Engineering news
The data, compiled from a questionnaire completed by more than 7000 UK engineers and published in the report Creating cultures where all engineers thrive also found that female engineers were half as likely as their male colleagues to perceive the culture of engineering as ‘very inclusive,’ and that white engineers were significantly more likely to ‘feel included’ in engineering than colleagues from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.
In fact, 85% of BAME engineers said that assumptions were made about them based on their ethnicity or nationality, compared to 58% of their white colleagues.
One in five white engineers and male engineers also said the culture of engineering was ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ inclusive.
“With only 9% of UK engineers being women and only 6% coming from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background, we clearly need to do more to improve diversity in the engineering profession,” said Loraine Martins, director of diversity and inclusion at Network Rail, and a member of the steering group that oversaw the survey. “This will require a significant culture change, if our vision of an inclusive profession that is welcoming, respectful and supports career development for everyone, is to be realised.”
The overall survey was generally positive, with 77% of those surveyed saying that they like their job ‘most or all of the time’ and 82% saying they would recommend engineering as a great career choice to family and friends. UK engineers described their peers as being good at problem-solving, safety conscious, proud, loyal, team-oriented and flexible.
"We can take many positives from this extensive survey,” said Allan Cook, vice president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, which is calling for a 'culture change' to improve inclusion. “UK engineers are highly focused on delivering the best solutions to challenges which exist in their demanding jobs and this problem-solving expertise can be applied to improving diversity and inclusion. Engineers recognise the benefits of working in an inclusive environment and acknowledge that we need to work harder to drive change. The Academy’s Diversity and Inclusion programme has been set up do exactly this task.”