Performance and Resources report quarter 2 2022/23: Workforce diversity and inclusion

Declared workforce representation as at September 2022

• 7.7% (decrease of 0.1% point from March 2021) Disability representation in the FSA. 6.3% and 8.3% points below the Civil Service average and the economically active population respectively.
• 5.% (increase of 0.3% points from March 2021) LGB+ representation in the FSA. 1.1% point below the Civil Service average.
• 45.5% (increase of 4% points from March 2021) Representation of women in the FSA. 9% points below the Civil Service average.
• 11.3% (decrease of 0.7% points from March 2021) Representation ethnicity in the FSA. 3.2% and 3.7% points below the economically active population and the Civil Service average respectively. 
• economically active population data included from, Labour force survey at 31 March 2022 (where available). Civil Service average included from 2022 Civil Service Statistics.

Key successes

We are close to 50% for representation of women in the FSA and have reached parity at the Senior Civil Service Level. Our pipeline is strong, with parity reached for HEO-Grade 6. In comparison to the economically active population, we are slightly below representation regarding ethnicity and sexual orientation. Disability continues to have the biggest difference between our declared representation and the economically active population. This quarter will therefore, focus on risks / concerns and next steps in relation to disability. 

Concerns / risks

• 31.3% of staff have not declared their disability status, meaning we do not have a valid picture of our disability representation. Further work is required to understand the reasons for lower declaration rates and we will continue to encourage and educate on its importance. 
• as our declared disability representation is significantly lower (7.7%) than the economically active population (16%), it is unlikely we will see a notable increase in our overall representation of staff with disabilities in the short to medium term, as only 11 out of 142 new recruits have declared a disability. 
• the gap between representation in FSA and the economically active population raises the following questions about declaring a disability: do potential applicants view the FSA as a disability inclusive employer, and do our colleagues feel supported and included?

Next steps

• achievement of the Disability Confident Leader Level and Carers Accreditation will allow us to strengthen our brand as a disability inclusive employer.
• Completing the Disability Smart Audit, will allow us to benchmark ourselves against private / public sector organisations and identify actions we need to take.
• a Diversity Data Matters Campaign (December 2022) to encourage declaration which will give us a more accurate picture of representation of all protected characteristics, majoring on disability. 
• for International Day of Persons with Disabilities in December, we will be running activities such as spot reverse mentoring; disability awareness podcasts; line manager workshops; promotion of workplace passports.
• a new Exit Interview online questionnaire was launched in September which will supply us with data on reasons for leaving and employee experience, which we can analyse by protected characteristic and take the necessary actions. 

Workforce representation by protected characteristics

(annual figures provided as per 31 March)

Representation of disability (declared)

69.7% declared.

Representation of women

Representation of ethnic minority (declared)

87.8% declared.

Representation of Lesbian, gay, bisexual and other (LGBO) (declared)

73.8% declared.

Declaration excludes where information is unknown or an individual has chosen not to state. Economically active population data is not available for sexual orientation or sex.