Two colleagues from the Kickstarter Scheme at work creating UK Biodiversity Guides
The Museum has been working hard to become a more equal, diverse and inclusive organisation and has been gathering and evaluating data on its workforce to help do this.
Workforce profile
Percentage of the workforce by ethnicity
83.2% white (84.4% in 2020-2021)
13.7% from marginalized ethnicities (11.2% in 2020-2021)
3% not declared (4.4% in 2020-2021)
Percentage of the workforce who self-define as disabled
7.5% (5% in 2020-2021)
Percentage of the workforce by sexual orientation: lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual and pansexual
8.8% (7% in 2020-2021)
Percentage of the workforce by gender
58.3% woman (56.2% in 2020-2021)
40.6% man (42.9% in 2020-2021)
1% non-binary (0.9% in 2020-2021)
This year, we also started to collect data on two other areas:
Percentage of the workforce whose gender identity is not the same as at birth
0.6% reported yes
Percentage of the workforce who hold a religion or belief
6.3% reported yes
As of 31 March 2022, the Museum employed 953 people.
Our vision is of a future where both people and the planet thrive. Diversity is one of our core values and we strive to build a workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. All new staff who join us learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion to the Museum and how to contribute to creating an inclusive environment.
We know we have more to do - and we have developed a strategy and action plan to enable us to meet our diversity and inclusion aims. We are committed to ensuring that everyone who works at the Museum feels they can thrive and feels valued and respected.
We also believe that transparency is key, which is why we have voluntarily published our Ethnicity Pay Gap alongside our Gender Pay Gap, outlining the actions we are taking.
The Museum and the Kickstarter Scheme
One of the initiatives we have introduced to support our aim to diversify the organisation is the Kickstarter Scheme. The scheme, devised by the Department for Work and Pensions, supports employers to create six-month work placements for young people aged 16-24 who are on universal credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.
Our first four kickstarter placements began in June 2021 and were based in our Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity. As UK Biodiversity Guide creators, our kickstarters produced guides on UK common plants and freshwater invertebrates, researching information, producing text and sourcing photos. Two further placements in our Community Engagement Team quickly followed. These kickstarters identified opportunities to strengthen our connection with our audiences. They looked at how we can develop new offers for our local community through digital engagement, events and self-guided activities.
In 2021-2022 we offered 31 Kickstarter Scheme placements across the Museum
By the end of the programme in March 2022, we had placed 31 young people in departments across the Museum, including HR, Core Research Laboratories, Digital and Comms, The Explorers Project, Exhibitions and Interpretation, Digital Collections, Science Collections and Research, Visitor Events and the Urban Nature Project.
The energy and enthusiasm the kickstarters have brought to the Museum has been inspiring, and several have had their placements extended. We are also delighted that one of the kickstarters applied for, and was successful in, being placed in a permanent role.
This was an ambitious and pioneering project for the Museum and it provided a valuable insight into how we can engage young people from lots of different backgrounds, who might not have thought working in a museum was for them. We will use this experience to support and engage further young people going forward, especially applicants for our Early Career's Apprenticeship Programme.