Infrastructure Insider - the power of diversity

Lopa Patel
01 May 2015

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This month Lopa Patel became the first Asian woman to receive the Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion. As a Technology Ambassador for STEMNET, she is passionate about helping girls to take up science based careers - not least in engineering where only 6% of the workforce are women.

"When addressing the issue of diversity in the world of infrastructure, or indeed any industry, the first question that must be answered is why diversity is necessary.

Those who are familiar with evolutionary biology will be aware that nature teaches us that diversity, in the genetic sense, is necessary for survival and ultimately evolution. This scientific example can be adapted quite nicely into the business world.

Embracing diversity in industry has the benefits of improving a company’s ability to adapt to change, which enables them to become empathetic and aware of the ever-changing needs of customers, as well as ensuring they remain open to new and innovative ideas. Ultimately, this helps companies to foster a stable and inclusive working environment in which employees can feel happy.

"True diversity is about fostering an inclusive culture where different voices and perspectives are heard and valued."

With specific regards to gender diversity, the stats show that the situation is far from ideal in the infrastructure industry. The industry remains heavily male dominated and figures released by the Institution of Engineering and Technology last year revealed that just 6% of the engineering workforce is female.

Such a glaring underrepresentation of a group that makes up 50% of the UK’s total workforce is even more shocking when one considers the fact that so many engineering firms in the UK struggle to find enough workers in the UK with the requisite STEM skills.

The industry should be commended for recognising this imbalance. However, the current approach of trying to address it from the top down, by parachuting females onto boards for non-executive positions, while a positive first step, leaves much to be desired. True diversity is about fostering an inclusive culture where different voices and perspectives are heard and valued.

"It is about being aware of unconscious biases that exist in the recruiting process and taking proactive steps to overcome these issues."

It also involves creating an environment in which talented individuals from all backgrounds have the internal framework to ensure that they have the opportunities to progress into senior leadership levels.

So how exactly do we practically and substantially improve diversity in the infrastructure industry?

One key way of doing this is to showcase talent so that women and ethnic minorities are aware that it is possible for people similar to themselves to excel and be accepted in these industries. It is also important to have a truly meritocratic and systematic recruitment and advancement system so that talent can be drawn from the widest possible ranks, with individuals given the tools to climb up the ladder.

It is about being aware of unconscious biases that exist in the recruiting process and taking proactive steps to overcome these issues. It can involve adopting flexible working policies to ensure that engineering firms offer more accommodating working environments for women. Finally, it also means setting up and aiding employee networks to enhance the reputation of the company and occasionally taking a risk in executive recruitment.

Perhaps, most crucially, the path to diversity lies in embracing inclusive leadership, in which all members of a company are encouraged to engage in their company’s mission. In companies that are inclusively led, having a diverse workforce is not just a matter of CSR, it is absolutely integral to ensure that leadership takes on a variety of different viewpoints and perspectives.

"Inclusive leadership gives companies an important competitive advantage in a marketplace in which consumers are more diverse and international than ever before."

Companies like Johnson Matthey (Britain's Most Admired Company 2014, Management Today) and Arup (Top 50 Employers for Women 2015, The Sunday Times) will reap the benefits of their early investment in this area. Inclusive leadership gives companies an important competitive advantage in a marketplace in which consumers are more diverse and international than ever before.

There is certainly no quick fit solution to solve the issue of diversity in the infrastructure industry, though one thing remains clear. In an increasingly competitive and constantly changing global marketplace, having a workforce and working culture that is diverse and makes use of the ideas and contributions from as many different kinds of people as possible, remains the leading factor in cultivating an ever progressing working environment."