Enhancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for Transport Infrastructure Skills
Research by Phillippa Groome
University of Sussex
Published: December 2021
Download the full DfT report here.
If the UK infrastructure sector is to address its future challenges, it will need to draw on a wide range of talents. This will require improvements in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
This research report was commissioned by the Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce (STAT) to independently explore problems with EDI. The report focuses on gender across the UK’s infrastructure sector and suggests improvements based on new empirical evidence on EDI problems, integrated with academic research on the most effective ways to improve EDI outcomes. Kurt Lewin’s unfreeze-change-refreeze model is used as a framework for organisational change.
While there has been considerable progress towards improving EDI, a number of gender equality challenges were identified. The research found evidence of problems with gender stereotyped training and development which limited career opportunities for women. It also found a low uptake of shared parental leave that has potential to perpetuate bias against women in the workface.
Women in the sector also found that working arrangements were often inflexible, compared to other sectors, leading to a “leaky talent pipeline” of women leaving the sector early. The research also found evidence of inaccessible progression pathways for women that constrained their career development.
At a practical level, women explained that onsite facilities were often designed for men which in some instances, made their working experiences unsatisfactory and potentially dangerous. Lastly, despite improvements, the interviewees complained of inappropriate personal conduct and comments that went well beyond the usual banter one might find in the workplace.
Improving EDI is difficult for any organisation. The report draws heavily on the work of Harvard Professor Iris Bohnet to present potential options for improvement.
The report also identifies a number of emerging challenges facing EDI interventions related to:
(a) concerns about the impact of positive discrimination,
(b) the burdens placed on ‘gender champions’, and
(c) the complexities of supporting a very diverse workforce, that can suffer discrimination in multiple ways.
To deal with these problems the report recommends building on its award-winning progress towards improved EDI. While there are no simple answers that guarantee success, the evidence on what works suggests a need to collect, analyse and widely discuss EDI data, experiment, learn and re-adjust over time. By empowering HR, recruitment and progression processes can be overhauled to better reflect the diversity of talent that is available.
To secure the skills the sector will require in the future, there is a need to integrate EDI interventions throughout our organisations. By extending EDI interventions beyond attracting and recruiting talent, we can create a better working environment for everyone.