes, from auditions to membership, are transparent and accessible to everyone.

• The committee can signpost members towards training and education on issues related to EDI and accessibility topics, such as unconscious bias, cultural sensitivity, and disability awareness.
• We encourage ongoing learning and dialogue to understand and address biases and barriers.

• We strive for diverse representation in leadership roles and decision-making processes.
• All members are encouraged to participate full in choir activities, with support provided as needed.

• Open communication channels are maintained for members to report concerns or suggestions regarding EDI and accessibility – these can be communicated to any member of the committee but those with primary responsibility for this policy are the musical director, the chair, and the welfare coordinator.
• Regular reviews of this policy and our practices are conducted to ensure ongoing improvement and alignment with best practices.

All members are responsible for upholding this policy, and the choir's committee is accountable for ensuring its implementation. Any breaches of this policy will be addressed promptly and appropriately using the complaints procedure in Appendix 2.

Members are encouraged to report any incidents of discrimination, harassment, or accessibility issues. These reports will be handled confidentially and investigated thoroughly, with appropriate actions taken based on the findings.

This policy will be reviewed annually and updated as necessary to reflect new insights, feedback from members, and changes in legal or social standards.

AV is dedicated to creating a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and accessible environment. By adhering to these values, we aim to foster a vibrant and harmonious choir community where all members feel they belong.

Harassment is a situation where someone engages in unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of violating another person's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual. Condoning such conduct may be harassment in itself. A single incident can amount to harassment if sufficiently grave. It should also be remembered that the perception of the person being harassed will be very important and representatives should not assume that conduct, which they may find acceptable, would also be acceptable to others.

A person may be harassed because of one or more protected characteristic. A person may be harassed even if they were not the intended “target” where the harassment creates an offensive environment for that person.

Harassment can occur where the person being harassed does not have one of the characteristics specified, but is mistakenly thought to have such a characteristic, is known not to have such a characteristic or is associated with another person having one of these characteristics.

Harassment may take many forms. For example:

• sexual harassment includes unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect set out above including, but not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances and unwelcome physical conduct;
• racial harassment covers any unwanted conduct having the purpose or effect set out above, which is related to colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins;
• sexual orientation harassment includes, but is not limited to, outing or threatening to out someone as gay, lesbian or bi-sexual or telling offensive jokes about someone's sexual orientation.

Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. Examples of bullying include verbal abuse and derogatory remarks, insulting or threatening behaviour, ridiculing an individual, spreading malicious rumours about an individual, embarrassing and humiliating an individual in public.

Victimisation is treating someone badly because in good faith they have (or it is believed that they are going to) made a claim or complaint of discrimination; or helped someone else to make a claim; or made an allegation that AV is in breach of the Equality Act 2010 or done anything else in connection with the Act. If a member is treated less favourably because they have taken such action, then this will be victimisation.

We take a zero-tolerance approach to breaches of this policy.

Any complaint by a representative arising from breach of this policy should be made in the first instance to the chair of the committee, who will respond within 14 days. If the complaint is against the chair then the member should speak to the welfare coordinator or the musical director. All complaints will be thoroughly investigated in an independent and objective manner.

If a representative is uncertain whether an incident or series of incidents amounts to discrimination, harassment, victimisation or bullying or constitutes a breach of this policy, they should seek confidential assistance and clarification from an appropriate member of committee (chair, welfare, or musical director).

The response to the complaint may be in the range from finding unfair treatment has occurred and correcting that, to finding that the complaint is not upheld. In cases where it is found that unfair treatment has occurred, the committee will consider sanctions which may include verbal or written warnings, temporary or permanent loss of membership.

Confidentiality is an important part of the complaints process. Every effort will be made to keep the complaints process confidential. Individuals not involved in the complaint or the investigation should not be told about it. Details of the investigation and the names of the complainant and the person accused must only be disclosed on a “need to know” basis. Breach of confidentiality constitutes a breach of this policy.

Representatives who make complaints or who participate in good faith in any investigation must not suffer any form of retaliation or victimisation as a result. Anyone found to have retaliated against or victimised someone in this way will be deemed to have breached this policy and the committee will consider sanctions which may include verbal or written warnings, temporary or permanent loss of membership. The representative is entitled to complain to the chair or any other member of the committee.

Before, during and after an investigation into a representative's complaint, the ensemble will collect, hold and use information and evidence relevant to the allegation in question, including for example, information from third parties, such as other representatives. This will include personal information about the complainant and potentially “special categories” of information, both of which are regulated by data protection legislation. The information will be retained securely, for as long as it is considered necessary in accordance with current data protection legislation.