Equality, diversity and inclusion audit
The National Composites Centre, part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, undertook a review of their internal policies and procedures to ensure they encapsulate equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) practices across the Centre.
Understanding the diversity and inclusion landscape
The rationale for conducting an audit on EDI within the National Composites Centre was to gain an understanding of the diversity and inclusion landscape to be able to cultivate an EDI roadmap within the organisation, starting a clear vision and objectives.
A review of all policies and procedures was completed to ensure NCC was compliant with legislation, and EDI is embedded into the practices and the spirit of the policies.
Data from employee statistics and employee survey results were examined against protected characteristics, with additional focus on the significantly under-represented groups in engineering (i.e. gender and ethnicity).
Through the analysis NCC was able to specify which departments and roles were most under-represented in regard to gender and ethnicity and cross-referenced against grade and career progression in the organisation. This also provided clarity on working practices and career development pathways, which are fundamental pillars in an inclusive culture.
In parallel to this analysis an external benchmarking activity was conducted to identify how NCC compares to other organisations in terms of EDI activities. An additional calibration activity is underway which benchmarks the Centre against similar organisations in the same industry sector.
The culmination of all these activities illustrated the strengths and development areas which will aid in the formulation of their EDI action plan. As a result, an initial roadmap has been created to be developed working closely with the leadership team to finalise EDI objectives.
The equality, diversity and inclusion audit was a critical activity for the National Composites Centre to understand the picture of diversity and inclusion in the organisation. It allowed us to confirm which areas need focusing on, but also illustrate which working practices have been a success. It is a great position to launch the next phase of the EDI plan, and focus on the roadmap of actions.