Science culture

Equality

Often referred to as equality of opportunity, the concept of equality is primarily centred on complying with the Equality Act 2010. The Act makes it unlawful to discriminate, harass or victimise someone because they have or are perceived to have a ‘protected characteristic’ or are associated with someone who has a protected characteristic. The "protected characteristics" under the Act are:

• age
• gender reassignment
• being married or in a civil partnership
• being pregnant or on maternity leave
• disability
• race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin)
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

All people in Britain are protected by this legislation – not only underrepresented groups.

Diversity

We define diversity in its broadest sense, encompassing similarities and differences of culture, background and experience. In addition to the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, we recognise other characteristics within our definition of diversity:

• career path and stage
• communication style
• education
• experience
• first language
• geography
• job sector
• socioeconomic status
• political affiliation

Inclusion and inclusiveness

The process of inclusion engages each individual and makes people feel essential to the success of the organisation. Individuals function at full capacity, feel more valued, and are included in the organisation’s mission. The culture shift creates higher performing organisations where motivation and morale soar.

Miller and Katz (2002)

Inclusion is about the culture, environment, and processes created by an organisation. It is measured by how people feel and requires effort to achieve. Creating a culture of inclusiveness is about establishing behaviours that support inclusion. Leaders have a critical role to play in this, as people often look to those in senior positions as role models for what is acceptable and what is the norm.

Implicit bias

Implicit bias, also known as unconscious bias, is the attitudes to race, gender and sexuality ‘programmed’ into us by society. These biases affect everyone, regardless of their personal characteristics, and majorly impact everyone’s working life. There are a number of online resources on this topic:

• We produced a video explaining implicit bias
• Harvard University has produced an online test to identify potential implicit biases 
• Chemistry World investigated implicit bias in the chemistry community, including testing their own biases