Aneela Mckenna

Exploring Pathways for Inclusion

Aneela has been working with Mountain Rescue England and Wales for the last few years and was integral to setting up the Women in Mountain Rescue group in 2022. As lead consultant for Mòr Diversity, she is an equality, diversity, inclusion (EDI) and wellbeing professional with over twenty years’ experience of supporting businesses and organisations to develop inclusive practices where everyone can contribute and participate. She specialises in the design of bespoke training to bring out diverse perspectives and fresh thinking, and has extensive experience of the outdoors and adventure sport fields, including Mountain Training, the Association of Mountaineering Instructors and Sport Scotland.

Aneela will be joining Dr Laura Davies (Calder Valley SRT), and Dr Jenny Hall (Cleveland MRT) in a workshop to explore pathways for inclusion. Since meeting through the Women in Mountain Rescue Group, they have developed a research project exploring the experiences of women in mountain rescue. Their aim is to develop an EDI strategy for MREW which can also be utilised by the wider network of organisations involved in UK search and rescue capabilities. They have received financial support from Leeds Beckett University and York St John University, and are awaiting the outcome of a larger bid for funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

‘We would like to invite you to join us for a themed discussion where you can share your knowledge and experiences. We are keen to hear your thoughts on recruitment, leadership, culture, behaviours and language through the following questions: What does inclusion mean to you? What does an inclusive environment look and feel like? How can we work together to create pathways to achieve this in MR?’