I am a civil servant
A 10 point plan
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Aims
- To improve delivery of services for everyone in society through achieving a truly diverse Civil Service workforce at all levels, including our most senior.
- To achieve by 2008 the agreed targets of:
- 37% of the Senior Civil Service to be women;
- 30% of top management posts to be filled by women;
- 4% of the Senior Civil Service to be from minority ethnic backgrounds;
- 3.2% of the Senior Civil Service to be disabled.
- To use this visible change to lead broader change across the Service in the way we manage and value equality and diversity at all levels, in all aspects of our business.
Foreword
The Civil Service is changing to meet the needs of the 21st century. The changes are real and delivering on diversity is at the heart of my agenda. In a more diverse country that exists in a faster-paced and more competitive world, the pressure to change is inevitable and ongoing.
I want civil servants to be able to say ‘I’m proud to be a civil servant.’ To make the Civil Service that sort of place means we must be inclusive and relevant to all our staff, citizens, and customers. We have to reflect the nation we serve. We must also be as efficient as possible by making the best use of available talent and better understanding our customers. In short, diversity improves our capacity to deliver.
Diversity, in all senses of the concept, is core to our ability to be proud, passionate and professional about all we do in the Civil Service.
This plan commits to 10 key areas and it particularly targets accelerated progress towards a more visible and diverse Senior Civil Service. This is a signal that this plan is ambitious and intended to achieve broad and deep cultural change. It depends on the commitment of everyone, at every level, in the Civil Service to deliver. It is an integral part of my vision for Civil Service reform and I am confident that through achieving a more diverse workforce we will be better equipped to deliver, adapt and innovate.
Sir Gus O’Donnell
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service