Staff at the Alan Turing Institute have expressed concern about the data science and artificial intelligence body’s commitment to diversity, after it appointed four men into senior roles.
In a letter addressed to its leadership, which more than 180 people have signed, employees have urged the organisation to look at gender disparity in senior roles and to reflect on “whether all voices are being heard and if the institute’s commitment to inclusivity is being fully realised in [its] recruitment and decision-making practices”.
It was sent to chief executive Jean Innes, chief operating officer Jonathan Atkins, and chief scientist Professor Mark Girolami after ATI appointed four male academics into sustainability, fundamental research, health, and defence and national security roles.
Women in STEM
Tech firms need to work harder to engage women
STEM manifesto calls for urgent action on diversity and retention
The letter, which was seen by the Guardian, says: “Our intention is not to undermine the professional achievements of these esteemed colleagues and that we’re looking forward to working together with them. Rather, our aim is to highlight a broader issue within our institute’s approach to diversity and inclusivity, particularly in scientific leadership roles, with a specific eye towards gender diversity and inclusivity.”
It asks ATI’s leadership about the measures it uses to increase applications from under-represented groups and how gender-diverse its shortlists for the roles were.
There are six women and 13 men at the leadership level referenced in the letter, a gender split of 32/68%. The gender split among ATI’s total workforce is 53% male and 47% female.
Responding to the letter, Dr Jean Innes, CEO of the Alan Turing Institute, said: “Our appointments are made through free and fair competition and on the basis of merit. We recognise the critical importance of diverse leadership and welcome dialogue with our community about what more we can do. As the national institute for data science and AI we are committed to increasing the proportion of under-represented groups in these fields.”
Last week, research from diversity consultancy Green Park found that women and ethnic minorities are often in roles that do not offer natural progression into leadership positions, or require more time to progress into top jobs.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that thousands of women left the tech sector in the first few months of 2023.
HR roles in IT, internet and new media on Personnel Today
Browse more HR roles in IT, internet and new media
