Our Blogs

This year for Black History Month, we’re publishing a series of blogs by members of the RDG’s minority ethnic network, Embrace.

This blog was written by Cassius Morrison, Accreditation Analyst and Co-Chair of Embrace.

Throughout October, we have explored the origins of Black History Month and why it is more important than ever before that we recognise it; the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace; and a few pioneers from BAME origin who paved the way for greater representation of BAME colleagues across the industry through their struggles.

This week, we are exploring BAME people and allies who are currently working within the rail industry and working to shape a better tomorrow. Here are some examples of people encouraging all to stand up for justice, equality and diversity.

BAME executives driving change

Although significant work still needs to be done to address the under-representation of BAME people at senior levels of organisations, Rail Delivery Group, Network Rail and train operators are making significant changes, led from the front by colleagues from BAME backgrounds - colleagues who have often faced many challenges in these struggles.

Loraine Martins MBE FRSA is the first to hold the position of Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Network Rail, which has some 42,000 employees. Loraine leads a centre of expertise which supports Network Rail’s ambition to be a more open, diverse and inclusive business.

In November 2019, Loraine was awarded the Mike Nichols Award (Association of Project Management APM) which recognises contributions to transformational change for the world and society. Loraine’s advice to others looking to emulate her success is: “Always be the best that you can be. Work hard. Be authentic, be true to yourself and the values you hold.”

Ola Ogun is the Chief Financial Officer at the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). Ola has been instrumental in setting up and supporting the continuous running of RDG’s BAME network, Embrace. A key advocate for meritocracy and equality, Ola champions diversity and inclusion at RDG. Ola shared his thoughts on EDI at RDG in his blog entry last week.

Employee Networks bringing people together

It is not just those at Director level that advocate for change. Employee Networks play an important role in bringing people together and helping to raise awareness and concerns.

Emma Palmer was the first Chair of the Embrace network at RDG, helping to bring together the BAME employees and initiate challenging discussions to bring about change. She has since moved on to a secondment at Chiltern Railways where she plans to continue championing diversity and inclusion across the industry.

The Network Rail BAME employee network, Cultural Fusion, aims to recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce. Sharon Salmon, who runs the network, advocates “embracing our cultural diversities to help build an inclusive and progressive organisation for everyone.” Sharon says: “We want people from all backgrounds to be part of the network and become change makers. I am proud of what we have built together as a team to help grow the network and reach out to our members, allies and wider communities as a place to learn grow and be educated on the issues which affect BAME colleagues.”

Sharon has been instrumental in her role as Chair to develop and foster collaboration with the other employee networks to recognise intersectionality which demonstrates common struggles and how the power of coming together helps to create an environment of support and strength.

Several TOCs also have their own BAME employee networks, such as Govia Thameslink Railway that aims to build an inclusive organisation with greater understanding and fairness based on a meritocracy.

The support of allies within organisations

Allies provide invaluable support in driving change, with their assistance taking on many different forms.

Cultural Fusion’s growth has been supported by numerous dedicated individuals such as Yvonne Owuor, who wishes to increase BAME success across the organisation and Sonia Hazel, who sits on the leadership team after two years of being an advocate and endorses the network’s purpose.

Yvonne promotes inclusion and diversity by running educational events, writing articles and sharing her knowledge with others across the business. Yvonne believes that, ’allyship is about visibility and going out of your way to show support. This means either amplifying the voice of your BAME colleagues, or other times just being the voice that champions inclusion on their behalf.’

Sonia has supported the network by creating safe spaces for people to be themselves, either in the weekly virtual tea break that she created, which has been supported by the whole leadership team, or by personally following up with colleagues suffering. Sonia has facilitated team sessions encouraging people to talk about race or encouraging people to be productive D&I Champions and confident allies.

Similarly, at RDG, the BAME population and network is supported from within the organisation. Paul Plummer, the current CEO of RDG, has been a big proponent for increasing diversity and inclusion. Other members of the Executive Team such as Robert Nisbet are leading several programmes to improve inclusivity and tackle unconscious bias.

However, it is not just the senior leadership - RDG’s Inclusion Forum consists of colleagues from all levels of the organisation who are passionate about driving change and creating a fairer, more inclusive place to work. As our recently published ethnic pay gap analysis highlights, there is a long way to go to achieve true equality, but significant changes are being made across the industry to address its EDI challenges.

It is important not only for us as a network, or as BAME colleagues, but for everyone that these frank conversations continue long beyond Black History Month and we look forward to continuing to challenge the status quo and deliver tangible improvements for all.

If you would like to know more, have any questions or become an ally please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This concludes our blog series for Black History Month, during which we have explored:

1. Black History Month: Celebrating black railway workers that made history
2. The benefits of diversity and inclusion at the workplace
3. Equality, diversity and inclusion at RDG

We will continue to celebrate BAME colleagues, before past and present with their contribution throughout the year.

This year for Black History Month, we’re publishing a series of blogs by members of the RDG’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicity (BAME) network, Embrace.

This blog was written by Ola Ogun, Chief Financial Officer at the RDG, whose responsibilities include the Human Resources (HR) function, and executive sponsor of Embrace.

