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Equity in Action

Equity in Action

Written by: Sporting Equals
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Everyone deserves a place in sports. Addressing racism in athletics requires a top-down approach; associations, communities, and families must work together to reshape the racial narrative within physical activity and create fair, equitable, and welcoming environments for all. Teaching children to fail, collaborate, and play is critical to their development, yet generational and systemic stigma can stand in the way. Equity in Action explores the many facets of racial inequality and how they can be addressed to foster fairness within the sporting industry. Hosted by Zoiey Smale, Disability, Access, and Inclusion Consultant and Sports Presenter, the series features conversations with leaders across the sporting sector, including parents, innovators, and professional athletes, reflecting on how to champion equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in sport. From Tuesday 27th January 2026, you can hear inspiring stories from across the United Kingdom and gain practical insight into how to foster more inclusive, supportive sporting environments within your own community. New episodes are released bi-weekly on Tuesdays. You’ll hear from voices such as: Didi Okoh, British Paralympian and bronze medallist in the T63 100m at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Khadija Patel, founder of Krimmz Girls Youth Club, an inclusive space empowering young woman, girls, and their families through sport, leadership, and personal development. Azi Mohammed, Trustee for the Mayor’s Fund of London and Chief Operating Officer of Salaam Peace, a community-led organisation in East London delivering sports and education programmes to drive positive change. Inder Singh Bassi, five-time London champion and three-time national finalist in boxing, and youth boxing coach. --- About the Host: Zoiey ‘The Mindful Maverick’ Smale is a motivational educator, storyteller and inclusion advocate with over 20 years of experience in sport and leadership. Her career has taken her from athlete, official and coach to working with major global brands and organisations like NASA, Mercedes F1, Spotify, and Sport England, helping them create more inclusive and equitable spaces. Recognised by leaders like Theo Paphitis and Jacqueline Gold CBE, Zoiey has led award-winning initiatives to keep girls in sport and challenge outdated standards in both the sport and fashion industries. She made history as the first Black woman to win over six national titles, including Miss United Kingdom and Ms GB World, using her platform to drive the body positivity movement and push for better representation across media and brands like Victoria’s Secret and Decathlon. --- If you enjoy podcasts like The Rest is Football, The Lead, and Code Switch, you’ll enjoy hearing the stories of resilience and innovation within the sporting industry found in Equity in Action.
Episodes
  • Diversity in Leadership

    Diversity in Leadership
    May 19 2026
    Being questioned about your loyalty to a country you've given everything for. Watching the doors of leadership stay firmly closed long after you stopped playing. Two athletes who reached the top of British sport and still had to fight for their place at the table. In this episode of Equity in Action, John Williams brings together two pioneering figures in British sport who, despite competing at the very same time, had never met - until now. Michelle Griffiths Robinson is a Team GB Olympic triple jumper, women's health advocate, and champion for inclusion across sport and physical activity. Devon Malcolm is a former England fast bowler, Windrush generation son, and a man who took his fight for race equality all the way to the High Court. Between them, they carry decades of hard-won wisdom on race, equity, and what fairness in sport actually looks like when you're living it. From Devon's legal battle to challenge racial bias in cricket, to Michelle calling out unconscious bias on behalf of her daughter at English Schools - and her unflinching question to a charity board that had never employed a Black person in fifty years - this conversation is honest, warm, and full of insight for anyone working to advance EDI in sport and physical activity. Together, Michelle and Devon offer perspective that athletes, coaches, parents, and governing bodies can't afford to ignore: You can't be what you can't see: Representation in coaching, officiating, and leadership isn't a nice-to-have. It's the difference between a young person staying in sport or walking away from it. Diversity at the table changes everything: If the same people keep making decisions, you'll keep getting the same results. Boards, clubs, and governing bodies need diverse voices not just to reflect communities, but to understand them. Sport is a foundation, not a ceiling: Both Michelle and Devon made a point of raising children with choices beyond sport. The goal of inclusion in physical activity is to open doors, not to funnel people through the same narrow ones. Use your voice - especially when it costs you something: Devon risked his house and his career to challenge racism in cricket. Michelle took on an institution to protect her daughter. Equity doesn't advance without people willing to push back. Give something back: Nelson Mandela called Devon after the 1994 South Africa test to tell him how fast sport reaches young people. Decades later, he's still putting that reach to work. _ _ Sporting Equals is a leading UK charity promoting race equality and equity in sport and physical activity, creating a landscape where ethnically diverse communities feel included, represented, and able to thrive.
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    50 mins
  • Intersectionality: Disability in Sport

