‘Action over optics’ - APPG event explores EDI strategies in STEM

The most recent event organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM - for which the British Science Association provides the Secretariat - took place on Tuesday 18 March 2025 in Parliament. 

A panel of leaders in business, policy and higher education discussed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategies in the Science Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) sector, ahead of the launch of the APPG’s briefing on the subject in April this year. 

In her introduction, Baroness Brown of Cambridge addressed the current situation in the United States, noting that EDI initiatives are increasingly being removed or organisations are taking EDI out of annual reports. 

“We have to keep telling the world that [EDI] is crucially important right across the board, and especially in STEM where women and many minority ethnic groups are woefully under-represented,” Baroness Brown said.  

The UK won’t get the talent it needs to be a winner without it. We’ve got to keep it on the agenda and ensure that UK companies aren’t taking EDI out of their reports. We need to increase our voice, and keep reminding people that there is plenty of research and data to show that using all the talent that we have, improves business performance. We need different perspectives, we need all those brains! It’s a sensible business decision. 

The APPG on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM is chaired by Samantha Niblett, Labour MP for South Derbyshire, an employee of the IT sector for more than two decades, and founder of Labour: Women in Tech.  

Samantha noted that when you look at statistics for gender in the STEM sector, figures have not changed between reports published in 2014 and 2024. There has been no improvement in representation. After paying tribute to activist women who have been working hard to change this situation, such as the former APPG chair Chi Onwurah MP, Samantha said:  

There are so many people doing great things in this space, but we need to put our foot to the floor rather than taking it off. We need to focus on the benefits to the economy, because people are starting to get nervous about the words ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’. 

Karen Blake, the panel chair, discussed the APPG’s project investigating EDI strategies in STEM. The forthcoming report had two key questions to answer: What can be done to improve data reporting on representation? And how can organisations best evaluate the effectiveness of EDI action plans? 

“Good EDI strategies are important for individuals, but they’re also important for the sector: we are best able to innovate through being inclusive and representing our communities,” Karen said. 

The APPG’s briefing, which will be published by the British Science Association in April, is based on in-depth interviews with Human Resources and EDI leads at STEM institutions. It asks what is working, what is being asked for in industry, and what are the areas of need. What are leaders looking for in order to keep turning the dial? 

The panel’s next contributor, Dr Adam Vasco, is Director of Diversity & Inclusion at the University of Wolverhampton, and a member of the REF 2029 People and Diversity Advisory Panel (the Research Excellence Framework being the UK's system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions). 

“We must acknowledge that EDI is encountering challenges,” Adam said. “At the University of Wolverhampton, we aim to integrate EDI with KPIs and strategic drivers. We don’t separate EDI initiatives; they are the driving force. Our student body comprises a diverse range of first-generation students, ethnic and gender minorities, and individuals with disabilities. While geographical diversity is a reality in the West Midlands, we recognise the importance of connecting the dots and enhancing the pipeline. Additionally, we seek to understand the needs of our student bodies to ensure their success and graduation into STEM professions.” 

EDI cannot be an afterthought 

“In a room filled with like-minded individuals, true change won’t occur. We must bring in individuals with diverse perspectives," Adam said.

"The moral argument is compelling, and in higher education, we have the Office for Students, our regulator, who ensures that we address issues like closing awarding gaps and improving the rate of graduates securing graduate employment. EDI cannot be a superficial addition; it must be integrated into every aspect of our actions. It needs to be built into systems, not an afterthought, and leadership must hold itself accountable and supportive.” 

Regarding inclusion, Adam explained that the more we strive for inclusivity, the more we uncover our own biases and limitations. We should surround ourselves with individuals who have differing lived experiences in order to help us see and overcome our blind spots. Inclusion is our aspiration, and by definition, it leads to diversity. 

Adam also emphasised the importance of taking action over mere optics, stating that some of the resistance to EDI stems from past missteps in its implementation.

We have to be louder 

Samantha Niblett MP agreed: “We have to mention [EDI] all the time, so it becomes part of peoples’ narratives and automatically included in behaviours. Be the change you want to see. Even people we think of as champions sometimes don’t do it. We have to be louder. I see a lot of work in the EDI space but also a lot of people who make a living in this space, and a lot of egos. But it really is the people who do ‘action over optics’ who do it best.” 