It’s been just over two years since I started at RDG, so probably a good point to reflect on my time at the company. Specifically, given it was recently National Inclusion Week and we’re in the middle of Black History Month, I’d like to focus on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the company, across all protected characteristics.

From the start, one thing that struck me from my first conversation with Paul, my boss, right through the rest of the Executive team (Exec), is the commitment to ensure equality through the organisation.

To be clear, we’re acutely aware we’ve ‘only just’ embarked on our EDI journey – ‘only just’ in this context probably spanning the last 5 years but arguably turbocharged in the last 12 months. For example, about this time last year, the Exec agreed we should give even more focus to EDI, a decision which resulted in several key initiatives across the business:

• Executive sponsorship of employee network groups including DAN (our Disability Awareness Network), Embrace (our Black, Asian, Minority Ethnicity – BAME – network), MHAG (our Mental Health Awareness Group) and Platform (our LGBTQ+ network)
• A standing agenda item at each Executive committee meeting to discuss EDI across the organisation (more on this below)
• Launch of an EDI survey earlier this year to provide insight into our current EDI posture and areas that required more focus

So, the commitment from the Exec was there, but it was this last initiative (the EDI survey) which has provided the springboard for even more action being taken across so many areas of the business. With feedback received from the survey and engagement from our network groups, we’ve implemented (or are in the process of implementing), several initiatives:

• Stemming from a discussion between Paul and the Embrace network, we’ve compiled our ethnicity pay gap data and have published this on our intranet and public website. More importantly, we’re carrying out a deep dive into our data, again working with the Embrace network, to better understand any barriers to attraction, progression and retention.
• Ensuring that our recruitment practices are robust in terms of EDI. This is carried out in conjunction with our network groups and has resulted, for example, in changes to the application process with summary profiles being submitted instead of CVs, to reduce unconscious bias in the recruitment process.
• Increased engagement with employees via our network groups and the Inclusion Forum (IF), formed shortly after the EDI survey, comprising of network group leads and allies from across the company. In the short time since inception, the IF has driven several changes, including an ongoing review of the employee journey at RDG – key to understanding how we might further improve EDI.
• Quarterly reporting and analysis of our diversity data; perhaps unsurprisingly, this is one of my pet projects. Whilst the IF and our network groups focus on changes to the culture of the company, there’s a place for measuring our stats and ensuring the various initiatives are having the desired impact; for example, in the last 6 months, 52% of starters were from BAME background. As an Exec team, we review and discuss this report during our regular meetings, as part of the standing agenda item mentioned earlier.

All these have contributed to an environment and culture where we’re actively seeking to improve EDI, across all characteristics within RDG, and one where members of staff feel supported and able to challenge in areas where we can do more. Needless to say, we are very conscious of this need to do more, as reflected in two specific initiatives being implemented shortly:

• Launching a mentoring and reverse mentoring scheme – the latter to provide leaders with insight into the issues being faced, or (dare I say) positive feedback from our staff.
• Providing Unconscious Bias Training for all RDG employees – available for the Exec through to every member of staff.

Hopefully, we’re on the right track to achieve the I in EDI, and I firmly believe we have the foundation, and the support of our allies across all characteristics, with which to continue our EDI journey.

Personally, the ongoing pandemic and Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement challenged the separation between personal and corporate life which I’d always maintained, and prompted me to ask, ‘What more could I do in the EDI space?’

One answer: more conversations with people from different backgrounds across the business.

The same question was being repeated across the RDG BAME community; so much so, that individually, and collectively as Embrace, we’ve started to engage the business in a series of conversations to educate ourselves on how to make the working environment even better, and conversations about how our allies can support with driving equitability and equality in all we do.

This year for Black History Month, we’re publishing a series of blogs by members of the RDG’s minority ethnic network, Embrace.

This blog was written by Cassius Morrison, Accreditation Analyst and Co-Chair of Embrace.

Last week, we explored a few of the pioneers of Black origin within the rail industry who struggled but stood strong in the face of overwhelming odds to improve diversity and inclusion. Their struggles have not been forgotten and their work has allowed for those who have come afterwards to progress further within their careers in rail, helping to improve diversity and inclusion.

Organisations provide an opportunity for people to work together towards common purposes and goals, often with people they may not otherwise engage with. As such the workplace becomes the perfect place to celebrate and explore diversity, including race, gender and several other protected characteristics. Some of the benefits of diversity are explored below.

Keeping up with the changing global population

Changes in the global population and dynamics represent an ever shifting, more integrated and connected world. In 2015, 19% of the World’s youth was in Africa, but the UN estimates that by 2030 this figure will increase to 42%. Analysis of the US economy since the 1960s has attributed 25% of growth per capita to the empowerment and increased employment opportunities to women and those of black ethnic origin, according to a Harvard Business Review article. Even investment opportunities are dramatically more profitable where people come from different backgrounds.

Acting now to improve diversity is key for businesses’ long-term survival and relevance. If companies are unable to connect and relate to their customer base, they will be outcompeted by those that can.

