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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We're committed to reflecting and representing the diversity of the engineering and technology community. As a professional home for life for every engineer and technician, we want to help create a world where everyone is included – whatever their background.

We're a diverse organisation and have much to be proud of, but we are also challenging ourselves to ensure that Diversity and Inclusion is hardwired into everything we do.

If we get it right, it will be evident in how we work with our members, our people and our partners.

See what we're doing to make a more equal, diverse and inclusive profession - and how you can get involved - below.

Neurodiversity in engineering and technology

Almost one in five people from our IET volunteer community (who responded to our 2022 survey) identify as definitely or possibly neurodivergent.

Embracing and supporting neurodiversity in the workplace is a critical part of wider efforts to champion inclusion. So, what does this mean for the engineering and technology industry? And how can we translate this insight into meaningful action?

Check out our learnings thus far, and see what else we’re working on in this space.

Go to Neurodiversity in engineering and technology

Inclusive thinking? Pass it on!

What are you doing to embed inclusive thinking across engineering and technology? Share your tips, insights and hacks - and help us pass it on!

Inclusion is critical for success, yet only 16.5% of the engineering workforce are women (Engineering UK, 2022) and only 3 in 10 engineering organisations have taken action to improve the diversity of their engineering and technical workforce (IET Skills and Demand in Industry Survey, 2021).

Embedding inclusion in your workplace may seem like a huge task, but sometimes small changes can make big impacts. That’s why we’ve launched this campaign - to make embedding inclusion as easy as possible.

Submit your inclusive thinking tips

Strategy

We’re challenging ourselves to do all we can to ensure EDI is embedded in everything we do, and using our position of influence in the engineering and technology community to make change.

Go to EDI Strategy

Resources

We’ve developed a range of EDI resources to support members, volunteers, and the wider community in their own journeys to be more inclusive. Check them out!

Go to EDI resources

Campaigns

We’re engineering a better world, and one of the ways we do this is by creating campaigns which challenge outdated stereotypes and preconceptions, and celebrate the true diversity of our industry.

Go to Campaigns

Awards and events

We hold prestigious awards and topical events to alter the perception of what a career in engineering can look like and who the profession is for.

Go to EDI Awards and Events

Our EDI Member Networks

We have three EDI networks for IET members to join and receive peer support and engage with us on what’s important to them.

If you’re interested in meeting like-minded people and working collectively to make an impact, contact us at inclusion@theiet.org to join one of our networks.

Our networks include:

Neurodiversity Member Network

Meets every six weeks on a Friday

Disability Member Network

Meets every six weeks on a Thursday

LGBTQ+ Member Network

Meets every six weeks on a Friday

We’ve joined forces with WISE

The pursuit of gender equality in STEM, especially in the UK, is a key focus of ours – which is why we’re proud to be working closely with the Women into Science and Engineering (WISE) Campaign to accelerate this endeavour.

Only 29% of the current UK STEM workforce is made up of women, according to government statistics from 2023, and we want that to hit at least 35% by 2030.

Check out what WISE have been working on to drive forward change in this space.

We're a proud member of the Association For Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers

AFBE-UK promotes higher achievements in education and engineering particularly among people from black and minority ethnicity (BME) backgrounds.

We're a Disability Confident Employer

At the IET, we’re committed to drawing from the widest pool of talent available. Our Disability Confident Employer status helps us to ensure we are creating an environment where all of our colleagues can bring their whole selves to work and feel supported.

We’re a Stonewall Diversity Champion

We believe in the power of a workplace that is truly equal, which is why we’re thrilled to be a part of the Diversity Champions programme – the leading employers’ programme for ensuring all LGBT staff are accepted without exception in the workplace.

Stonewall are Europe’s largest lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) charity, so their expertise on how to encourage inclusive and accepting environments (and the insights of fellow programme members) is invaluable to us.

We’re a Business Disability Forum Member

Learning from other organisations and receiving expert advice and support is critical to our continued commitment to inclusion, which is why we’re proud to play our part in creating a disability-smart world as a member of the Business Disability Forum, a group of over 550 of the UK’s largest business, brands, public sector employers and SMEs.

The IET as an employer

There’s much more we’re doing to champion EDI as an employer, so check out our Work For website to learn more.

Go to https://workfor.theiet.org/iet-life/what-matters-to-us/diversity-and-inclusion/

We’re upgrading our systems, and this includes changes to our customer and member account log in, MyIET. It’s part of our big picture plan to deliver a great experience for you and our wider engineering community.

Whilst most of our websites remain available for browsing, it will not be possible to log in to purchase products or access services from Thursday, 17 April to Wednesday, 30 April 2025. Our Member Relations team is here to help and for many of our services, including processing payments or orders, we’ll be able to support you over the phone on +44 (0)1438 765678 or email via membership@theiet.org.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

For further information related to specific products and services, please visit our FAQs webpage.

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