Panellist Nisha Marwaha, Director of People Relations and DEI at Virgin Media O2 explained that for her organisation, EDI is a core value. “‘Belonging’ is the pillar we refer to,” she said. “We’re really committed to increasing representation of women in STEM. We’ve joined the Ofcom pledge to tackle it. Getting our CEOs aligned with the mission is crucial. Some of the things we’ve done to tackle inclusion are not about recruitment, they’re about ‘the hole in the bucket’. It’s about retaining.

We sponsored research recently by the Fawcett Society into why women leave STEM roles. It showed that there’s a tech bro toxic masculinity culture; a lack of flexibility; and women struggle to get their voices heard.

Nisha emphasised the need for culture change, and why driving culture change means a united view on what EDI means and what your senior managers understand it to be. She noted some of the policies put in place by Virgin Media O2 which go beyond what is required by law, in order to help change the culture, such as 14 weeks paid paternity leave, paid carers leave, paid neonatal leave and paid bereavement leave. 

“We’re changing how we’re supporting women at work and driving change. Incredible employee networks representing different communities are also so important to work with,” she said. 

We have to attract people we don’t normally attract 

Dr Roni Savage is Chief Executive and Founder of Jomas Associates, a geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering company serving the construction industry since 2009. “EDI is critical to my business,” she said. “We’re working in an industry where there are 40,000 vacancies at the moment, and the sector is struggling to fill these vacancies. There’s a real need to attract people to STEM, and to construction.” 

Just 16% of the engineering workforce is female, and 5% are from ethnic minority backgrounds. Our population is made of 50% female and 15% ethnic minority. There is a clear disparity between the two stats. 

“The obvious solution to filling these vacancies, is to attract the people we are missing out on,” Dr Savage said. “With everything going on around us at the moment, there is nervousness about the future of EDI, so we have to change the narrative about why it’s important. It’s not only the right thing to do, but it is a fundamental solution to expedite the growth of the economy. A solution for the growth of our economy should not be controversial.” 

Dr Savage explained that when we look at creating gender equality, it doesn’t mean “displacing anybody”. “We’re trying to include everybody and fill the gaps. I focus on fairness and equity.” she explained, adding, "It's about considering the uniqueness of each person, and accommodating that.” 

Compared with the pushback against EDI in the United States, Dr Savage said: “The UK has got a great opportunity to be leaders in this space. We really must shift this negative narrative about EDI being a problem rather than the solution, so we are not facing the same dire statistics and challenges in five or ten years. This is vital to growth.” 

Karen agreed, describing good EDI strategies as “not a charitable cause, it’s what underpins innovation and economic growth.” 

Adam added: “It’s the talent and potential that we’re missing [without EDI]. Good leadership is about recognising that having inclusive environments where people thrive is how we find talent. Global research proves this. It’s not so much about numbers, quotas, it’s about getting the best people for the job, and inclusive recruitment practices is how you do that. Blind spots are an issue: we don’t know what we don’t know.”  

Nisha emphasised that for her business, in order to best serve communities “we need to be representative of our communities and innovating products that they want and need”. “Some people think EDI is something that you believe, rather than something you do. When you’re making key decisions on hiring, promotion, redundancy, what lens are you looking through?” 

Metrics must be meaningful 

The discussion turned to metrics, and how organisations should be measuring their strategies and judging how they are making progress. “How do you approach evaluating the effectiveness of this work and benchmarking progress in organisations?,” asked Karen. 

On the research Excellence Framework, Adam emphasised the significance of benchmarking, but highlighted the need for it to be meaningful and not merely a superficial aspect of academic documentation. With the shift towards research and REF 2029, there’s a clear change in the focus of measurement, from individual ‘outputs’ to 'contribution to knowledge and understanding'. 

"How frequently do we engage with the communities we serve? Co-creation has become a buzzword, and we frequently discuss its role in fostering a more equitable research culture," Adam said. 

"REF acknowledges its contribution to creating a more inclusive research environment. It’s moving away from solely evaluating outputs to assessing knowledge and understanding, recognising that a diverse research culture contributes to the accumulation of knowledge.  