Improving the capability of the workforce

Problem solving and finding creative solutions are key for businesses to grow and thrive. A variety of perspectives are essential for this, with different lived experiences and backgrounds increasing creativity and productivity.

Employees need to be in a safe environment and genuinely feel included as part of their team to offer new or different ideas and improve performance of the team. This can be shown in simple steps such as respecting everyone, treating everyone equally, giving everyone a chance to speak, listening, eliminating micro aggressions, trying to understand and relate to their life experiences as well as empathy, among others.

In addition to improving the current workforce, diversity increases the reputation of a company within its industry and wider society allowing it to attract the best minds and people.

What can you do?

Everyone can play a role to improve diversity and inclusion. This could be as simple as trying to find common ground with your colleague such as shared interests, making a fellow employee feel welcome, saying hello or good morning, standing up for someone, or calling out improper behaviour. It is not simply the responsibility of a few, but one for each and every one of us.

William Sloane Coffin was from a white privileged background, yet he was a friend and ally of Martin Luther King and took part in the Civil Rights movement struggles. He wisely said: “Diversity may be the hardest thing for a society to live with, and perhaps the most dangerous thing for a society to be without.”

Next week we will be looking at the progress RDG has made with diversity and inclusion.

Celebrating black railway workers that made history

This year for Black History Month, we’re publishing a series of blogs by members of the RDG’s minority ethnic network, Embrace. This blog was written by Layla Fazal, Media and Communications Manager at RDG.

Our people are our greatest assets. In moments of crisis, they work tirelessly to keep the railway running, getting people to their jobs, goods to supermarket shelves and connecting friends and family.

The contribution of our Black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues is vast and one we are immensely proud of. People from these backgrounds have been working on the railway from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, overcoming prejudice and adversity to pave the way for racial equality in Britain.

To kick off our blog series for Black History Month, we’ve gathered some examples of the black rail workers that have made our railway what it is today.

Asquith Xavier

Asquith Xavier was a West Indian guard who fought a Whites-only policy at Euston Station. Asquith came to Britain from Dominica aged 46 and started working in rail in 1956 as a porter, working his way up to rail guard at Marylebone station. As a result of the Beeching cuts, he applied for jobs at other stations including Euston station, where he was rejected because of the ban on ‘coloured men.’

Asquith worked with unions to fight this policy and his campaign received national attention, including in Parliament. He became a pioneering public figure and his action led to British Railways scrapping the racist recruitment policy on 15 July 1966.

On his first day starting work at Euston, he was greeted by both a British Rail executive and the station committee’s senior trade union representative. His victory helped to lead to the creation of the Commission for Racial Equality and the 1968 Race Relations Act which made it illegal to refuse housing, employment or public services to people because of their ethnic background.

A plaque to remember Asquith Xavier’s achievement has recently been unveiled at the railway station in his hometown of Chatham.

Wilston Samuel Jackson

Wilston Samuel Jackson was Britain’s first black train driver. Part of the Windrush generation, he emigrated from Jamaica in 1951 when he was only 24 years old. After working in a glass factory and as a fireman on trains, he became a driver in 1961. Throughout his career he drove the Flying Scotsman, the Mallard and The Elizabethan — transporting Her Majesty the Queen up and down the country. 

In October 1964, Wilston's train collided head-on with another near Finsbury Park Station, after a signaller gave a green light in error during dense fog. His legs were completely severed and then surgically reattached. After spending two years recovering in hospital, in 1966 Wilston was able to walk unaided and returned to his train driving job.

Later that year, he moved to Zambia where train drivers were high in demand and where he met the love of his life, Naomi. 

Trudy Aarons

Trudy Aarons was one of Britain’s first black female train drivers. Trudy was born in Barbados in 191 and left to come to Britain aged 16. She went to college in Vauxhall for a couple of years and then worked at the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes in Kennington for three years, before leaving to start a family.

Once her four children were in school, Trudy decided she wanted to go back to work. A friend said the railway was recruiting guards, so she applied and was successful. Trudy joined British Rail as a guard on 3 January 1989. After a year, Trudy started training to become a driver, working suburban services out of Waterloo.

As a driver, Trudy didn’t have much contact with the public, but she noticed that passengers who saw her were often surprised to see a woman of colour driving the train – she would give them a smile in response, knowing she was trailblazing for more female and black train drivers.

Trudy retired in 2018, after 29 years on the railway working for British Rail, South West Trains, and South Western Railway.

A full interview with Trudy was featured in the June 2018 edition of the ASLEF Journal and is available on their website.

Barrington Young

Barrington Young was one of the first black train inspectors in the UK. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Barrington came to Britain in 1954. He took work at a cotton mill in Royton, before starting work on the railways.

He first worked as a shunter, then a goods guard, passenger guard, and senior conductor before becoming the first black train inspector in the north-west, in an impressive career spanning 39 years on the railways. He was also an enthusiastic member of the Manchester Model Railway Society and built an elaborate train set in his cellar.

Barrington was a stalwart of his community and worked hard to ensure that black children in Britain were educated about their Caribbean heritage.

The immense contribution of our black colleagues continues into the present day. Next week’s blog will be looking at the inspirational black figures currently working in the rail industry.