As a company, WIT has always been committed to reflecting the rich and diverse culture of the world around us, both within the internal makeup of our organisation and externally across all of our channels.
The Black Lives Matter movement has catalysed an essential global conversation around racial injustices and disparities, demanding introspection, action and alyship on individual and institutional levels.
With that in mind, we acknowledge that it is not enough to say that we are committed to fighting these injustices, we must speak with our actions and be transparent with our community about how WIT operates in a consistently anti-racist manner across everything we do.
1) Immediate Term
Championing Diversity in External Communications
One of the largest barriers to entry in fitness for BAME individuals, and Black Women in particular, is a lack of representation across campaigns and communications. As a brand and online retailer, we have a responsibility to showcase that fitness is for everyone. After introspection, we internally highlighted a lack of diversity across our female e-commerce offering and immediately resolved this, reshooting a significant portion of our women’s e-commerce imagery. Additionally we are increasing the diversity of our athlete and ambassador network.
Anti-Racism Internal Committee
Representatives across departments at WIT are actively working together to root out unconscious biases in our everyday practices. These individuals are working on the below mid to long term initiatives.
2) Going forward
Fitness Professional Bursary Programme
On June 1st, we announced that we will create a fund designed to support Black individuals on their way to becoming fitness professionals. There is a stark lack of diversity amongst coaches and PT’s, and we have the privilege and platform across our physical London Hub (Gym, Nutrition, etc) to create an ecosystem that both educates individuals on fitness essentials, and financially supports the accreditation process, allocating the support and resource needed for Black individuals to create fulfilling careers within the fitness space. This will be a multi phase project and we have set up an internal committee to determine how best to implement this programme in the immediate, mid and longterm. Updates and information on how to apply will be published soon.
Youths in Fitness Initiative
Upon the re-opening of our London HUB, we will be creating an “after school” type programme for children in under-resourced communities. More information on how to access these programmes will be coming soon.
Hiring Practises - WIT HQ & Collaborators
We are a young (founded 2015) and relatively small company that is experiencing rapid growth. As we increase the size of our team, we will ensure that our hiring and recruitment practices centre and provide opportunities for Black individuals, especially in mid to senior management positions. We have always had a diverse roster of creative collaborators, but we are reviewing how we can hire and support the art of more Black Creators. If you or someone you know works in photography, videography, digital illustration & more, please get in touch on info@wit-fitness.com
Community Support
We are having ongoing conversations internally and externally about the most sustainable approach to committing to relevant community initiatives. In addition to what we can do externally, from Q4 we will also be supporting relevant community projects within our own London space.
These initiatives listed are by no means exhaustive. Our committee will continue to constantly challenge our internal practises, ensuring that WIT acts on its commitment to be an anti-racist ally. This is an open and ongoing conversation, and we welcome any feedback on what we can be doing better or how we can best align our support.
WIT stands unequivocally with Black Lives Matter.
None of us are free until all of us are free.
Thank you,
TEAM WIT