"For example: How can we ensure that women who have taken career breaks are valued for their research contributions? Similarly, how can we value individuals from diverse backgrounds in support roles, research assistants, and technicians? REF has the potential to drive positive change rather than merely absorbing information, something that all research funding bodies are committed to." 

Role models and grassroots partnerships 

Dr Savage asked "What are we trying to achieve?".

"From my perspective as a business owner, I need skilled individuals to help my business thrive and grow. The same applies to economic growth—we're ultimately aiming to create a workforce that mirrors the diversity of our country and to fill vacancies by attracting talent. Gender representation in engineering hasn’t progressed much over the decades, with women still making up only about 16% of the workforce. When I look at education, the gender balance has also remained largely unchanged. This tells me that we need to tackle the issue at its roots. In some schools, girls still aren’t encouraged to study STEM subjects, and unless we address this fundamental problem, we won’t make meaningful progress. 

"We face a shortage of individuals pursuing studies, and once they enter the workplace, retention becomes a challenge. Simply implementing quotas or setting numerical targets isn't the only solution. It is crucial to establish a pipeline that fosters inclusion and supports long-term retention. This must start from schools."  

“Grassroots partnerships are so important,” said Nisha. “Actively going into schools, programmes such as Step into STEM, or, Girls Who Code. It’s about showing what different roles and careers are, so people know, so awareness is raised.  

“Data for me is about measuring representation - we need to see it at management level. There’s an active need to trap that and it’s a KPI that’s discussed around the board room. Data disclosure and psychologically safe environments to disclose data are important. Doing something about pay gaps is important too. Companies should be reporting on equal pay.” 

Adam noted that at the University of Wolverhampton, they are “huge fans” of apprenticeships and the university is working with employers on how to diversify them. “Have we spoken to our learner communities? Are we speaking to women about why they don’t go into STEM? Are we asking their view on apprenticeships? We have to look at data and then say ‘so what?’ - what are we actually doing about it.”  

Bringing back ‘equality of opportunity’ 

Mathematician Professor Nira Chamberlain was a guest at the event and invited to speak. He quoted Victorian mathematician and engineer Lord Kelvin, who said that “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”.  

Professor Chamberlain said:

All of us who work in STEM: why don’t we treat EDI as a science problem? If we did, what would we find out? When I did, I found the term ‘equal opportunity’. We don’t use it much any more. Equal opportunity is a scientific term and can be measured scientifically. If EDI was measured scientifically, we wouldn’t question it! Diversity isn’t the best explainer of equal opportunity: equality is. During apartheid era South Africa, it was a diverse country. But it wasn’t equal. We need to resurrect the phrase ‘equal opportunity’. 

Karen agreed, adding that, “we need to move EDI from being a matter of opinions to a matter of facts.” 

Bring everything back to the economy 

At the end of the panel discussion, a question from the audience was asked on the Labour manifesto and which parts of it support progressing EDI. Samantha Niblett quoted the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, and her desire to smash class and gender ceilings. “Our first mission is growing the economy,” said Samantha. “So we need to bring everything back to ‘it makes economic sense’. It grows the economy.” 

Samantha also urged the point of starting early in schools, and if it doesn’t, there won’t be a way to achieve equality. She also stated the need to “get language and communication right. Be vocal about it. Platform other people.”  

A question from a representative of the UK Space Agency to the panel asked what practical measures businesses can take, particularly SMEs who may not have resources to implement best practice EDI strategies.  

Adam emphasised the need to resource-share, and trade expertise and resources where it’s most needed: “Our students are desperate for micro placements, it’s clear that they’ve come to our university for employment. We talk openly with students. There are very few people working in SMEs who are actively trying to discriminate but we often don’t know our own blind spots. We utilise the resources and expertise we have, and work with the resources and expertise SMEs have, and we fill needs. ‘Careers advice’ is inherently old fashioned - we don’t know the jobs that are going to exist in the future. We need to be more proactive at getting out and working with partners.” 

Nisha agreed. “Big employers should share more,” she said. “We’re focused on creating a workplace where neurodiverse people can thrive. Let’s share what we’ve done with smaller companies. At the point of hire we do training on things like affinity bias, and human-centric leadership, technological based training to drive empathy with practical examples that you have to go and apply - it’ had a real impact on changing behaviour.”