Diversity and inclusion in engineering are vital for innovation and growth – exploring the evidence

Earlier this year, the Royal Academy of Engineering published their EDI Engine report, bringing together evidence showing the benefits of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) to engineering businesses.   

At an event co-hosted by the British Science Association (BSA) with the Academy in Parliament on Wednesday 11 December, a panel of business and policy experts discussed the report’s findings and their experiences of how EDI benefits engineering and the wider STEM sector. 

Panel Chair Baroness Brown of Cambridge FREng, a materials engineer, was joined by Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West and also an experienced Chartered Engineer; Professor Sarah Sharples FREng, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Transport; Henrik Hagemann, Chief Innovation Officer and co-founder of Imperial College spin-out company Puraffinity; and Daphnée Benayoun, Associate Partner and Paris Office Director at Dalberg, the consultancy which produced the EDI Engine report for the Academy. 

In her introduction, Baroness Brown explained that while there have been improvements in EDI, we have also recently seen, in some sectors, and particularly in the United States a “backing off” from EDI agendas, despite the evidence to show it has economic benefits for businesses. 

Evidence continues to show that EDI stimulates innovation, and the positive economic case for it was discussed by the speakers throughout the event. 

A moral and economic case 

While some policy makers or business leaders may not yet be convinced of the moral reasons for advancing EDI, our panel agreed that there is always a persuasive economic case to be made.   

The discussion kicked off with a presentation by the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Jennifer MacDonald, Interim Head of Diversity & Inclusion.  

She set the scene with findings from the 2023 Inclusive Cultures report which showed how engineers perceive the culture of engineering as a profession, and whether it’s attracting, developing, and retaining the diverse engineers we need.  

This report found that perceptions of EDI have improved, but there remains a “masculine” and “hierarchical” culture that holds back progress. Underrepresented groups in the profession, which include women, minority ethnic, LGBTQ+ and disabled engineers, were not as positive about the sense of belonging in engineering as overrepresented people were.   

Meanwhile, the Academy’s literature review – A Decade in Focus – showed that although there has been increasing research on EDI in engineering, there remains significant gaps in understanding and a lack of research in critical areas. 

Jennifer then summarised the findings of the Academy’s EDI Engine Report which clearly shows the benefits of EDI in four areas: 

People: Against the backdrop of a UK engineering skills gap and growing competition for talent, it’s more important than ever for organisations to attract a wide pool of applicants. Evidence points to EDI boosting staff retention and satisfaction, workforce performance and productivity. 53% of UK engineers surveyed said feeling included at work increased their motivation. 

Products and services: Prioritising EDI enables businesses to develop products and services that meet a wider range of user needs. Those that consider diverse needs early on are more often durable and less likely to need expensive adjustments later to bring in excluded individuals. More diverse teams had more than double the patent citations of non-diverse teams. 

Partners: By showing a commitment to EDI, companies can build customer loyalty and boost their brand’s reputation, as consumers are increasingly conscious of their consumption patterns. But the benefits of EDI extend beyond customers: 78% of investors want companies to prioritise environmental, social and governmental (ESG) improvements even if it affects their short-term profits. Many government tenders include an EDI section too, and public authorities will prioritise businesses with good ESG policies when buying goods and services. 

Processes: EDI helps engineering companies better manage risks, including health and safety. Employees who feel included feel better able to speak up with ideas, health and safety improvements, or questions without fear. Overlooking EDI can have serious consequences: in 2022/23 the highest compensation awarded at an employment tribunal for a disability-related discrimination case was £1.77m. 

The fair and right thing 

Daphnée Benayoun continued the case for advancing EDI as both “the fair and right thing to do” but also due to the proven link between greater diversity and better performance. EDI is a “proven driver of business excellence”, she said. “It’s about unlocking productivity, empowering engineers and fostering innovation”. She noted that younger generations, in particular, place growing importance on company diversity, when making choices about where to apply for jobs, and said that “diversity means being more creative, and helps [organisations] be better at reaching new markets”. 

Daphnée also noted the serious cost to society of not addressing EDI, giving the example that women are 47% more likely to be misdiagnosed when having a heart attack, and Black people three times less likely to be identified as having low oxygen levels, as available products for diagnosing these conditions are not designed in an inclusive way. 

