Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.
Diversity is still a huge issue in the UK Defence sector, gender, ethnicity and thought are not increasing as much as they need to. Great work is being done but more is needed.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.
Diversity is still a huge issue in the UK Defence sector, gender, ethnicity and thought are not increasing as much as they need to. Great work is being done but more is needed.
Programmes like LEAP can help target adjacent and more diverse talent, then transform them into project ready engineers fast.
Hiring managers need to look outside the sector and focus on the benefits talent from other sectors can bring.
Opportunities for increasing diversity lie everywhere. We’re a big fan of the pilot Babcock are conducting at present where they have hired Hairdressers into their Welding team. Their attention to detail and excellent dexterity make them a great transferable fit for a career where there are huge skills shortages and minimal diversity.
Many Defence & Security companies, know they must do more to support their ED&I strategy and the biggest question is what does good look like across Defence & Security companies for age, gender and diversity demographics?
Everyone wants to do better but what is the benchmark?
Defence Workforce Demographics 2023
From 2022 to 2023, the proportion of workers aged 40 and under increased for both males and females. The median age for men fell from 43.4 to 42.4, with the proportion of men under 40 increasing from 43.0% to 45.0%. For females, the proportion of workers under 40 increased from 50.3% to 52.8%, with the median age falling from 39.9 to 38.9
Source – JEDHub Annual Economic Report – Capturing and quantifying the contribution of the defence sector to the UK economy
1Earnings and hours worked, UK region by industry by two-digit SIC: ASHE Table 5 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) – Table 5.9a, FTEs calculated on 37-hour working week basis.
Surveyed Defence FTEs by Gender
The proportion of surveyed female defence FTE’s increased by 0.7% from 2022 to 2023, with the number of total female defence FTEs increasing by 25%.
The ONS estimates females accounted for 24.0% of wider manufacturing FTEs in 20231
Source – JEDHub Annual Economic Report – Capturing and quantifying the contribution of the defence sector to the UK economy
1Earnings and hours worked, UK region by industry by two-digit SIC: ASHE Table 5 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) – Table 5.9a, FTEs calculated on 37-hour working week basis.
Female Representation by Seniority and Sector 20231
Within upper management positions across the defence industry, director roles see the highest levels of female representation, at 24%.
Female representation across upper management positions is consistently higher within the defence industry than the armed forces.
Source – JEDHub Annual Economic Report – Capturing and quantifying the contribution of the defence sector to the UK economy
1 Women-in-Defence-Insight-and-Data-2023-Report_Updated.pdf
Defence FTE Ethnicity Spread
White defence FTEs represented 94% of the surveyed workforce in 2023, consistent with the proportion of white FTEs in 2022.
Asian or Asian British defence FTEs comprised 4% of the workforce in 2023, (3% in 2022), with other ethnic groups accounting for the remaining 2%.
Source – JEDHub Annual Economic Report – Capturing and quantifying the contribution of the defence sector to the UK economy
