Civil Service Live
Diversity in the spotlight
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The Civil Service diversity champion has urged Whitehall departments to “re-double their efforts“ to make government a more diverse organisation.
Speaking at Civil Service Live, Bill Jeffrey, who is also permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defence, said that good progress has been made in recent years but there is always more to do.
“As in any big organisation it's hard to say we have 'transformed' things,“ he said.
“On women in the senior Civil Service, we have effectively doubled that proportion from 16.7 per cent in 1996, to 32.1 per cent in October last year. If you look at a more recent period it has risen from 27.8 per cent in April 2004.
“The proportion of women in top management posts has increased as well while the proportion of Black and Minority Ethnic staff will be someway short of the 4 per cent target and is hovering around 3.5 per cent from 2.6 per cent in April 2004 - this is not as much as we would wish.“
Jeffrey, who has served in many top positions across Whitehall, said that his experience in government had reinforced his determination to deliver good progress on making the Civil Service more diverse.
“After a lifetime in the Civil Service, I believe diversity is one of the great causes of the service and we just need to keep working away at it“
Bill Jeffrey
“The business case for diversity in the Civil Service is the same as at it is in any walk of life,“ he added.
“If we can achieve a service which is representative of the community from bottom to top then we will be stronger at what we do and do better at serving a diverse population. So this is something I personally feel passionate about and have done for quite some time.“
Jeffrey went on to say that the 10-point diversity plan, launched in November 2005 on the same day he took up the diversity champion post, has helped inject momentum into this agenda.
“The plan is an attempt to bring together not just some targets which were already in public service agreements, but a wider programme covering leadership, accountability and important issues like recruitment.
“We want to make sure that as we pursue the efficiency agenda, as we must, and move jobs out of London, as we must, we don't inadvertently damage the diversity.!
Each government department has its own implementation plan because no two government departments are the same,“ he added.
“The MoD, which I'm responsible for, doesn't, to the extent that others might be, have an identifiable customer face outside. So we all do different things, and we all have different plans and programmes we are implementing.
“What we've done is create a framework for driving this forward in the shape of a network of diversity champions. There is one senior person in each department who acts as diversity champion and I chair meetings which take place every three months to track progress across the service.“
Jeffrey revealed that a new plan for the next few years is likely to be published this summer and cited this year's Diversity and Equality Awards as an event which will help keep up momentum. The seven awards categories are open to any team or individual currently working for the Civil Service (nominations can involve partnerships with non Civil Service organisations).
Nominations close on Friday August 1st with a shortlist of nominees announced on Tuesday 21st October. The Awards will then be announced at an evening reception on Tuesday 2nd December. Jeffrey, though, remains optimistic.
“I feel diversity is an area where we would never be completely satisfied but we have made some progress and we have to re-double our efforts for the next few years.“