    Intersectionality: Disability in Sport
    May 5 2026
    Being told you're an "injury risk" when your disability was simply never understood. Walking around the Paralympic Village and counting the people who look like you on one hand. These are not abstract barriers, they are the lived reality of navigating sport as a Black disabled athlete in Britain, where race, equity, and fairness are still far from guaranteed. In this episode of Equity in Action, Zoiey Smale, Disability, Access, and Inclusion Consultant and Sports Presenter, is joined by Didi Okoh - bronze medal-winning Paralympian in the T63 100m at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and Sporting Equals Ambassador. Diagnosed with Lymphedema after years of misunderstanding and dismissed by her club as injury-prone, Didi's route into para-athletics was anything but straightforward. Hers is a story of extraordinary self-belief in the face of systems not built with diversity, inclusion, or fairness in mind. Together, Zoiey and Didi offer hard-won insights for athletes, coaches, parents, and governing bodies committed to advancing EDI across sport and physical activity: See the athlete, not the inspiration: Respect para-athletes as the elite competitors they are. Framing matters for who feels welcome and who feels seen. Don't let anyone push you out: Equality in sport means letting people be the judge of what they can and cannot do. Clubs that dismiss disabled young people as risks are losing extraordinary talent. Reform starts at the grassroots: Underrepresentation begins early. More connection between hospitals, charities, and governing bodies could open the pipeline. Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not. Make space for vulnerability: Real inclusion means making room for every part of a person's identity, regardless of race or disability, not just the parts that are easy to celebrate. Know when to step back: Didi took a six-week break in a Paralympic year. It was the decision that got her to Paris. _ _ Sporting Equals is a leading UK charity promoting race equality and equity in sport and physical activity, creating a landscape where ethnically diverse communities feel included, represented, and able to thrive.
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    31 mins
  • My Child, the Athlete: Parenting and Emotional Costs

    My Child, the Athlete: Parenting and Emotional Costs
    Apr 21 2026
    Behind every young athlete's medal is a family that sacrificed, believed, and showed up, even when the system didn't. Raising a child in sport isn't just about training schedules and competition entries; it's about navigating race, bias, and financial strain, and the quiet courage it takes to keep going when fairness feels out of reach. In this episode of Equity in Action, Zoiey Smale, Disability, Access, and Inclusion Consultant and Sports Presenter, is joined by three generations of a remarkable wrestling family whose legacy spans nearly 50 years. Rowin Manjeet Singh Leil II is a British freestyle wrestling champion, youth coach, and sports science student who began wrestling at 12. His father, Michael Singh, is a former wrestler and long-standing coach representing the second generation of this sporting tradition. And Manjit Singh is the man who started it all; one of the early British Asian wrestlers, who arrived in the UK in 1962 and won the British Championships in 1976. Together, they explore what it truly means to raise a child through sport while holding onto racial identity, cultural pride, and a deep belief in equity and equality for all. Zoiey, Rowin, Michael, and Manjit offer honest, hard-won insights for parents, coaches, and governing bodies committed to advancing diversity, inclusion, and EDI across sport and physical activity: Honour the family behind the athlete: Clubs and governing bodies should recognise that diverse families often self-fund travel, equipment, and training without access to the same networks or funding streams. True equality in sport and physical activity means building pathways that acknowledge this reality and actively working to level the playing field, not just on paper, but in practice. Move the goalposts back: When criteria for selection or progression keep shifting, it erodes trust and discourages talent from underrepresented communities. Governing bodies must be transparent, consistent, and accountable. Setting clear expectations and honouring them, especially for athletes who have already met the bar. Build clubs where no colour, no creed is the culture: Real inclusion isn't a policy document; it's the four-year-old on the mat, the autistic teenager who just asked their first question, and the community session held in a Gurdwara. Genuine diversity and inclusion means designing your club environment so that every young person, regardless of background, race, or ability, feels they have a place in sport. Champion long-term development over short-term glory: Resist the pressure to chase medals at the expense of the person. The most powerful thing you can give a young athlete isn't a trophy; it's the discipline, resilience, and self-belief to keep going. Winning will come; your job is to make sure they're still standing when it does. -- Sporting Equals is a leading UK charity promoting race equality and equity in sport and physical activity. Their mission is to create a sporting landscape where ethnically diverse communities feel included, represented, and able to thrive — whether on the pitch, in leadership, or in decision-making spaces.
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    26 mins
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