The Royal Society welcomes the opportunity to respond to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s inquiry into ‘Diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)’.
The Royal Society is committed to increasing diversity in STEM. Any lack of diversity in the scientific workforce represents both an absence of talent that the UK could be benefitting from and a lack of opportunity for people in the UK.
The Society has commissioned analyses of ethnicity and of disability data in STEM academia to establish the diversity profile of the pool of researchers and students in academia to inform actions to improve diversity and inclusion internally and across the sector. The Society has also commissioned new research into the impact of socio-economic factors on degree attainment and continuation in higher education, and a literature review of existing research on degree disparity.