About the Diversity programme

About the diversity programme

The Institute of Physics Diversity Programme was set-up in 2004. The aim of the programme is to foster an inclusive, sustainable, diverse and vibrant physics community which is reflected in the Institute’s membership and governing bodies. The programme does this by:

• monitoring diversity in the Institute’s membership, governing bodies and activities;
• commissioning research on diversity in physics education and the physics community;
• providing guidance and support on diversity issues;
• linking into projects run by other organisations such as the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET

Why do we want to widen participation in Physics?

Many companies and organisations are interested in diversity for the following reasons:

• equal opportunities
• equalities duties
• skills gaps
• it is the “right” thing to do
• getting the best out of everyone
• key to business success

However there are also specific reasons why the physics community should be addressing this issue:

• over the past 20 years, the numbers of students taking A-level physics has fallen by 40%
• over the same period the number of students in higher education has increased overall by 40%, but the number of physics undergraduates remains static.

Women and ethnic minorities, in particular, are under-represented in physics:

• women comprise 50% of the population. Yet only 20% of those taking A-level physics, studying undergraduate physics courses or working for a doctorate are female, with this figure dropping at each subsequent stage of the academic pipeline. Just 4% of physics professors, directors of Techmark100 companies and Fellows of the Institute are female.
• It is predicted that more then 50% of school-age children in London and Birmingham will classify themselves as non-white, by the end of the decade. Compared with the general undergraduate cohort, students from most Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups are under-represented in physics.

Our mission is to work towards an Institute which fully involves its members – male and female, young and old, of all ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs, regardless of geographic location, sexual orientation, social or economic status, or level of achievement in physics, and which supports its disabled members.

These pages will be regularly updated and continuously extended, so please do come back and visit us again! Further information about the Diversity Programme and the projects the Institute is developing may be obtained from the Diversity Team, email diversity@iop.org

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