We want the Crick to be a place where everyone feels valued and where diversity is celebrated and seen as part of the foundation for our institute’s success.
Diversity is essential to excellence in scientific endeavour. It increases breadth and perspective, leading to more innovation and creativity. Everyone in our institute shares in the responsibility to actively promote dignity, respect, inclusivity and equitable treatment.
In 2020 we launched a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, outlining our goals and how we plan to make these happen. The strategy divides our aims into five categories, reflecting the different actions that will help us improve:
The aim of the strategy is to link up all of the Crick’s equality, diversity and inclusion work and to ensure that it remains at the top of the agenda for the Crick. Each aim is supported by separate actions that are overseen and progressed by our EDI Committee. It also includes the excellent work of our staff networks.
We have an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee. The committee aims to identify and promote initiatives that support equality, diversity and inclusion at the Crick and in the wider community, and through this foster creativity and excellence in science.
The Crick was awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze Award in 2019. The Athena Swan Committee is a group of Crick staff working on implementing the action plan developed as part of our application.
In 2020 we set up a Race Equality Charter (REC) Working Group. The REC seeks to bring about practical changes to improve the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students within higher education. The Crick is ineligible to sign up to be a member of the Race Equality Charter and receive awards as we are not a Higher Education Institution. However, we are using the principles of the charter to adopt good practices that will enable us to examine our current situation regarding race equity.
We have a number of staff-led networks which aim to promote equality, diversity and inclusion at the Crick and ensure that Crick policies and practices reflect the needs of our staff. See the full list of Crick staff networks.
PRISM is the Crick's Race Equity Network and aims to promote a multi-ethnic and inclusive environment. The network works with key stakeholders to advocate on behalf of Crick staff and ensure that the Crick’s plans, strategies and policies are inclusive, especially those that relate to recruitment, personal development and career progression.
The network promotes race equity and cultural diversity at the Crick through events and online resources and supports staff and students who encounter or witness direct or indirect discrimination. PRISM launched in 2016 and since then, the network has organised networking and social events, hosted work experience students and invited guest speakers.
Proud Crick is the Crick’s volunteer-run LGBT+ network. It aims to promote a positive working culture for LGBT+ staff, including contractors and students, by actively promoting equality and inclusivity and ensuring that they are integrated into the Crick’s policies, strategies and practices. The network also raises awareness of LGBT+ issues in the workplace and identifies ways to overcome and address any inequalities that may arise.
The Proud Crick network provides a forum for LGBT+ staff and allies to discuss anything LGBT+ related (and beyond) in a safe and accepting environment. Our aim is to increase visibility of LGBT+ staff and students across the institute, as well as promoting the importance of the Proud Crick network itself through representation. We engage with the Crick staff by providing regular events and online resources.
Enable is the Crick’s staff network open to any employee with disabilities, long-term health conditions or neurodiverse conditions. The network is also open to non-disabled or neurotypical employees with an interest in promoting disability equality and neurodiversity. Enable aims to support staff by hosting events, providing training and raising awareness.
Enables provides a forum for staff with disabilities, long-term health conditions or neurodiverse conditions to share experiences and help the Crick community to promote an inclusive and accommodating workplace.
The Crick’s Family Network works to support staff who have caring responsibilities outside work. This could be parents, grandparents with caring responsibilities or carers for parents and spouses.
The network is a supportive environment for its members where they can share experiences, let off steam and ask for informal advice. The wider Crick community can also take part in networking events and attend talks from guest speakers who are coordinating their careers with family responsibilities. The Family Network works with the Crick’s HR department to suggest, advise on and implement family-friendly policies and increase awareness through training.
Diversity is a vital part of the Crick and built into our policies:
"I am committed to ensuring that the Crick is a world-leading institute, both in terms of our scientific discoveries and our approach to people. This means embracing equality, diversity and inclusion, and embedding these values firmly within our culture. I am proud that the Crick has been awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze award, and that it is a Stonewall Diversity Champion and participant in the Workplace Equality index – but there is much more to do.
Scientific discovery depends on openness, collaboration and sharing of information, which is why it is so important to create an environment where our staff feel able to be themselves and where differences are celebrated."
