Maddy Bishop
December 2022
The Institute for Government published analysis assessing the civil service’s diversity and inclusion strategy, concluding that government departments need more guidance and targets to improve diversity and inclusion.
They said: “The civil service’s latest diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy lacks specific objectives, targets and guidance needed to improve representation based on characteristics such as ethnicity, disability and gender.”
IfG analysis of government data shows that, on measures of sex, ethnicity and disability, the civil service is becoming more representative of the public:
However, the report finds that officials from a range of different backgrounds feel they have faced barriers to progression at work based on their class, ethnicity or other demographic factors, with many civil servants feeling that their backgrounds and experiences are not valued in government.
The report’s recommendations for the Cabinet Office include: