At Network Rail, our purpose is to get people and goods where they need to be. We strive to build a diverse, inclusive, and equitable organisation where everyone can thrive, with the aim of understanding society’s needs by reflecting them in our workforce. Our Everyone Belongs strategy ensures we foster equity within our workforce, the wider industry, and society.

The Race Project

Central to this mission is the Race Project, launched in 2019 to tackle the barriers faced by Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic colleagues and candidates, and to improve ethnic minority representation so that we can reflect the communities we serve. Alongside this, we identified the challenges faced by colleagues by conducting focus groups, surveys and data deep-dives, and by voluntarily publishing our first Ethnicity Pay Gap report.
These initiatives combined with our overall EDI strategy have allowed us to implement targeted, impactful interventions. Our annual participation in the Investing in Ethnicity Maturity Matrix has been key in holding us accountable and benchmarking these interventions so we can continue to strive for excellence.
Some of our Initiatives

We have several initiatives to promote equity and inclusivity, all with measurable results:

• Inclusive Recruitment: Revamping our Recruitment Policy included piloting ‘blind auditioning,’ mandating inclusive recruitment training for hiring managers, and removing bias-prone questions (e.g., salary history). This led to a record number of ethnic minority new starters.
• Career Development: Our tailored development programmes have supported ethnic minority colleagues in advancing their careers, this was recognised in 2022 by the CIPD, when we were shortlisted for the Best Inclusion and Diversity Initiative award. In 2024, we also launched a new online platform connecting colleagues with mentors across the industry. These actions have contributed to a decline in our ethnicity pay gap over the past three years.
• Leadership Accountability: Each leader has personalised EDI objectives, measured through quarterly reporting. This is bolstered by a two-way mentoring scheme which pairs minority ethnic colleagues with leaders to foster inclusive leadership behaviours.
• Race Equality Campaigns: Training programmes like Stand Up for Race Equality asked all colleagues to focus on behaviours that ensure safety, respect, and inclusion. Such initiatives have led us to achieve ethnicity disclosure rates of over 90% which is the highest in the industry.
• Employee Networks: Cultural Fusion, our network for minority ethnic colleagues and allies has 1,375 members, and 2024 marked its 11th anniversary. Its dynamic ‘Tea Break’ informal meetings inspired Race Equality Matters’ national Tea Break solution, and was downloaded 887 times by organisations with 10,000+ staff. These efforts have enhanced engagement, with ethnic minority colleague engagement surpassing overall workforce engagement.

Moving Forward

We are proud to have been recognised as a Top 25 Employer by Investing in Ethnicity since 2022, and to have made the Top 10 in 2024. We are also a Silver Trailblazer organisation with Race Equality Matters. Looking ahead, we are embedding lasting change by extending our focus to all areas of Network Rail, particularly frontline communities. Our Everyone Belongs strategy remains at the heart of these efforts, ensuring that equity, diversity, and inclusion are integral to our organisation’s success.