Skip to content

Empowering women through group exercise

To mark the start of South Asian Heritage Month, the chief operating officer of EMD UK talks about their partnership with Active Together to train ethnically diverse women to become exercise instructors in their communities.

18th July 2025

by Shelley Meyern
Chief operating officer, EMD UK

At EMD UK, we believe group exercise should be for everyone, but for many women – especially Muslim women – challenges to accessing group exercise still exist.

That’s why in 2024 we partnered with Active Together to launch support for women from ethnically diverse communities to become Level 2 Group Exercise Instructors.

The aim was to create a workforce that mirrored the communities it served by driving greater diversity and inclusion within the group exercise sector.

Giving back to their communities

We worked with Active Women, of Leicester City in the Community, to recruit women, to provide local support to build a community amongst the learners and to keep them motivated and engaged.

The goal was to provide a learning and training opportunity for the women that was safe, culturally aware and empowering.

In total, 12 women were enrolled.

They were aged between 25 and 54 and came from global majority communities, including Muslim, Hindu and those of no faith.

The programme offered a fully-funded Level 2 Group Exercise Instructor qualification through Drummond Education.

These women’s beliefs may have been different from each other, but they all brought with them a deep desire to give back to their communities.

Most had wanted to train for years but faced barriers like the costs involved, childcare needs or the lack of local opportunities.

But now they were able to join because the programme was tailored to them and because support was finally available.
 

The aim was to create a workforce that mirrored the communities it served by driving greater diversity and inclusion within the group exercise sector.

Confidence levels were moderate to high, but concerns remained as some feared failure and others worried about language, memory or balancing family-related responsibilities. And yet, despite everything, motivation was strong.

Many saw this as a way to serve their communities and especially other Muslim women, which aligned with the principle of Sadaqah: giving back without expecting anything in return.

One participant said she was excited to see how quickly she could pick up the lessons, while another mentioned the timing for her was perfect as she had just finished her master’s degree.

We also spent time asking what support they’d need after qualifying as it’s often at this stage that dropouts are most prevalent.

They asked for help with marketing, setting up classes and accessing venues and equipment.

They also wanted guidance on business development and networking, and this is where the EMD UK membership came into its own.

Along with the newly launched Reach Up programme, in collaboration with This Girl Can, our members also have access to over 400 support resources, CPD training and content to support their group exercise teaching.

Supporting our students beyond the classroom

We also asked what they wanted from us and the training provider as part of their involvement in the programme, and they requested prayer space, female-only sessions and options without music.

They also wanted their dress codes to be respected, local sessions and female tutors.

They reminded us that English wasn’t their first language and asked us to understand their personal circumstances, which were full of family commitments and cultural nuance.

We listened and we’re now committed to continuing that listening as time goes by.

At this point, having commenced in autumn 2024 with four in-person sessions (that was the delivery style they said they needed), nine learners have completed their practical assessment with the remaining finishing the course in 2025.

The successes of this project continue to emerge.

One standout achievement was the attendance of a learner as a presenter on the EMD UK stage at the International Fitness Showcase in Blackpool back in March.

This was her first experience of instructing group exercise and her presentation of Latin-inspired dance fitness for over 100 participants was an impressive debut to kick off her career.

All students now have access to the EMD UK membership and we are committed to supporting them long-term.

Feedback from the cohort on the support given, including its effectiveness and inclusivity, plus on the course as a whole, has been overwhelmingly positive.

They found the programme interesting, engaging, beneficial and welcoming, with the challenge it provided defined as “exciting and aspirational”.

Whilst many of them knew each other before the course started, they left the in-person sessions feeling “connected to each other” and their communities, and proud of themselves.  

What’s more, Active Together reported that the development and engagement of these local women as mentors was imperative to build community confidence in group exercise and that, while funding was critical, it was the community support role of Active Women that ensured this was a success.

Active Women reported this project demonstrated the clear need for these kinds of initiatives to upskill underrepresented communities and to help them continue their mission to “grown [their] own”.

Because this is more than a training programme.

It’s a step toward equity in fitness.

It’s about recognising the whole person.

And it’s about creating space for women who’ve been excluded for too long.

We’re proud to be part of that change and we’re just getting started.
 

Find out more

EMD UK

Sign up to our newsletter

You can find out exactly how we'll look after your personal data, but rest assured we’ll only use it to make sure you receive our newsletter, to understand how you interact with our newsletter, and to provide administrative information about our newsletter.