In recent years, significant steps have been made in the right direction for improving equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the UK and Irish water industries. But, there is still room for improvement. With population increase, extreme weather events and aging infrastructure placing ever-growing levels of pressure on the industry, building a workforce able to cope with these demands has never been more important. Key to effectively communicating these increased pressures to customers is the development of a workforce that better reflects the diverse communities it serves.

Building on efforts made by the EU Skills Inclusion Commitment , our first report in the EDI field - Enhancing equality, diversity and inclusion in the UK & Irish Water Industry – provides guidance to support water sector companies aiming to improve in this area.

Drawing on the knowledge and expertise of The Equal Group  this project seeks to help organisations understand barriers to diversity and inclusion, showcase existing best practices and suggest actionable guidance for reaching ambitious industry targets.

As UKWIR Programme Lead Alice Elder acknowledged, the project was born out of the recognition by water companies that “while steps have certainly been made in the right direction, we’re not where we want to be as an industry. We don’t yet reflect the customer base that we serve and we want to do better.”

Data gathered from companies across the sector has demonstrated significant gaps in diversity, with available data mainly focusing on gender disparities. Key findings from the report include: 

• A notable lack of visible representation and diverse role models, specifically at leadership levels
• A disproportionally lower representation of women and ethnic minorities in recruitment, progression and development processes. 

There are, however, several water companies and other organisations across a number of related sectors that are working hard to address the lack of diversity in their workforces. These organisations are developing best practices that can be developed, scaled and/or translated into a wider, water industry context.

Our research recognises that each organisation will have a different level of maturity in their diversity and inclusion efforts, which is addressed via the inclusion of an actionable maturity matrix. Our recommendations are for organisations to consider their current EDI maturity in alignment with our four thematic areas:

• Leadership
• Data
• Awareness, attraction and recruitment
• Progression and retention

The recommendations set out in the report are to be implemented over the next 6 - 24 months, marking a first step in the critical and ongoing project of creating a diverse and inclusive water industry. As the report’s recommendations detail, in order to accelerate progress in EDI efforts, cross-company collaboration and knowledge-sharing is key to ensuring a coordinated and aligned approach across the sector.

To find out more about this project, please have a read of our project summary here  and, for the full report, click here