UKWIR advocates coordinated approach to enhance equality, diversity and inclusion in water

A new report from UKWIR has made recommendations to support the water industry in enhancing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Following mixed method research, UKWIR said the main barriers and solutions to greater EDI can be grouped into four themes, and it made recommendations in each area. They were:

leadership and visible representation – recommendations: inclusive leadership training; diversify leadership and management development programmes; and create formal EDI committees with board level sponsorship;

data – recommendations: conduct external benchmarking to assess EDI progress; carry out regular EDI audits; and set up accessible EDI data dashboards for stakeholder information;

awareness, attraction and recruitment – recommendations: conduct analysis on recruitment teams; conduct inclusive recruitment reviews; and revamp online images; and

retention and progression – recommendations: review promotions for EDI barriers; and provide clear career advancement routes.

UKWIR found the data currently available mainly focuses on gender. The researchers counselled: “Whilst progress is being made in some areas, with some organisations starting to see success, significant improvements will need a coordinated and aligned approach across the sector.”