Our Commitment
“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist, nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights” - Gloria Steinem
The 8th of March is International Women’s Day, a day celebrating social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for gender parity. SLAM has always been a values centred company and as the company evolves we want to share with you our commitments to action for a more inclusive world.
International Women’s Day is a day where we not only celebrate women’s history and achievements but also to highlight women’s struggles. Within that context, we must be mindful of marginalised voices within the feminist movement. The experiences of women in society intersect with issues such as race, sexuality and gender identity, ableism and social demographics.
I acknowledge that as a white woman who fits the societal prescribed norm that a lot of my experience in this world sits within many privileges - white privilege, thin privilege and socio-economic privilege.
It is not my wish to centre myself within this conversation but to make a commitment to my community and to the wider world to create actionable change within the fitness industry as a whole and SLAM specifically that ensures a space that is welcoming of all bodies regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual identity.
Within that commitment, we aim to remove both structural barriers and interpersonal discrimination which prevent individuals from all backgrounds from being actively involved with SLAM.
A mantra of mine is that change starts with us, as we approach International Women’s Day it’s important to me to outline the real commitments and steps we will be taking as a company to be part of the change we want to see in the world.
In 2021 We started with our commitments to gender equality and how we would be involved with IWD. These commitments were the beginning of our journey and we are aware that we have still a lot of work to do outside of that to ensure true inclusivity, so we invite you to be part of this conversation with us and to highlight where you would like to see us do better.
Below are our commitments and some information on where we are now in 2023.
Our commitments
We will help forge a gender equal world and maintain a gender equal mindset
We will do this by using inclusive language that represents and includes all humans, by drawing every project, post, and statement we make through the filter of gender equality. We commit to actively seeking out relationships with marginalised women, working with women to support and educate our team and our community.
Update in 2023
Since making this commitment we have continued to actively participate in conversations around inclusive and supportive language. We train and educate all staff on how to make sessions inclusive of all identities and we have participated in training over 50 other fitness business owners on inclusive practices.
We will challenge gender stereotypes and bias
We will do this by having open and honest conversations within our community and our personal circles. We have committed to continued education for ourselves by having a staff required reading list including:
Me and white supremacy - Layal F Saad
Fattily Ever After - Stephanie Yeboah
By undertaking recent learnings such as “Yoga & Intersectionality” “Diversity & Inclusivity in the Birth World” and are actively seeking core learnings for our team.
We continue to curate a safe and welcoming space on all of our social channels, sexism will not be tolerated and comments which invoke gender bias and stereotypes will be challenged. We commit to being fully transparent within our community and leading by example.
Update in 2023
Since making this commitment we have continued to raise awareness of gender bias and stereotypes on our social platforms, we have spoken publicly about the dangers of gender bias and have supported educators for personal trainers on how to support their students to make their practices better for all gender identities. We have recently teamed up with The Spark Company as an ambassador of their badass feminist apparel which supports their (and our) mission to forge an equal future.
We will forge positive visibility of women
We have made a commitment to raise the voices of women within our industry and beyond. We will continue to work with female coaches, speakers and educators, providing visibility for female voices, particularly those who are marginalised through race and other factors as well as gender.
We will use our social channels to positively highlight the work of women past, present and upcoming.
We will create networks and relationships that support the elevation of women’s voices.
Update 2023
Since making this commitment we have become a women-dominated company. All of our collaborators, staff, and investments have been in women-led, non-binary, trans, and gender non-conforming-owned businesses. This year we will be launching our scholarships for women of colour and members of the LGBTQ+ community to access personal training education and mentorship from Lyndsey. We continue to support the visibility of women with our International Women’s Day Playlist and our 2023 reading list.
We will celebrate women’s achievements
We will continue to promote a positive attitude toward women in the fitness industry. Highlighting the importance of women being included in this space.
We will continue to educate ourselves in the best ways of training women in the various phases of their life, including pre and postnatal, perimenopausal and beyond.
We commit to being a company that challenges the stereotypes of the fitness industry by using our social platforms to speak out, communicating inclusivity as one of our values, challenging stereotypical conversations and bias.
Update 2023
Since making this commitment We are proud to continue to support women in our industry and beyond and have raised the stories and experiences of women in our #weartheshorts and #morethan campaigns. We have recently launched our Strong Girls Club which aims to give young women safe, supportive, and inclusive access to strength training, body confidence, and menstrual cycle awareness. To date we have supported over 50 PT businesses with education on how to better support and elevate women and continue to do so with our mentorship program and business collective.
