Access and Inclusion
Our vision is for young people in Scotland, regardless of background or experience, to be empowered to have their voices heard in decisions about how our seas are managed.
Inclusion is one of our core organisational values. We are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and ensuring it is embedded across our organisation. We put EDI approaches into practice in all aspects of our work, including recruitment, training, event organisation and collaborations.
Tackling barriers and inequalities in the marine sector
Who’s missing?
We recognise that the marine sector currently lacks diversity across many demographics, and there are many barriers to getting involved in marine policy and advocacy.
We believe that in order to change this, our work must seek to support young people from all backgrounds. They are the sector’s future leaders and we need all voices to tackle the issues facing Scotland’s seas today.
Barriers that exist to access marine policy and advocacy spaces can often be amplified for young people. Young people can also face multiple different barriers that intersect and exacerbate each other.
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There is a huge lack of ethnic diversity in the UK marine and coastal sector, with marine science being the least ethnically diverse degree. Read more via this report.
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Disabled people face more barriers to access the sea, participate in water activities and build careers in the maritime and conservation sector.
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People from low-income, disadvantaged and working class backgrounds may face financial barriers to access the sea, participate in volunteering and build careers in the marine sector. Declining ocean health can also disproportionately affect coastal communities and impact job opportunities and cultural heritage.
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Young people with caring responsibilities can experience financial, logistical and emotional barriers to accessing the sea, volunteering or building marine careers.
What we are doing
Positive action & data collection
We use positive action in recruitment to support applicants from underrepresented groups and continue to improve our processes. We also accept applications in different formats, including audio and video.
To help us assess our reach and identify gaps in representation, we anonymously collect monitoring data from applicants and event attendees about their backgrounds and identities.
Accessible events
We design all our events and opportunities with accessibility in mind. This includes asking members about their access needs, providing clear information before, during and after events, offering different ways to participate, encouraging the use of accessibility aids, and modelling inclusive practices such as pronoun use.
Financial barriers
We ensure all our activities are either free for everyone or for anyone who cannot afford it, with self-disclosure at the heart.
Our Youth Ocean Action Fund provides funding for young people to participate in training, events or other opportunities, and to financially support youth-led ocean action.
Young Sea Changers Trainee
The marine and coastal sector is one of the least ethnically diverse sectors in the UK (see report here).
Accessible, entry-level opportunities are key to creating a fair and inclusive future. We developed a paid traineeship for young people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds to help address the lack of racial diversity in the marine sector while providing meaningful training and skills development opportunities.
The traineeship is a flexible, part-time summer role offering hands-on experience in marine policy and advocacy, alongside opportunities for training, mentoring, skills development and professional networking.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group
Our EDI Working Group is made up of YSCS staff, Youth Trustees and members from underrepresented backgrounds. The group meets regularly to discuss how to improve the accessibility and inclusion of our work and incorporate young people’s feedback and lived experiences into what we do.
If you are already a YSCS member and would like to join the group, please get in touch via contact@youthforseas.org.
