Endurio has published a report on equality, diversity and inclusion in schools, focusing on staff experience in schools and MATs. NAHT has contributed to this report, which is based on data from over 16,500 staff members from 380 schools between January and March 2021.

Key findings

Diversity

• Less than half (43%) of staff feel their workplace is diverse
• 69% of minority ethnic staff feel that their workplace is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), while a far larger proportion (83%) of white British/Irish staff do. Four times as many minority ethnic staff feel that their workplace is not committed: 8% compared to 2% of white British/Irish staff
• Among those who identify as heterosexual, 81% agree that their workplace is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. This is compared to 75% of those who identify as LGBTQ+
• Furthermore, LGBTQ+ respondents were twice as likely to say their workplace is not committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, with 6% of LGBTQ+ staff compared to 3% of heterosexual staff
• Staff in leadership roles are more confident that their school/trust is committed to EDI than staff without leadership responsibilities. For those in a leadership role, 90% feel that their workplace is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. This is in comparison to 78% of staff who do not hold a leadership role
• Just one-third of staff members (36%) consider the diversity of their school's staff body to be representative of their student population
• While 43% of respondents felt that their staff body is very or somewhat diverse, only 28% of respondents felt that their leadership team is diverse.

Equality

• White staff, men and staff without a disability feel more confident that staff are treated equally than their peers
• Those in a leadership position are more confident that all staff are treated equally (88%), compared to those who do not hold a leadership position (70%)
• A combination of respondent ethnic background and gender shows that women from a minority ethnic background are least confident that all staff are treated equally in their workplace (68%). This compares with 75% of women who are white British/Irish and 70% of men from a minority ethnic background. White British/Irish men are most confident that all staff are treated equally with 81% responding positively to this question.

Inclusion

• Overall, seven in 10 staff feel that they personally are valued
• A smaller proportion of disabled staff feel that they are valued in comparison to their peers - 71% of non-disabled staff reported feeling valued in the workplace, compared to 60% of disabled staff
• A smaller proportion of minority ethnic staff feel valued: 64% of minority ethnic staff report feeling valued in their workplace, compared to 72% of white British/Irish
• Only 58% of disabled women feel valued in the workplace, compared to 70% of disabled men. Among respondents with no disability, 72% of women and 75% of men report feeling valued in their workplace
• A higher proportion of white British/Irish men feel valued, than minority ethnic men and women of all ethnicities

Addressing Inclusion and Equality

• 9% of disabled staff have often experienced comments, jokes or behaviour which they perceive as offensive. This is three times more than the proportion of non-disabled staff, of whom 3% have experienced this
• Among those with a faith other than Christianity, 7% have often experienced comments, jokes or behaviour which they perceive as offensive. This is more than three times the proportion of Christians (2%) and more than double the proportion of those without a faith (3%)
• A higher proportion of minority ethnic staff report often experiencing comments, jokes or behaviour they perceive as offensive than their white British/Irish peers. 7% of minority ethnic staff often experience an event like this, which is more than double the proportion of White British/Irish staff, of whom 3% often experience an event like this
• A smaller proportion of minority ethnic staff feel confident their leadership team would take action to prevent discrimination: 70% of minority ethnic staff, compared to 82% of white British/Irish staff
• Among disabled staff, 70% felt confident their leadership team would take action to prevent discrimination. This is in comparison to 81% of non-disabled staff
• 80% of women stated that they are confident their leadership team would take action if concerns were raised internally. This is lower than the 85% among male respondents.

Career progression

• Overall, 92% of respondents who have been recruited within one year of taking the survey reported that they felt comfortable during recruitment
• However, four in 10 staff are not confident that decisions on career development are free from bias
• Not all staff felt comfortable discussing additional support required to complete the role. Among disabled staff, 65% said they felt comfortable discussing this. This is compared to 84% of non-disabled staff
• Asked to reflect how comfortable they felt about their background/identity during the recruitment process, 82% of LGBTQ+ staff say they felt comfortable compared to 94% of respondents who identify as heterosexual
• 64% of men responded that they are confident that advancing their career in their current organisation would be compatible with their needs, compared with 58% of women
• The report concludes that there is more to be done in ensuring that different groups are supported and comfortable throughout the recruitment process.
   

Read the full report here.