NEED TO KNOW

Our aim is to try and make our sites more accessible for all visitors

Telling the story of the black Caribbean prisoners of war at Portchester Castle in Hampshire Children on a Discovery Visit at Carisbrooke Castle

One of the Painting our Past project artists, Chloe Cox, with her painting of Arthur Roberts

NEED TO KNOW

Our new Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Tanya Lines, talks about why she loves EDI, her first impressions of English Heritage and about the exciting things planned for the whole charity.

Who better to ask about equality, diversity and inclusion than Tanya Lines; with 18 years' experience she certainly knows her stuff.

At what point did you decide that equality, diversity and inclusion was a career for you? It was not planned at all; I just really enjoy learning about other people. I'm fascinated with why people think and behave the way they do, and how our life experiences shape that. I love travelling to different countries, immersing myself in different cultures, so it seemed like a great fit.

In my early life I worked as a volunteer teacher in Malawi, as a holiday rep in Spain and Tunisia, and in the call centre of Virgin Mobile. I took a Master’s in occupational psychology, and then became an equality, diversity and inclusion officer with the police. As soon as I started, I knew this was the job for me. I loved how dynamic, exciting, rewarding and challenging it was – and I am still working in EDI 18 years later.

Now you’ve been here for a few months, what’s your impression of English Heritage? In terms of sites, visitor experiences, education offers, roles and expertise, it is so diverse, eclectic and inspirational. The people I have met so far have been so welcoming, helpful and keen to learn about EDI.

There is genuine enthusiasm and support from senior teams to support the agenda and a willingness to do things differently to bring about positive change – which is music to my ears. What’s going on with equality, diversity and inclusion at the moment? We are making good, steady progress: our strategy launched in May 2021, Kate Mavor chairs an EDI steering group and we’ve launched a new BAME network. And there have recently been some fantastic projects that bring different perspectives to England’s history, like Painting our Past, the Speaking with Shadows podcast and the Liberty and Lottery exhibition at Brodsworth Hall. Shout Out Loud, our youth engagement programme, has done a brilliant job of encouraging young people to engage with heritage on their terms. We have also created an EDI calendar on Fuse, hosted Lunch & Learn sessions and created guides about inclusive language and recruitment.

We need to carry out more research to help us find out about the key issues we have to address. I also want to provide opportunities for everyone to share more about what matters to them, and to share tips and ideas on what we each of us can do to play our part.

What can we all do to support? Telling me what you think is a great start. There are plans to run interactive sessions so people can learn about EDI, but also share their views of what we could do more on in this area, so do watch out for them. There is a In the meantime, think about our willingness strategic challenges on attracting and welcoming a more diverse audience. to do things What could we do differently to help differently to people feel like they belong? What might you already have tried that you bring about could share with others? And finally, positive take advantage of all the activity already happening and learning you can catch change up on, such as the live (and recorded on Fuse) EDI Lunch & Learns earlier this year, where we held discussions and shared knowledge on what LGBTQ+ History Month and International Women’s Day means to us. ■

Tanya Lines

GET IN TOUCH If you have any suggestions, ideas or stories of what’s already worked, or want to get involved in the BAME network, please email Tanya.Lines@english-heritage.org.uk