We adhere to the Equality Act 2010 which states it is unlawful to discriminate against someone because of any of the following protected characteristics:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

RPS opportunities

Whilst applicants must be musically skilled to draw benefit from the specialist opportunities we offer, we continually address how we can minimise barriers to the widest possible participation. This includes communicating openly and beyond familiar circles, clearly and authentically expressing that we welcome applications from diverse backgrounds, ensuring we use terms and phrases that do not knowingly deter potential applicants, and receptively encouraging enquiries from anyone about their potential involvement. We are pleased to have eliminated prior entry fees for the RPS Composers and RPS Conductors programmes and our instrumental prizes.

We adhere to Sound & Music's Fair Access Principles and are signed up to PRS Foundation’s KeyChange initiative to achieve 50:50 gender parity in the composers we support.

Our shortlisting and selection processes always involve external experts. We appoint different people to fulfil this role annually and, in our brief to all involved in such processes, including partner organisations with whom we work, we ask that they be aware of and challenge their own implicit biases.

We invite all applicants for such opportunities to complete some standard inclusivity monitoring questions through a standard from on our website. We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels welcome to apply for opportunities with the RPS, and to monitoring our progress in this. The answers given are reviewed entirely separately from any applications.

RPS Conductors

One of our programmes was specifically established as a positive action initiative addressing inequality in the classical music progression. Originally titled RPS Women Conductors, it has empowered over 500 women to further their skills and confidence on the podium, with a significant number proceeding to fruitful conducting careers. The sector positively recognises how this initiative has been key in changing national perceptions of who gets to conduct, and many more women are being recognised in this field than when we started. The issue is far from resolved: in 2025, still 86% of conductors represented by UK artist managers were male, and 87% of titled conducting roles at UK orchestras were held by men. Addressing this remains a priority, and the conducting opportunities we present remain primarily for women, trans and non-binary conductors. Nonetheless, in 2025 we expanded the programme under the new name RPS Conductors, welcoming applications from any conductors at a sufficiently high level who can articulate how – through their lived experience, background or personal characteristics – they have encountered barriers to progress or limited access to an experience like this, and why it would therefore be transformative to their prospects.

RPS Awards and honours

Annually, we strive to ensure that the awards and honours we grant represent the vibrancy and breadth of first-class music-making today. We actively seek nominations from across the music profession and a growing Membership nationally. We refresh panels of external musical experts for the RPS Awards annually and again ask all those involved in such processes to be aware of and challenge their own implicit biases. Since 2020, we have ensured at least 20% of panellists are of the global majority, and the RPS Awards themselves are celebrating a greater diversity of artists across the UK.

RPS Membership

Anyone can apply for Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society. Subscriptions are offered at a range of levels reflecting that people have different means. From 2019, we embarked on a Strategic Plan to transform the scope and appeal of our Membership offer and devise a national strategy to draw a greater range of people to join the Society. This in turn is gradually generating funds that further the scope of our work and enable us to market opportunities more extensively.

Anti-Racism

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and playing our part in fostering an inclusive culture in classical music. Through the RPS Awards and other such initiatives, we are well-placed to draw attention to individuals and initiatives fostering positive change. For example, in 2019 the Board and Council of the RPS presented our inaugural Gamechanger Award to Chineke! – Britain’s first majority Black, Asian and ethnically diverse orchestra. Since 2020, we have ensured that at least 20% of RPS Awards panellists are of the global majority. In 2025, 50% of the individual performers and composers nominated for the RPS Awards represented the global majority.

As noted above, we are dismantling barriers to participation in our programmes and adopted Sound & Music’s indispensable Fair Access Principles, and are consequently pleased to be receiving applications from and supporting a greater proportion of composers who represent the global majority.

Following a BBC Radio 3 forum on inclusivity, we led a discussion at the 2020 Association of British Orchestras Conference urging colleagues nationally to programme a greater diversity of composers. Here we shared our research that 3.3% of works programmed by UK professional orchestra were by composers of the global majority but, in that month, not one of those composers was Black.

We are pleased to work reciprocally with Black Lives in Music and in 2025, our General Manager joined their mentoring programme for Black, Asian and ethnically diverse musicians. Sector-wide we urge colleagues to collaborate, sharing knowledge of artists and repertory and initiatives to end such stark figures. We share what knowledge we possess with colleagues across the cultural sector, and regularly recommend and introduce composers of the global majority to programmers and commissioners.

We welcome interaction with any colleagues in the cultural sector about what more we can collectively do to dismantle racism and achieve equality in classical music. 

Disability

We are proud of the range of disabled music-makers recognized at the 2025 RPS Awards, including Paraorchestra (Ensemble Award), Open Arts Community Choir (Inspiration Award) and Sarah Lianne Lewis (Chamber-Scale Composition Award).

In recent years, we have welcomed disabled musicians on our programmes and worked with them to address positively optimising the delivery of our offer for disabled people. We are also piloting a new commissioning initiative that we hope will foster more opportunities for talented disabled composers to write for professional ensembles and, from this, draw case studies and good practice that encourage more ensembles to do the same.
We appeal to more colleagues nationally to download and read the report that Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra wrote for us all on engaging more disabled musicians in what we all do – drawn from their ChangeMakers initiative which won the 2019 RPS Impact Award.  We also urge colleagues to download and read the National Open Youth Orchestra’s report to find out more about their journey pioneering a more diverse and inclusive orchestra.

Currently, our office is based on the second floor of a historic building, accessible only by stairs. We recognise this presents an accessibility issue for some people. We readily organise meetings at locations convenient to others, and when advertising an opportunity to work with the RPS, we will always address how this can be positively achieved with applicants who may not be able to access our office.
We are pleased to talk to any further colleagues in classical music about what more we can collectively do foster an inclusive culture for disabled musicians.

Workplace

The RPS has a small working team in which everyone plays an important role. We work extensively in partnership with other arts and educational organisations and – as a registered charity – we engage a number of freelancers and occasionally some volunteers to help fulfil objectives. We expect all those we work with to bring a friendly and respectful ethos, and contribute to making the RPS an enjoyable and safe place to work, where what everyone contributes is listened to, recognised and valued.

We recognise the rewards that come from a diverse group of people working together, and from lived experience within our team. When appointing staff, we aim to communicate openly and beyond familiar circles, clearly and authentically expressing that we welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds, ensuring that we use terms and phrases that do not knowingly deter potential applicants, and receptively encouraging enquiries from anyone about their potential involvement.

We never unlawfully discriminate in regard to employees’ protected characteristics in terms of recruitment, pay and benefits, conditions of employment, dealing with grievances and discipline, dismissal, redundancy, requests for leave and flexible working, promotion, training or other developmental opportunities.
We do not condone or tolerate any bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination from colleagues or anyone with whom we work, towards other colleagues, our beneficiaries, our Members, supporters, and all others with whom we work. We take seriously complaints of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination and follow standard grievance and disciplinary procedures as recommended by ACAS. Our Inclusivity Policy is closely allied to our Safeguarding Policy which can be viewed here.

Our management and Board of Trustees regularly reviews the principles of this policy and our working practices to ensure we possess and enact a good understanding of our rights and responsibilities regarding inclusivity. 

If you would like to talk to us about any aspects of our Inclusivity Policy, we are pleased to hear from you.