The founder of one of the UK’s most influential conferences dedicated to promoting women in technology is set to play a leading role in new initiative to address diversity challenges.
Dr Hannah Dee, founder of the BCS Women Lovelace Colloquium and senior lecturer in computer science at Aberystwyth University, is the Equality Champion for Gender for the new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Hub+.
The Hub will harness the engineering, physical and mathematical sciences (EPMS) research and innovation community’s collective effort to address diversity challenges specific to the sector.
The four-year project is supported by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through a £2.5 million investment.
The Hub involves eight university partners including Aberystwyth University and is led by the University of Leeds.
Dr Dee, who was awarded an MBE for services to ‘Technology and to Women in the Information Technology Sector’ in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours list, will lead on the project in Wales.
Dr Dee said: “I’m delighted to be working as one of the Equality Champions on this project. The aim here is to create better places for everyone to work, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage, civil partnership, pregnancy, race, beliefs, sex, or sexual orientation, and based on what actually works and is worth doing.
“Ultimately, this is about building systems that will define our future as a species, that are inclusive and make the most of everyone’sabilities. We have a skills shortage and to exclude any groups, even unintentionally, from the development of new technologies such as AI systems, risks repeating the kinds of problems we see now, where people are excluded from organisations, systems and even buildings because they simply weren’t designed with accessibility in mind”, she added.
The EDI Hub+ will act as a focal point of activity and knowledge of good practice across the UK.
Drawing on expertise and insight from people and organisations from within and beyond the sector, the hub will provide leadership to pinpoint diversity challenges unique to the engineering, physical and mathematical sciences.
These challenges will be tackled by scaling-up interventions which will be integrated and adopted within the community.
EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Charlotte Deane said: “The diversity challenges we face deprive individuals of opportunity, with the result that the research and innovation system, and society more widely, cannot benefit from their contributions and perspectives.
“The EDI Hub+ aims to address the persistent challenges we see across the engineering, physical and mathematical sciences community by harnessing our collective accumulated knowledge.
“It will consolidate the work of existing initiatives and lead new programmes of work, ensuring that the best solutions can be brought to bear on challenges specific to the engineering, physical sciences and mathematics communities.”
The Hub is one of the activities in the research council’s three-year EDI action plan.
Working with universities, learned societies, industry partners, professional bodies and international collaborators, the Hub will lead initiatives to empower individuals throughout this branch of the scientific community.
Joint project lead Professor Louise Jennings, of the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds, said: “We’re passionate about this project as we feel the time is ripe to focus on evidence based sustained transformation across the engineering, physical and mathematical sciences research and innovation community.
“Our goal is to see equitable and inclusive processes become embedded and normalised in everyday practice.
“The level of interest we have received already from institutions wanting to get involved and partners keen to work with us on this, demonstrates that there is appetite for change and organisations are already engaging with the process.”
Joint project lead Professor Vania Dimitrova, of the School of Computer Science at the University of Leeds, said: “We are delighted to have brought together such a strong interdisciplinary team of EDI champions with complementary expertise and track record in addressing EDI challenges to deliver change.
“Through the EDI Hub+, we will identify, nurture and co-create EDI interventions, and progress them towards sustainable implementation and widespread adoption.
“We believe that these interventions will lead to a fairer future, ensuring everyone, including those who are under-represented, is listened to, understood, and enabled to pursue their goals and succeed.”
The EDI Hub+ partner universities are Aberystwyth, Leeds, Durham, Heriot-Watt, Bradford, Bristol, East Anglia and York.