Chi Onwurah MP noted that while the House of Commons has not traditionally been known as a diverse environment, when she arrived as an MP in 2010 it was far more diverse than in her previous role as a chartered electrical engineer. “It’s the first time I’ve not been the only woman in the room on a regular basis!” she said. 

Leadership must ‘get’ EDI 

Chi observed that progress has been “glacial” and stressed the importance of role models for engineers. She also explained that leadership plays a vital role in driving EDI change.   

“I’m tired of organisations telling me they can’t change, that they have to wait for the next generation of engineers to be born,” she said.

Change can happen now. I’ve also spoken to companies who have got gender parity in their teams, now. A lot of it is about the infrastructure to support women and diverse candidates. A lot is about leadership. It’s about flexible working, family friendly leave, bespoke tools and uniform options for women – policies and support are important.

Chi stressed that the environment must be diverse by design, and if it’s not, then outcomes are unequal. 

Professor Sarah Sharples spoke about her unusual route into engineering: she initially studied for a psychology degree. Doing so gave her a grounding in understanding people. Engineering is about putting people and technology together: we need to understand all the elements of a complex system, she said. Sarah also discussed the “genuine commitment” to EDI, led from the top, within the Department for Transport, in which she is Chief Scientific Adviser.  

Both Sarah and Chi noted that it is hard, tiring work, to be “the only one” – be that a woman, a woman of colour, or someone from a more working class background – in a room. The notion of belongingness is really important, they said. 

EDI = a commitment to growth 

Henrik Hagemann spoke about how his company Puraffinity, started out as an experiment with gender parity, to see what benefits it could bring. They now have 38 employees, with gender parity in the engineering team from the beginning. He described their composition with a metaphor: “We think of these teams as material composites, they perform better combined with other materials.” 

“If you have EDI in place, you show that you want to grow,” said Henrik. “It shows investors that you are prepared for growth and innovation to thrive.” 

Henrik also admitted that his own business lacked policies, procedures and representation when they did an EDI audit, and that can be a “bitter pill to swallow”. But they are now two years into embedding practices and continue to make sure they identify gaps and where they need to improve. Good recruitment practices are vital for this, such as being able to ask candidates to opt in to share their protected traits data. 

Recruit wide, train and support better 

Chi Onwurah spoke about the need for more variety in how people can enter the field of engineering, for companies to look outside the box. 

“It’s not only engineers and scientists who need to feel confident and part of the technological revolution going on around us… everyone needs to feel they’re part of technology, science and engineering. Businesses need to be able to take their STEM teams from as wide a range of backgrounds as possible, and put into place the training and support needed,” Chi said. 

As the event drew to a close, Baroness Brown asked the panel their view on the best way to influence leadership in companies to make EDI become part of their DNA. 

“It has to come from the top, a commitment at the C-suite level, including the board,” said Daphnée.

At companies where it’s seen as a tick box exercise, it doesn’t last long. They roll back everything they did. It’s about embedding it and integrating it with business goals. 

“Initiatives that succeed have a network of ambassadors. Mid-management level is crucial for getting an organisation moving and walking the talk. You need to equip those managers.”  

Data, data, data 

Data is vital, Daphnée continued. “They’re definitely craving examples, benchmarks, data that can help them and training that can help recognise bias and make them better at managing diverse teams and processes. We let the data speak. Once you show the data, people see the missed opportunities.” 

Henrik explained a powerful tactic: asking leaders whether they have ever felt excluded, perhaps because of socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, or another reason. “Once you go into that conversation then you can talk about the benefits of everyone feeling they belong at work. Then you can provide the tools, once they’ve leaned into it,” Henrik said. 

“We’ve got a great body of evidence which shows that diversity leads to more effective problem solving and innovation,” said Sarah. “Talented people stay in an organisation if they feel part of it, valued, included.” 

We also need to have the confidence to go out and celebrate what a great career engineering is, and help children to see themselves in engineering when they’re older. 

At the British Science Association, we’re working to create a future where science is more relevant, representative, and connected to society. We advocate for a more inclusive science community, and recognise the huge benefits that equality, diversity, and inclusion has across STEM and wider society. 

We act as the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity & Inclusion in STEM, which 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. Baroness Brown and Chi Onwurah MP are among members of the House of Commons and Lords who sit on this APPG. 

Our event with the Royal Academy of Engineering was held as an additional stream of work. 

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Author: Sarah Cox

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