Written Evidence Submitted by The National Physical Laboratory

(DIV0048)

Context to NPL’s response

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the UK’s National Metrology Institute (NMI), specialising in measurement science. We are responsible for developing and maintaining the nation’s primary measurement standards.

NPL is owned and funded (in part) by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). NPL is a Public Sector Research Establishment (PSRE), which works in partnership with government, academia, applied research laboratories and industry to deliver the maximum societal and economic benefit for the UK and the world.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion background in NPL

1. Creating a research environment which supports diversity and inclusion is critical to ensure that we, as an organisation, have access to the diversity of perspective to deliver excellent science and engineering and respond to current and emerging research challenges. By creating an inclusive environment, where all our staff are able to thrive, we can continue to improve the creativity of our ideas and enhance our ability to deliver excellent science and engineering to solve real-world challenges and create extraordinary impact.

2. This submission outlines the work that NPL does to deliver its goal of attracting, engaging, and retaining a diverse workforce where people feel they belong and can contribute as their whole self at work.

3. The data that NPL has on the protected characteristics of its workforce are drawn from employee records. It is not mandatory for employees to provide this information and it can be updated at any time.

4. NPL monitors the diversity of its workforce to support the organisation’s goal of attracting, engaging and retaining a diverse workforce where people feel they belong and can contribute as their whole self at work. A snapshot of the make-up of NPL staff is presented below:

4.1  The NPL workforce is 38% women[1], the gender balance across the organisation is significantly impacted by the gender distribution across the Science and Engineering Directorate (SED). The SED is where all our practical research and technical activity takes place and accounts for 71% of staff in the organisation, 30.4% of whom are women. Across the rest of the organisation, women are in the majority representing 54.2% of the total. Gender diversity within SED is strongly influenced by the diversity profiles in the disciplines from which NPL recruits. It is well known that the gender balance within the disciplines of physics and engineering is significantly skewed. A recent survey by the Institute of Physics notes that their 17% of their members are women[2] and the Royal Academy of Engineering estimate that 8% of professional engineers are women[3].

4.2  Self-reported staff data show that 15% of NPL staff are from minority ethnic backgrounds, this includes those that describe their ethnic group as Asian, Black, Mixed/Multiple or Other; 4.9% of employees have not provided information on their ethnicity, while 1.7% prefer not to say. Comparing the Science and Engineering Directorate with the rest of the organisation reveals broadly similar representation across ethnic groups, with the exception of those that describe themselves as Black, where the proportion is lower in SED. NPL’s racial diversity profile reflects known diversity challenges within the sector, in particular the underrepresentation of those who describe themselves as Black, as highlighted by the Royal Society[4]. NPL is currently undertaking an in-depth review related to ethnicity, which includes analysis of a recent staff survey, which forms part of our ongoing commitment to improving racial diversity and creating an inclusive environment. The findings of the review will be used to identify priority actions for NPL.

4.3  At NPL, 8% of staff have a declared disability (28.5% of employees have not provided information related to disability, with 1.4% preferring not to say). This is significantly below the current UK figures which estimates that 19% of the working population have a disability, highlighting that people with disabilities may be underrepresented in the NPL workforce. To seek to address this, we launched our new disability and long-term conditions policy in November 2021. It has been created in consultation with our staff-led disability and neurodiversity networks and builds upon the values and principles of the Disability Confident scheme[5].

NPL activities to address underrepresentation of particular groups in STEM roles

5        NPL’s goal is to attract, engage and retain a diverse workforce where people feel they belong and can contribute as their whole self at work. To deliver this, we have evolved our recruitment approaches to expand the diversity of our applicant pool, most recently focusing on inclusive language and partnering with external diversity and inclusion recruitment experts to extend our reach externally to groups underrepresented within our organisation. Through our inclusive recruitment practices, we are actively seeking to bring more women into the organisation.

6        Since 2013, NPL has brought in apprentices to work across the organisation. A new cohort is recruited annually (except for 2020 where recruitment was postponed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic). Initially NPL apprenticeships were science focused, but we now also have apprentices that work in engineering, IT, finance, and other areas of the business. Between 2018 and 2021, NPL has employed 45 apprentices, 35% of them women.

7        NPL as an employer is seeking to ensure that all individuals feel valued and respected and have implemented a number of programmes and activities to support this.

7.1  We have created a Diversity & Inclusion Task Force which brings together people from across the organisation to promote employee diversity and inclusivity. The task for supports several interest groups, including LGBTQ+, Mental Health, Faith & Religion, Dyslexia & Neurodiversity, Gender Equality, Ethnicity, and Disability. These groups represent communities and provide peer-to-peer support, they also work closely with others in the organisations to provide access to under-represented voices and ensure diverse perspectives are considered.

7.2  We operate a two-way mentoring programme for senior leaders and individuals from underrepresented groups within NPL. In addition to providing advice and career support for mentees, the scheme encourages perspective sharing and supports inclusive conversations to build allyship across the organisation. The scheme covers a range of diversity and inclusion themes, 28% of pairs were matched to focus on ethnicity and race, 22% were focused on gender.

7.3  We strive for continual improvement in our annual performance appraisals, and we review annual performance ratings by gender (alongside other characteristics) and a live bias assessment of our performance management activities is undertaken by an external organisation. Following these reviews, we have implemented a number of improvements to our processes, as well as reinforcing the strengths identified.

7.4  We have made progress in raising awareness of gender equality and implementing steps to address the underrepresentation of minority genders in our organisation.  Our early efforts focused on the underrepresentation of women, with a particular focus on improving representation at senior levels, where we have seen a 10% increase in representation since 2018. We have implemented several initiatives to support career progression, offering a range of training such as developmental programmes for women and men and have put in place policies that support flexible working. In 2018, we achieved Practitioner status[6] in the Institute of Physics Project Juno[7] scheme and have recently refreshed our action plan to support our progress towards Juno Champion status. As we move forward with our activities we will be seeking to enhance and incorporate a wider range of trans and non-binary gender identities.

7.5  NPL is a Disability Confident Committed organisation and is a member of the Business Disability Forum. Staff at NPL have used their lived experience to promote change within the organisation, which has resulted in the development of a new Disability and Long-term Condition policy. To support a more disability confident culture across the organisation, new resources have been created, such as a self-learning hub for sharing information and experiences to raise awareness of disability.

7.6  During the Covid-19 pandemic the safety and wellbeing of our people was our number one priority, which we highlighted through activities such as our internal campaign ‘remote but not apart’. This helped our people feel supported and connected by providing a range of resources to encourage local conversations and navigate challenges both in and out of work, with areas focused on mental health, stress and burnout and managing work-life balance as a parent and/or carer.

8        In addition to these programmes, NPL undertakes outreach activities which demonstrate the range of STEM career options there are at an organisation like NPL, working with schools, colleges, and the general public. We remain committed to supporting and promoting awareness of STEM and inspiring future generations of scientists and researchers; NPL’s Outreach programme is in its 13th year of operation. In 2019 NPL engaged 80,000 people through 328 activities, while in 2021, we engaged 35,000 primarily online, through 100 activities including the measurement at home scheme[8]. It remains a critical platform for connecting with potential talent from diverse backgrounds and experiences and enables NPL to engage with young people early in their education, inspiring their continued interest in STEM subjects. Outreach activities have remained a key activity during the Covid-19 pandemic, supporting learning at home through a range of activities such as Measurement at Home and the Virtual Physical Laboratory, as well as continuing to deliver presentations and outreach activities remotely. We have a cohort of Science Ambassadors, who act as role models, highlighting the diversity of careers available within STEM and showcasing the people that undertake them.

(January 2022)