How Do I Complete the Historic England Workforce Diversity Survey?

What is this advice about?

This resource aims to provide information for individuals undertaking the Historic England Heritage Sector Workforce Diversity Survey. It covers all of the questions participants will be asked and gives background as to why this information is important for Historic England to collect.

This advice was produced on behalf of Historic England by Nexer Digital.

What are the key points?

What is the background to the workforce diversity survey?

What is a diversity survey?

A diversity survey asks people to report how they self-identify across different demographic characteristics. It is used to audit a group or organisation to discover where there might be gaps in representation. This can help identify barriers that can impact whether people join or stay in an organisation.

Why is Historic England doing a diversity survey?

As part of the ongoing work on inclusion, diversity and equality (IDE), Historic England has identified a lack of consistent data collection in the heritage sector. Although some areas of the sector have made individual progress, there is not a consistent and aligned method of data collection to assess diversity.

To ensure the heritage sector is truly representative, we first need to understand who is currently being represented in the sector and who is not. From there, we can explore ways to encourage more diverse voices and people with lived experience to get involved.

Historic England is working with Nexer Digital to develop this workforce diversity survey and analyse the resulting data. Nexer Digital are a user-centred research and design company based in Cheshire.

Why do I need to share this information?

The diversity survey is voluntary and anonymous, and no identifiable data will be collected. Each question has an answer option for 'prefer not to say' or equivalent, so you can answer only the questions you wish to. You also have the option to self-define on each question.

It's important to highlight that there are no wrong answers in a survey such as this. It is designed to find out how you see yourself and your identity.

What are the questions in the workforce diversity survey?

Why have you asked these questions?

The survey questions are based on the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, which forms the basis for most representation and diversity work in English workplaces today.

Alongside these characteristics, there is an additional section on socio-economic background and identity. Although socio-economic background (or 'class') is not currently a protected characteristic in UK law, there is much evidence that this can directly affect an individual's access to opportunities and life chances.

Survey sections

The survey is broken down into multiple sections. The first section contains qualifying questions to assist with the data analysis. Each section that follows is concerned with questions on different areas of identity, guided by the characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 as outlined previously.

The following information provides further detail on the questions, including relevant statistics and background on why we have chosen to ask them.

1. About your organisation

Questions in this section

• What is your organisation type?
• Which heritage domain is your organisation a part of?
• What is your role within your organisation?
• What is your current contract type?
• What percentage of your work would you say is directly heritage related?

Why are we asking these questions?

We are collecting information to help us understand who is working in our sector. Part of this will be understanding representation across all domains, and therefore, we need to find out a bit about the part of the sector you work in.

2. Age

Questions in this section

• What is your age?

Why have we asked this question?

The employment rate for people aged 16 to 64 in the UK from November 2023 to January 2024 was 75%. However, we know that this proportion increases and decreases depending on the age bracket and the sector.

For example, Historic England's 'Strategy for Inclusion, Diversity and Equality Report 2020 to 2023' noted that people under 25 were significantly underrepresented in the sector at 3.2% compared to a national working-age population of 16% in that same age bracket. The Office of National Statistics recommends requesting data in age brackets according to standard census classification.

3. Disability and Neurodiversity

Questions in this section

• Does the Equality Act's definition of being disabled, as detailed below, apply to you?
• If you answered yes to the previous question, what best describes your disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition?
• Do you see yourself as being neurodivergent?
• If you answered yes to the previous question, how would you describe your neurodivergence?

Why have we asked these questions?

According to government statistics, 52.6% of people with disabilities who are working age (16 to 64) were employed in 2022. Although this shows a slight increase on the previous year of 0.8 percentage points, this is significantly less than non-disabled people, where 82.5% of people are employed. The disability employment gap is now at its widest point since 2018.

If people without lived experience of specific disabilities or conditions are not employed in the sector, it is more difficult for an organisation to identify what barriers might exist to making the sector open and accessible for everyone.

The term 'disability' covers a wide range of experiences, conditions, and identities. People with lived experience also have different opinions about the best words and phrases to use when referring to disability. Wording for this section is taken directly from the 2021 England and Wales Census as current best practice. However, this will be continuously reviewed in future surveys and analyses.

This section includes 2 questions specifically about neurodiversity. These have been included to collect data in this area separately from the wide spectrum of disability.

4. Ethnicity and National Identity

Questions in this section

• Which of the following best describes your ethnic group?

Why have we asked these questions?

