How to Make Your Event More Inclusive

Events are a great way to bring people together and create a sense of community. The way we gather is important so approaching your event with intention can help you design an event that feels inclusive for all. From the event design through to the activation, here are some tips to make your event more inclusive.

Be Inclusive When Hiring

When you are hiring event staff, ensure that you are providing job opportunities to people from various ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, gender identity, and body diversity backgrounds. Your team should be reflective of the society we live in. Also, consider any ageism biases that may be at play and offer positions to a wide range of applicants.

Welcome Input to Help Plan the Event

Ensure the planning committee invites input or involvement from a range of people for the event. Allowing people to express what they would find valuable or thoughtful in the event plans. Remember, it’s important to talk with people, not about people. Inclusion in the conversation is key.

Plan for Dietary Needs

If you are serving food at your event, ensure that your menu includes a range of options to meet the dietary needs of your guests. Include vegan, gluten-free, kosher and halal options in your menu. Ensure that your team is trained and aware of the menu items so that they can communicate what is in the various dishes. If possible, ask your guests for input on their dietary restrictions well in advance of the event so that the caterers can be prepared with the right amount of food.

Offer Accessible Tickets

For consumer-facing events, consider how you can remove any barriers to attending. For example, if your activation is at a paid event, consider having complimentary tickets that can be provided upon request. If it’s a paid event, consider having pricing tiers that make attending the event more attainable for people who may be on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum.  

Consider where you are posting information about your event. Are there community groups you can engage with to include them in the invitation? Consider how your communication strategy may be excluding groups and look for ways to close the gaps.  

Create a Safe Environment

Take time to make your event a safe space. What this looks like will vary from event to event, but here are some considerations for creating a safe space. Train your staff on acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and have a plan in place to address any misaligned behaviour from guests, event partners or staff. In some cases, having security on site to help mitigate conflict can help provide a safer environment for your guests. Having clear boundaries of what is ok and what is not ok can help guests enjoy the event.

Incorporate a Land Acknowledgement

Whether we are on treaty territory or unceded ancestral lands, as Canadians it is important for us to take the time to acknowledge whose land we are on. Whether you address a land acknowledgement yourself or hire an Indigenous person to acknowledge the land, it can be a helpful step in our Truth and Reconciliation journey. Take the time to research the land your event is on and ensure you are correctly acknowledging it.  

If you are hiring an Indigenous person to do the land acknowledgement, as a signal of respect, contact them well ahead of the event and pay them an equitable rate.

Hire Diverse Talent

Bringing in a speaker or entertainment for your event? Hire a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ entertainer. Supporting voices for various ethnicities, sexual-orientation, and cultural backgrounds is critical to creating inclusive events. Ensure that their contracts are equitable and in line with the payment of cis-white talent.

Provide Non-Gendered Washrooms

Provide a safe washroom for non-binary, and transgendered guests. For rented spaces, consider printing temporary signage to clearly mark the washrooms.  

It takes thoughtful consideration to ensure your event is as accessible and inclusive as possible. As we work together to make this world a safer, kinder place for all, consider referencing this list next time you are planning an event. Or if you’d like some assistance, give us a shout. We’re happy to help.  

About KindCo

KindCo is a Vancouver-based brand engagement consultancy that specializes in employee engagement and corporate events. We bring people together through the art of gathering.

Founder, Nikki Hedstrom, has over 15 years experience as a brand engagement and event specialist.