Inclusion and Diversity activities, projects and collaborations

We are involved in several ongoing collaborations with WISE, the campaign for gender balance in STEM. Last year we ran a joint event called ‘Advancing the gender pay gap’. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic we joined WISE and 20 other organisations in signing a joint statement, and are now pooling our resources in order to continue to drive gender equality – which is needed now more than ever.

We support the Daphne Jackson fellowship scheme, a unique fellowship designed to return STEM professionals to their careers after a break. Fellows normally carry out their research part-time over 2 years, in a university or research establishment in the UK. The Fellowships are flexible and include a tailored training programme designed to update skills and knowledge and support you in your return to research.

In collaboration with the IOP and the Royal Astronomical Society, we formed the “LGBT+ physical sciences network”, a mailing list and network of LGBT+ scientists and allies in the fields of physics, astronomy and chemistry and associated sciences.

We surveyed the LGBT+ community in the physical sciences to collect evidence of what the current climate is like for LGBT+ physical scientists in the UK and Ireland. The online survey collected data from those working, teaching or studying in a physical sciences field who identify as LGBT+ or allies. The results of the study will be published in early 2019.

We are members of the Athena Forum, an independent committee established to inform the wider debate on diversity in STEMM. The current focus of the committee is on workload allocation models in higher education.

We are members of the Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine Disability Advisory Committee (STEMM-DAC), a cross-STEMM collaborative group of professional bodies and learned societies that promotes inclusion of disabled people in STEMM education and employment.

Science Council and Royal Academy of Engineering Diversity and Inclusion Progression Framework

We are actively using the Progression Framework to benchmark and advance inclusion and diversity within our own organisation. We are members of the Progression Framework steering group.

All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity and Inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths

We are sponsors and supporters of this All-Party Parliamentary Group that aims to promote the inclusion and progression of people from diverse backgrounds in STEM, and to encourage government, parliamentarians, academics, businesses and other stakeholders to work towards a STEM sector that is representative of the population.