Inclusive Cultures in Engineering
The Inclusive Cultures in Engineering 2023 report will be released soon.
For a preview of the findings – see below:
In 2022, the Academy hired DJS Research to conduct a study that comprised a literature review, focus groups, and a sizable survey and resulted in a comprehensive report. A total of 1,657 people participated, including 1,507 survey respondents and 150 people who took part in focus groups and interviews. All participants had to have worked in engineering in the UK.
Our commentary focuses on the rich and multi-layered primary research findings from the DJS report and explores intersectional data from underrepresented groups. We present key highlights and themes deriving from further reflection and analysis of the longer DJS report. Whilst the report explores what has changed since 2017, the focus is on exploring recent perceptions of inclusive cultures in engineering.
This commentary explores:
· What does a culture of inclusion in engineering look like?
· How do people working within engineering perceive the culture?
· What can the engineering industry do to embed inclusion as a core part of the culture of engineering?
Key findings
1. Three-quarters of engineers responded that inclusion in the profession has improved since 2017, with engineers who identified as transgender seeing the most improvements. The effect of company policy in creating inclusive cultures was most felt in large companies, and less so in medium and small companies.
2. Engineers tend to describe the culture of the profession in terms of productivity and creativity with a focus on words like ‘solutions orientated’, ‘innovative and ‘collaborative’, all which hint at a culture that allows inclusivity to flourish.
3. Despite this, some see the profession as ‘slow to change’, ‘siloed’ and ‘hierarchical’, with women more likely to use these negative descriptors than men.
4. The behaviours valued within the profession tend to align with the descriptors of the culture of engineering, backing up the image of a culture concerned with production, through problem solving, collaboration and delivering to time and budget.
5. However, creativity was less valued as a behaviour within the profession along with ‘speaking up’ and ‘taking a stand’ which may impact, or be impacted by, the existent culture of inclusion in the profession.
6. The engineering community generally feel that the culture is inclusive, however, those who are underrepresented within the profession are less likely to view the culture in this way.
7. Masculine and macho culture persist in the profession in the form of offensive ‘banter’ and ‘mickey-taking’, which engineers are expected to be resilient to. However, there is a split, with this culture more present in “on-site” locations, less so in office.
8. Underrepresented groups continue to report higher rates of bullying, harassment and other forms of discrimination in the workplace. The rates are exacerbated for those from multiple underrepresented backgrounds.
9. Engineers reported having a good work-life balance, that they could be authentic at work, and could be open with colleagues about their lives, however many engineers, particularly those from underrepresented groups responded indicating they feel isolated.
Background: Our work on Inclusive Cultures
Before the Academy's 2017 study on inclusive cultures, it was well recognised that diversity and inclusion may help close the growing skills gap and solve the scarcity of engineering workers. However, attempts to diversify the engineering workforce have been slow, and thus failing to alleviate the skills and personnel shortages. To continue addressing this issue, the Royal Academy of Engineering conducted research to examine the connections between diversity, inclusion, and culture resulting in the robust report: Creating cultures where all engineers thrive.
A lot has changed both globally and within the engineering community, and the Academy wanted to revisit this subject with a new research project that would build on the themes from the first one, update our understanding of the major problems, and examine how much has changed since the original study. The Academy hired DJS Research to carry out a research study in 2022 that included a literature review, focus groups, and a large-scale survey that produced a thorough report.
The Academy's summary and further analysis, gleaned from DJS Research's study, are presented in this commentary. By presenting and synthesising the important themes, insights, and possibilities for innovation that have arisen from the study, we highlight the report's core conclusions.