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As an Olympian, Donna Fraser OBE OLY is a champion both on the track and in advancing EDI. Since retiring as an athlete, Donna has been helping organisations develop their commitments to EDI and build frameworks to ensure the longevity of their EDI work. She has worked with UK Athletics and advised multiple organisations such as the London Marathon Charitable Trust, Women’s Sports Trust, and the Sussex Cricket Foundation. In 2022, she joined the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) as its first Director of People, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. We sat down with Donna to speak about what she’s been up to at the PCA.
…Donna spoke about being in a role that’s the first of its kind for the PCA: “I had a little bit of free reign to introduce different things that hadn’t been done before”. One of these things was putting on the PCA’s first International Women’s Day event last year. “[It] was inspiring. It was thinking outside the box”, promoting “cross-collaboration, not just focusing on cricket but thinking outside of cricket, whether that’s sports sector or media or whatever sector”.
Critically, the event last year was not just a one-off event. Donna talked to us about the roundtable they ran in November to follow up on those conversations. “It was quite poignant that this year’s theme is Accelerate Action because a lot of the conversations that happened both in the March event last year and at the roundtable were very much about what action is needed, what happens next?”
“With a lot of these EDI events, you have it every year and then it’s onto the next, whereas we were really keen to make sure we followed on that conversation. You can sit there and talk about all these wonderful things – we should be doing this, we should be doing that. But how are we actually going to do it?” Whether it’s through roundtables or impact reports, Donna is ensuring the systems are in place to deliver change.
“- for our cricket community to network with different people from different sectors who probably go through the same issues that they’re going through as a woman. So networking is huge, absolutely. The power of networking – you can’t beat it. Another programme I’m working on now for the PCA is to implement a mentoring programme for our members to connect with leaders within our sport.”
“It’s everyone’s responsibility. If we want to be an inclusive sport and organisation and be better for our members, we need to hold up that mirror” Donna told us, “and the PCA have absolutely embraced it”. Donna spoke about the importance of getting colleagues on board. For the PCA, this means focusing on how their members can relate to it. “We really need to tell the story through our membership’s eyes”, Donna pointed out, “it is so much more powerful when it comes to educating others and the cricket community if we utilise our player voice.”
…Donna spoke of the importance of commitment and engagement from the top. At the PCA, she explained that she has “great support from my CEO and the other directors in terms of what I’m trying to do.” Sports as a sector is often leading in terms of the diversity movement, which Donna touched on in our conversation. “I think sport has always been ahead of the curve and it really has that opportunity because it’s visible.” Progress is about “creating that safe space for athletes and people working in sport to speak their truth for that change to happen…I have definitely seen more organisations creating those safe spaces for people to come forward, like our reporting system.” This is a big step forward from the past. As Donna pointed out, “years ago there was no way if something happened in the dressing room. There was no one to turn to.” Now, with organisations like the PCA, players have more protection.
Thank you, Donna, for taking the time to speak with us and share your experiences. We are excited to continue to see the impact you make at the PCA and beyond.
Interview with Joe Blanch, Consultant, Sports Practice
