By John Challen

The importance of EDI in the workplace has led to big changes within all industries as organisations look at their overall structures. A recent survey by YouGov found that 66% of UK workers agreed that diversity and inclusion is important to them when considering job opportunities, with that percentage reaching 78% among young people (18 to 24 year olds).

CIHT for their part launched a comprehensive EDI strategy aiming to 'shift the dial' and bring about change, and invites any organisation that operates within the highways, transportation and infrastructure sector, irrespective of size, structure and context, to sign up to their EDI Charter.

Carruthers confirms the Institute is seeking to update and improve data collection strategies, as this is pivotal to avoiding assumption-based findings.

“Diverse representation is a key focus of CIHT to support the profession to better serve the diverse communities we serve. Understanding the composition of our membership also helps CIHT to provide more effective services to members,” she explains. 
  
“CIHT is refining our diversity data collection approach, to ensure that we are more informed by data and avoid taking actions that are based on assumptions. A consistent approach to data collection across the sector will generate much more meaningful comparisons, help us track trends and identify priority areas for improvement for members and [the] wider sector.

“CIHT will be improving our data collection and monitoring within our unique context as an Institution.”

Meanwhile, other Institutions in the built environment, such as the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), are also enhancing data collection as it represents a fundamental tenet of modern EDI strategies.

Mark Harrison, Head of EDI Transformation at CIOB, underlines how they are cultivating their data collection along with several other Institutes.

“The first area we said we would work together on was data collection,” explains Harrison. “We recognised that without data, we would not be able to monitor the impact of the measures we have introduced to address underrepresentation, particularly in professional roles.

“Therefore, we’re not able to identify where the barriers are, so wouldn’t be able to address the issues and monitor progress. We need to be able to undertake trend analysis over the years to see if, for example, the representation of on-site roles within the female membership is improving.

“Data is important so that we have an empirical approach, because we want to avoid assumption-based initiatives. We have limited resources, and we need to use them most effectively and most efficiently. The data will lead us to the areas where we can have most impact, most quickly.” 

Learn about CIHT’s EDI Strategy.

Discover more about applying EDI into your professional practice and enhance your professional development, irrespective of your role or specialism.

Sign up to CIHT’s EDI Charter; CIHT are currently recruiting EDI Advocates.

To sign up contact Emma Carruthers, EDI Manager, CIHT on emma.carruthers@ciht.org.uk

Main image: Emma Carruthers, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Manager (EDI); credit: CIHT