Diversity and Inclusion Policy

1. Introduction

At the Royal Academy of Engineering, we value diversity and inclusion and the different perspectives people from different backgrounds bring to their work and to the engineering profession. A commitment to diversity and inclusion underpins everything we do. We recognise that creating cultures in which everyone can thrive and contribute diverse perspectives enriches our collective performance. We invest in all our people. We do not tolerate discrimination.

2. Aims of this Policy

The Academy will work to attract and retain a diverse workforce and ensure it recruits, develops and promotes people based on relevant experience, skills and competencies. It will also work to attract diverse nominations for Fellowship and applications for awards and grants, ensuring that selection for the Fellowship and for awards and grants is on the basis of clear and transparent criteria - regardless of personal characteristics or background.

This Policy is designed to ensure that the Academy complies with its obligations under the UK’s equality legislation and demonstrates commitment to treating people fairly by taking measures to ensure equal participation. It is also an important part of creating an inclusive culture and a core part of living our values.
Using fair and objective selection, recruitment and employment practices, the Academy aims to ensure that:

• All employees and potential employees are treated fairly and with respect in all their interactions with the Academy and at all stages of their employment.
• All employees, Fellows, grant and award applicants and recipients have the right to be free from harassment and bullying of any description, or any other form of unwanted behaviour.
• All employees, Fellows, grant and award recipients have an equal chance to contribute and to achieve their potential.
• All employees, Fellows, grant and award recipients are free from unlawful discrimination.

There are four main types of discrimination: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. Definitions of discrimination and other terminology in this Policy can be found in Appendix A – Glossary of Terms.

3. The Academy's Requirements on inclusion

It is the Academy's Policy to ensure that no employee or job applicant, Fellow or candidate for Fellowship, award or grant applicant or recipient, visitor or event participant is disadvantaged or receives less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender reassignment (in loose terms, being trans), marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation (defined as Protected Characteristics in the Equality Act 2010; in Northern Ireland’s equality legislation the protected characteristics are broadly the same, with the addition of political opinion).

In addition, the Academy will not treat anyone less favourably on the grounds of class, caring responsibilities, gender identity, parental status, political opinion, or spent criminal convictions.

The Academy recognises the right of individuals to self-identify as trans and in terms of their gender. This might include man, woman, non-binary, or another gender identity that is right to them.

For the purpose of positive action schemes at the Academy, identification of individuals as ‘women/men’ includes both cisgendered women/men (where their gender identity corresponds with their sex assigned at birth) and trans women/men (where their gender identity is different to their sex assigned at birth).

Everyone at the Academy, including employees, Fellows, Awardees and all other Academy stakeholders, has a role to play in ensuring individuals are valued, treated with dignity and respect, and are able to work in an environment that is free from discrimination. Every employee is responsible for ensuring they attend internal training and read and implement relevant policies, objectives and working practices linked to diversity and inclusion, to ensure that all Fellows, candidates for Fellowship, award or grant applicants or recipients, job applicants, employees, visitors and event participants are accorded equality of treatment and opportunity at all stages of engagement with the Academy.

Beliefs
It is important to note that religion or belief is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Opposing beliefs may be held by individual employees, Fellows, applicants and wider stakeholders; and reasonable debate and discussion is an important part of a democratic society. 

Under this Policy we expect a diversity of beliefs, when shared on a personal basis, to be professionally tolerated in our workplace. However, any expression or manifestation of beliefs (words, actions or behaviours) which would constitute discrimination, bullying, harassment or victimisation, or which could be viewed as objectionable or inappropriate, will be taken seriously and managed under this Policy, our Social Media Policy or our Anti-bullying and Harassment Policy, and could lead to disciplinary action. 

While colleagues are entitled to hold their own views, this must not lead to a potentially hostile environment for others. We expect colleagues to consider the impact of their words and actions on others, take responsibility for the information they share, and language used, and keep in mind that some types of discussion at work may affect individual colleagues more directly or personally.

Any individually expressed political beliefs need to be sensitive to the Academy's political neutrality. Employees, particularly those at Senior Manager level and above, should be careful not to share content (whether original or third party) that could compromise this neutrality or be perceived to compromise this neutrality by overtly supporting or promoting a single political party or candidate through a social media account where they are identified as an Academy employee. Please refer to our Social Media Policy for more information.

