Huddersfield Town become first EFL side to be awarded PLEDIS Advanced Award
- Huddersfield Town awarded highest EDI standard
- Advanced Premier League Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard
- Town become first EFL side to be awarded
Following years of hard work through our Terriers Together initiative and EDI and Safeguarding Working Group, we are delighted to become the first EFL Club to have earned the Premier League Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard Advanced Award!
Launched in 2021 by the Premier League, and building on the previous version of the standard, the league state that the award “provides a framework to help Clubs progress equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across all areas of their business, including the work of their Community Trust (or equivalent).”
Throughout the PLEDIS process Clubs submit extensive evidence to show that they are meeting a range of requirements relating to multiple areas of work, including policies and procedures, leadership, learning and development, promoting inclusion and tackling discrimination. These requirements become progressively more challenging as Clubs move between the levels of achievement.
We began our own journey in 2017 upon promotion to the Premier League, and continue that work to this day. Exemplified in our Terriers Together Strategy, recent win at the Menopause Friendly Awards and so much more – as detailed in our 2022/23 EDI Achievements Video - this Award is a landmark achievement for an EFL Club and one that underlines our commitment to ensuring that Huddersfield Town is open, inclusive and welcoming of all.
Huddersfield Town HR Manager and Equality Lead Zoe Shackleton commented:
“I’m incredibly proud of the work we have done and progress we have made as a Club to reach this standard, as it has required consistent dedication and commitment from everyone in the Club and the Huddersfield Town Foundation, and beyond. We are grateful for the support of our Board, as this has been vital to everything we have achieved and aspire to achieve.
“We know that being awarded this standard does not mean that our EDI work is complete, but it does allow us to pause for a moment to recognise and celebrate how deeply embedded the principles of ‘Terriers Together’ have become in all that we do.
“These awards aren’t easily achieved and the assessment process is robust and rigorous, so it is something that staff, supporters and all of our stakeholders alike can take real pride in, as it demonstrates just how seriously the whole Club takes being open, equal, fair and inclusive, which is fundamental to the identity of both Huddersfield Town and the town to which we belong.
“Rounding off an incredible week following the news that we were named Most Supportive Partner at the Menopause Friendly Awards, we look forward to upholding and building on the standards we have set ourselves going forward with the foundations that this PLEDIS Advanced Award provides us.
"We won’t be resting on our laurels and we are already working on the requirements of the EFL Equality Code of Practice, and looking forward to hosting our second Inclusion and Empowerment Conference on 12th October 2023.”
To find out more about the Premier League Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award, CLICK HERE, and to read more about our Terriers Together initiative, CLICK HERE.