In the UK, 77% of white people are employed, compared with 69% of people from all other ethnic groups combined. In the heritage sector, people who identify as Asian or black are less likely to engage with heritage than people who identify as white, according to the 'Taking Part Survey Adult Report 2018/19' from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The answer options provided in the survey are taken from the 2021 Census of England and Wales, which is current best practice for questions about ethnicity in England and Wales. It is acknowledged that the groupings are broad and combine race and nationality to a certain extent. As with all questions on this survey, people can self-describe.

5. Gender and Gender Identity

Questions in this section

• Gender: Which of the following best describes your gender?
• Gender Identity: Do you identify as trans?

Why have we asked these questions?

50% of people of working age in the UK are women, which is reflected generally across the job market as a whole. However, this equity is not reflected in many sectors and roles. Men are often disproportionately represented in positions of seniority and power, and women often comprise the majority of support/administration positions.

Half of trans and non-binary people (51% and 50%, respectively) have hidden or disguised the fact that they are LGBT at work because they were afraid of discrimination. The question on trans identity was taken from Stonewall's guidance 'Do Ask, Do Tell: Capturing data on sexual orientation and gender identity globally' to monitor and improve the workplace experience of trans people.

6. Sexual Orientation

Questions in this section

• Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation?

Why have we asked these questions?

According to Stonewall's 'LGBT in Britain: Work Report 2018', almost 1 in 5 LGBT people (18%) who were looking for work said they were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity while trying to get a job in the previous year. More than a third of LGBT staff surveyed (35%) had hidden or disguised that they were LGBT at work in the last year because they were afraid of discrimination.

This question was taken from Stonewall's guidance 'Do Ask, Do Tell: Capturing data on sexual orientation and gender identity globally' to monitor and improve the workplace experience for LGBT people.

7. Religion and Belief

Questions in this section

• Which of the following best describes your religion or belief?

Why have we asked these questions?

Religion and belief can be an important part of someone's identity and can shape everything from how they interact with the world to how they spend their time each day. Disparities in representation between different religions and beliefs are noted, and so to address these disparities, it will be helpful to discover how the heritage sector compares to the wider UK population.

This question was devised using Office of National Statistics categories.

8. Caring Responsibilities

Questions in this section

• Do you have caring responsibilities?

Why have we asked these questions?

According to the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), 1 in 4 people in work who have caring responsibilities consider giving up their job. Additional statistics in the same report show some stark realities on mental wellbeing, long working hours and trust in employers.

9. Socio-Economic Background and Social Mobility

Questions in this section

• What type of school did you mainly attend between the ages of 11 and 16?
• Think about the parent or caregiver who was the highest income earner in your household when you were around 14 years old. What kind of work did they do?

Why have we asked these questions?

Although socio-economic background is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, understanding social mobility and the social and economic background of the workforce is key in helping to form an accurate picture of how open and accessible an industry and an employer are.

Recent reports have shown that the UK has some of the lowest rates of social mobility in the developed world.

The questions in this section were chosen based on best practice for assessing socio-economic status and social mobility in the workplace. This is a relatively new area of exploration in terms of diversity, so it is likely to continue to develop.

What will Historic England do with the data?

Historic England is working with Nexer Digital to develop this workforce diversity survey and analyse the resulting data. Nexer Digital are a user-centred research and design company based in Cheshire.

All information collected is anonymised and confidential. Neither Historic England nor Nexer Digital can link any data collected to 1 individual, and all data collected is done so in accordance with GDPR and data protection rules. Rigorous access controls will be applied for all data collected.

Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, some categories of data collected in this survey are likely to be classed as 'special category' data. UK legislation permits the processing of special category data for the purposes of identifying and keeping under review equality of opportunity. To comply with the relevant legislation, we confirm that the survey is voluntary and each question contains an option to submit a 'prefer not to say' answer.

At the end of the survey, you will have the option to save a copy of the data you have provided for your own records. Nexer Digital will analyse the aggregated data generated from the survey and draw out key findings, trends, and opportunities. There will also be a series of focus groups to gather feedback and comments. The outcomes will be fed back to Historic England in the form of a report and recommendations. Historic England will use the report to inform the organisation's future direction, specifically in addressing any inequalities or lack of representation from any area of society. Historic England will not have access to the raw data set.

We are using Microsoft Forms as the data collection platform for this survey. You can find Microsoft Forms Privacy and compliance information on their website.

Who can I contact if I have questions about the workforce diversity survey?

If you have any queries, comments, or further discussion points you would like to raise, please contact Dr Pen Foreman (they/them), Senior Inclusive Heritage Advisor at Historic England.