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Whose responsibility is it to make sure our workplaces are diverse?

Laura Norton

It’s well known that a diverse workforce leads to better outcomes for an organisation, not to mention fulfilling the basic principle of opportunity and inclusion for all.

So why do we not see greater diversity in engineering and technology?

Diversity should be at the very heart of action in engineering and technology to help us to engineer a better world for all – from the latest in how we use data and insight to account for everyone, through to the end-product that works across the globe to improve lives for all.

The current state of diversity in our industry, in the UK specifically, shows that: 

  1. Women make up 16.5% of all engineers1
  2. 9.9% are from minoritised ethnic backgrounds2
  3. 21% come from lower socio-economic backgrounds3
  4. Disabled engineers make up 11.1% of the workforce2
  5. Over a quarter of LGBTQ+ individuals would never consider a career in the engineering profession for fear of discrimination4

Is it our responsibility to act, or that of ‘the business’?

The IET are working with RS Grass Roots (the Youth Empowerment team from RS Components) and AFBE (the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers) to provide an exciting event to open up discussions. Reflect 2022 is for those making first steps to change in their business, all the way through to active ambassadors of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Join us to hear first-hand the experience from ethnically diverse people as they share their stories, along with top tips from experts on practical ways that you can create a more inclusive business.

If you want to find out more, please join us in person on Monday, 1 August 2022 in London. Register for free: https://Reflect2022.eventbrite.com

1Engineering UK, 2022, 2Engineering UK, 2020, 3Bridging the Gap, Sutton Trust 2022, 4IET, 2019

#Equality Diversity and Inclusion #Race and Culture 

Parents

  • I believe that we should confine any promotion exclusively to ability, merit and competence. Gender and skin colour should not be markers for judgment or eligibility, otherwise we end up with the mediocre but the check boxes are ticked to show compliance in other areas which should not be up for judgement.

    Things like this tend to become very divisive and end up making things worse for everyone.

  • in reply to whjohnson

    Absolutely agree, it's time we stopped promoting people on the basis that "he's a nice white chap wo acts like like me and went to the same sort of school I did * "!

    (* The "same school as I did" works in several ways...)

Reply
  • in reply to whjohnson

    Absolutely agree, it's time we stopped promoting people on the basis that "he's a nice white chap wo acts like like me and went to the same sort of school I did * "!

    (* The "same school as I did" works in several ways...)

Children
  • in reply to Andy Millar

    What's the difference between that and the changes you are advocating? Looks to be one and the same to me. Exclude on non-relevant criterion. All you will achieve is to reverse the priority of discrimination from negative to positive. Meanwhile the discrimination remains in it's new guise, albeit with a tick in it's box to salve the consciences of the garment rending bleeding hearts.

    Virtue signalling via tickbox management of 'quotas' does no one any good in the long run. Imagine a scenario in the NHS whereby they have to recruit a specialist but because of the quota requirement we get -

    Promoted on colour? Check. Promoted on disability? Check. Promoted on gender? Check. But can they actually do the job? "Oh that doesn't matter".

    If change is needed, then the subject of engineering should be promoted in it's own right, and not because it is politically correct. Not only this, but we are starting in the wrong place. We should begin making engineering interesting way back in the early days of education, and not at a point when people are confronted with a myriad of career choices at 16. We need to make a degree in engineering more attractive than one in Harry Styles on the internet.

    We to start at the beginning to make engineering exiting and attractive to younger people rather than embark upon a divisive journey after the fact.

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