4. Scope of the Policy

The Policy applies to:

• Fellows and candidates for Fellowship
•  Award/grant applicants and recipients
• Employees  (permanent, fixed term and temporary)
• All job applicants
•  Academy committee and panel members
•  Volunteers
• Visitors
• Alumni
• Event applicants/participants
• Students on work experience or placements
• Delivery Partners

The Policy applies to all stages of employment, including recruitment and selection, promotion and development. It also applies to all stages of award/grant application, event registration and nomination processes and throughout the period of the award/grant. For employees, this Policy also applies to work events. If employees need more information about expectations when attending and supporting work events, they should refer to the Standards of Behaviour for Employees at Academy Events Policy.

5. Diversity and inclusion in practise

In implementing the Policy, the Academy will carry out the following actions:

• Ensure that all employees and Fellows engaged in Academy work understand and implement this Policy through relevant training and guidance.
• Use clear and transparent selection criteria that is fair and lawful for: recruitment, promotion, Academy Fellowship, and awards and grants.
• Ensure that all appointments to roles, Fellowship and the allocation of awards/grants are based on excellence - with action taken to promote inclusive practices.
• Actively support and sustain a greater number of Fellowship nominations from under- represented groups and sectors, who may not otherwise be put forward, in order to deliver a Fellowship that embodies the full breadth and diversity of engineering excellence, through the work of a proactive nominations panel and the Academy’s Fellowship Fit for Future campaign.
• Ensure that every job applicant/employee is only assessed according to their competence and aptitude to carry out a given job/role.
• Ensure equal opportunities and non-discrimination in the operation of all Academy procedures.
• Ensure that all relevant requirements of the UK Equality Act in relation to disability are met and adhered to. This will include making reasonable adjustments to ensure access to employment opportunities, grants, awards and nomination to the Fellowship. As a Disability Confident employer, the Academy offers to interview disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria stated on the person specification.

The Academy recognises that the achievement of equity/equality in an unequal society necessitates that positive action is taken to overcome disadvantage faced by certain groups as a result of deeply ingrained structural inequalities e.g. systemic sexism or racism. In its pursuit of diversity and inclusion, the Academy is therefore committed to taking positive action measures permitted within the Equality Act 2010. The Diversity and Inclusion team, with oversight from Executive Leadership, is responsible for ensuring that any such commitments comply with our legal obligations and the Academy’s commitments, Further detail is provided in our Positive Action Principles and Guidance to support staff and Fellows.

6. Responsibilities

Academy employees must follow the provisions of this Policy and draw attention to any suspected breaches. They should also follow the provisions set out in our Social Media Policy and our Anti-bullying and Harassment Policy.

Employees, Fellows and awardees may find themselves outside the UK, where different legal frameworks will apply. The Academy recognises that some countries have laws which criminalise or otherwise discriminate against people on the basis of their protected characteristics. The Academy will never mandate travel to countries on behalf of the Academy where the individual  feels that being themselves would put them at odds with local laws. If an employee, Fellow or Awardee is travelling for the Academy, they must ensure they are aware of local laws and norms in order to stay safe, and ask for support from the Academy if needed. 

The People Team, in consultation with the Diversity and Inclusion team, are responsible for promoting awareness and the monitoring of this Policy.

7. Breaches of the Diversity and Inclusion policy by staff members

Breaches of this Policy by employees will be dealt with under the Academy’s Disciplinary policy.
Breaches of the Diversity and Inclusion Policy by other applicable parties will be addressed in line with the Disciplinary Procedures and separate codes of Conduct such as for Fellows and Hub members. 
Individuals are also personally liable under equality legislation for any act of unlawful discrimination.

8. Implementation of the Policy

All employees will be involved in creating an inclusive culture that values diversity and is inclusive to all. Fellows and awardees also contribute to and uphold the Academy’s culture and values. 

