Inclusion and diversity – making business better

Diversity and inclusion, experts tell us, are powerful driving forces for any industry. Far from being a gesture or a ‘nice to have’, they can fire up the engine room of creativity, make employees feel safe and allow businesses to increase profits.

It’s a shame then that all industries, including rail, still have some way to go. That said, the industry is clearly fighting back against restrictive and unequal norms, and is calling out treatment that crosses the line.

In this report, we look at the current state of play when it comes to diversity in general, what rail is doing to improve conditions, and what the positive results will be from this.

Discrimination – an issue that knows no boundaries

In short, there is plenty of evidence people face career obstructions simply for being a woman, LGBT, of an ethnic minority or neurodivergent. And this discrimination knows no boundaries, whether industrial or geographical.

For women, for instance, career progress is plagued by dated assumptions about gender. The net result is that, in a figure from 2019, 78 per cent of UK companies pay men more than women. More recently, the pay gap has been assessed as 15.4 per cent across industries, a tick upwards, year on year.

More concerning is violent criminal discrimination. YouGov says 52 per cent of women have suffered from harassment in their lives, and 19 per cent since 2016.

People considered somehow a minority will likewise face implicit bias against them.

For example, the World Economic forum says people with Chinese, Indian or Pakistani-sounding names are 28 per cent less likely to be invited to an interview than candidates with English-sounding names.

Those in the LGBT community will often suffer some form of verbal abuse or offensive comments – US research says 62 per cent of LGBT employees hear lesbian and gay jokes at work, 43 per cent hear bisexual jokes and 40 per cent hear transgender jokes. In the UK, 11 per cent were outed by a colleague.

And those who have specific needs are often poorly catered for when they enter the world of work: for example, 60 per cent of businesses don’t know where to go for advice about employing an autistic person.

Meanwhile, eight per cent of all hate crimes, according to ONS figures from 2020, are on the basis of religion.

In this report, we look at the current state of play when it comes to diversity in general, what rail is doing to improve conditions, and what the positive results will be from this.

Rail and rights

However there is some promising news. In its statistics summarizing workplace discrimination reports, the CIPHR says that manufacturing & travel and transport are far from the worst offenders – at 38 per cent and 29 per cent respectively. But that is still almost one in three for the latter, and more than that for the former.

There are better-than-average pay gap statistics for rail. One example is engineering which, in ONS statistics, stands at just ten per cent, which is still not great but much better than the national average.

When it comes to organisations, Network Rail has said the gender pay gap as of 2020 is 12.2 per cent – lower than the national average – but represents an increase in the gap, year on year to 2019 of 0.6 per cent. It says: “we expect our pay gap to fluctuate as we focus on addressing the gender imbalance at Network Rail.” They also add that the number of women in the business has increased from 17.3 per cent to 18.4 per cent.

LNER’s median pay gap was 15.54 in 2020, it says – but is up front in acknowledging this is because there are not as many women in better paid roles, such as engineers and drivers. It says it has made improvement over the years and strives to continue this work.

But here is some better news: there is greater diversity in rail when it comes to religion. Compared with ONS figures, a report from Women in Rail and the National Skills Academy Rail says 30.7 per cent of respondents were classed as religions other than ‘Christian’ and ‘no religion’.

And when it comes to LGBT+ inclusivity, work is beginning. Unions such a the RMT run an LGBT conference annually, and the TSSA works with Stonewall to push for better inclusivity, running education sessions.

The TSSA also, notably, is one of the rail organisations which makes a specific point of advocating for people who are neurodivergent.

And women seem to be developing their career in rail. Women in Rail and the National Skills Academy Rail say that females are on par with males for senior and managerial positions, with 37.5% of females in one of these positions, compared to 34.9% males.

Of those making the most of their qualifications, 93% of females with an engineering education followed this up with an occupation in the field, compared to 84% of males.

Network Rail is also one of many organisations in rail trying to tackle racism. It launched its Stand Up For Race Equality initiative after two accidents on the railway found that racist behaviours and racial tensions were contributory factors. Network Rail explains an employment tribunal ruled that it failed to investigate allegations of racism. Stand Up For Race Equality is part of its Everyone Matters strategy.

Benefits of diversity

A more diverse workforce has proven advantages. In our own interviews, one of the clearest points for religious diversity is simple – people celebrate their holidays on different days of the year. This means better coverage, so your business can cover emergencies and keep things ticking over.

Diversity also results in a better range of perspectives. Engineering and rail are built around one thing: problem solving. The Rail Delivery Group says it stands by the findings that those working together with their unique backgrounds will deliver better solutions for customers. One white paper suggests diversity makes for better decision making 87 per cent of the time and having those revelations arise twice as fast.

And, if ever you needed persuading, diversity and inclusivity also means more cash. The Boston Consulting Group suggests a business can make as much as 19 per cent more revenue when a business is more diverse.

But perhaps the most important advantage to diversity and inclusivity is it upholds the “psychological contract.” The psychological contract is key to making sure your workplace is an attractive place in which to work. It covers job security, career prospects, training and development, perceived fairness , managerial support, employer’s reputation and impact on society.

In short, this is where good business and human decency converge to reinforce and strengthen one another. It creates a bond of united purpose. By making people feel they are in a safe and fair environment, you have a happy, productive workforce that will stay loyal, and will go on to reflect your own investment in them for years to come.

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Inclusion and diversity – making business better