9. Communication 

Communication of the Policy to job applicants, employees and Fellows will be done by:

• Publishing and making available a copy of the Policy on our website
• Incorporating a diversity statement on the Academy careers page and on all job adverts and linking to the Policy on the careers page
• Ensuring all new starters have the opportunity to discuss the Policy with Line Managers/ colleagues/the People Team.
• Making use of team meetings to discuss the Policy and defining areas where practice could be improved
• Providing non-discrimination and inclusive selection training for Line Managers who are recruiting
• Providing diversity and inclusion training and guidance to employees and Fellows, and all those that take part in selection panels at the Academy e.g. for grants and awards
• Incorporating specific responsibilities into job/role descriptions
• New Fellows briefing
• Making it available on the Fellows’ Area of the website

10. Working with delivery partners 

In selecting our suppliers and delivery partners we will consider their commitment to diversity and inclusion by:

• Asking to see their Policy or evidence to demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion
• Asking what they do in practice, including how they monitor the implementation of their Policy

11. Monitoring the Policy 

This Policy will be monitored to judge to what extent it is working and identify areas for improvement. Diversity data will be collected in relation to the following groups:

• Fellows
• Candidates for Fellowship
• Award/grant applicants
• Award/grant recipients
• Job applicants
•  Employees*
• Event applicants/participants

The Diversity and Inclusion team will review and analyse this data and publish a report annually (on an aggregated and anonymised basis) working with relevant teams, where any issues or gaps are identified, to remove barriers to inclusion and ensure equal participation.

*The People Team will be responsible for monitoring and analysing the data related to employees. This will be shared on an aggregated and anonymised basis with the Senior Leadership Team and other groups or individuals as needed, ensuring confidentiality is maintained at all times.

12. Reporting a breach of this Policy 

Fellows (or candidates for Fellowship), grant and award applicants and recipients who feel that
they have suffered any form of discrimination should raise the issue with the Academy employee responsible for overseeing the particular area of work or activity.

Any employee who feels they have suffered any form of discrimination from a Fellow should raise their concern with their Line Manager or Leadership Team (LT) member (Head, Associate Director or Director) as soon as possible. They may be able to take immediate action or will escalate it as needed.

If the incident takes place at a Committee Meeting or in relation to Committee work, the employee or their Line Manager or LT member should inform the Committee Chair as soon as possible. Chairs are responsible for ensuring that all members who are working for, or on behalf of, the Academy act in accordance with our values and observe our standing policies on conduct and behaviour. They may also wish to escalate the issue to the Conduct Committee.

If an employee feels unable to talk to colleagues, or would prefer to report their concern directly to the Conduct Committee, there is a dedicated email address they can use: [email protected] . This inbox is only monitored by Sylvia Hampartumian, Associate Director for Fellowship and Governance, who is the Secretary to the Committee, and will pass feedback received via this route directly to the Conduct Committee Chair. They should also feel able to speak directly to Sylvia or the People Team ([email protected]), all of whom will be able to support them in raising their concern. All information received via these routes will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Employees and Fellows engaged in Academy work should also use the approaches outlined above if they feel they have been the subject of harassment from someone who is not an employee or Fellow of the Academy. The Academy will not tolerate any harassment from third parties towards its employees or Fellows and will take appropriate action to prevent it happening again.

If an employee witnesses behaviour that does not fit with the values of the Academy and is counter to this Policy, whether it is directed at themselves or not, they should report it to their Line Manager or LT Member or the People Team as appropriate. 

Fellows should report behaviour that does not fit with the values of the Academy and is counter to this Policy to an Academy employee or the Associate Director for Fellowship and Governance/ CEO as appropriate.

For any concerns which fall outside of the above the Academy also has a Whistleblowing Policy which may be more appropriate to follow to raise concerns. 

13. Review

This Policy will be reviewed every two years by the People Team, in consultation with the Diversity and Inclusion Team, to ensure it remains up to date and reflects the needs and practices of the Academy. The Policy may also be reviewed if legislation changes or if diversity monitoring information suggests that Policy or practices should be altered.

14. Related documents/additional guidance

• Disciplinary Policy and procedure 
• Grievance Policy and procedure 
• Code of Conduct for Fellows
• Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy
• Data protection Policy
• Trans inclusion at work guidance
• Inclusive communications guide
• Reasonable Adjustments
• Workplace passports

15. Appendix A- Glossary of Terms