Diversity and inclusion

What is the ICE's diversity and inclusion policy?

Civil engineers work for the benefit and wellbeing of society – including both the environment and humankind.

ICE President Anusha Shah calls for engineers to work in harmony with nature as they ensure that the world has the infrastructure systems it needs to enable our planet and our people to thrive.

As a membership organisation and an employer, the ICE values diversity and works to create a fairer environment free from harassment and discrimination, and one in which everybody feels included and valued.

Anyone who meets our standards can join the ICE. We don't discriminate based on beliefs, backgrounds, abilities or anything else.

All our members and staff should feel able to challenge prejudice and approach their work with open and critical minds.

The ICE recognises that some of its members may work in countries where people are criminalised, victimised or harassed on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

While the ICE expects that its members will abide by local laws, this does not imply that such laws are condoned or deemed fair or appropriate.

Members should always, with due regard for local laws, strive to follow best practice in supporting fair treatment of women and the human rights of LGBT+ colleagues and communities.

Fairness, Inclusion and Respect Committee

Our Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR) Committee is made up of members who are passionate about ensuring the institution is inclusive and representative. 

The ICE aims to:

• Take a holistic view of diversity, which addresses fair treatment, inclusion and respect for all members.
• Make everyone more aware of the positive impact of addressing diversity through training for members, media releases, promotional literature and events.
• Understand and tackle anything standing in the way of equal opportunities.
• Challenge and address any discrimination.
• Make sure our policies and the way we work promotes diversity.

Our policies are for members of all grades, employees and anyone applying for a job. We also encourage members to promote diversity in their workplace.

What we do

The FIR Committee works with employers to make sure the civil engineering industry attracts talented people from all backgrounds. 

Any ICE member can contact the committee about equal opportunities issues. 

Fairness, Inclusion and Respect Action Plan

The ICE is a signatory to the Royal Academy’s Engineering Diversity Concordat.

As such, the institution commits to self-monitoring through the Royal Academy of Engineering and Science Council Diversity and Inclusion Progression Framework.

In November 2020, the FIR Committee led on a membership survey, Racism in Civil Engineering.

The results of the survey of UK members led to the ICE developing a Fairness, Inclusion and Respect Action Plan for 2021-2025.

As part of this, we also developed the Anti-Racism Toolkit for employers, which has been produced with the support of the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK).

What is the Anti-Racism Toolkit and who is it for?

The second version of the ICE's Anti-Racism Toolkit was launched in September 2022.

It provides training and development material, but also practical steps and guidance for organisations of all sizes, to help them be inclusive places to work. 

ICE Anti-Racism Toolkit

Women in engineering

Fellowship is the highest grade of membership offered by the ICE, but women are underrepresented in the cohort.

The ICE Connects initiative, started in 2021, works to improve diversity among ICE Fellows and to build a supportive network to encourage more people to reach this highly respected professional accolade. 

Under the initiative, the ICE hosts hybrid events in locations around the world that unite women and industry allies to explore the importance of diversity across Fellowship. 

Find out more about ICE Fellowship

ICE gender pay gap

As a membership organisation and an employer, ICE values diversity and inclusivity. We believe that workplaces thrive where there is greater diversity, inclusion and gender balance and ICE works hard to create a culture where all of our people are treated equally.

ICE exists to help civil engineers to tackle the challenges facing society. We are best placed to do this when the people who work for us are representative of society.

Whilst the exercise to produce this report has been driven by government legislation, we are pleased that it has allowed us to refocus on the areas on which we need to concentrate to ensure that we strive for balance.

As a consequence of the report, we are putting in place some recommendations to address this issue and whilst it will not be a quick process, we are committed to making sure that our employment practices are as flexible as possible so that we may remove any possible barriers to women taking up positions at the very top of our organisation.

Equity, diversity and inclusion memorandum of understanding

The ICE has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with five membership bodies from across the built environment sector to agree to jointly improve equity, diversity and inclusion.

Alongside the ICE, the organisations collectively represent 350,000 members.

The other signatories of the MoU are:

• The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)
• The Landscape Institute (LI)
• The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
• The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)

Together, the consortium has so far produced an action plan to deliver the three objectives of the memorandum (data collection; improving understanding of transition from education into employment; and EDI standards).

Statements

UK riots: BE Inclusive united against discrimination

Alongside our Built Environment (BE) Inclusive partners, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the Landscape Institute (LI), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), we issue this statement in response to recent events.

The racist and Islamophobic riots across England and Northern Ireland have been deeply troubling.

As a group of professional membership bodies committed to inclusion, we wanted to acknowledge the impact this public disorder may be having on our members, especially those from Asian, Black and minority ethnic communities, both personally and professionally. Whether that is as a result of being directly affected or painful memories this may have evoked.

Violence and unrest can leave us feeling vulnerable, isolated, anxious, and uncertain, but during these moments there is strength in community, and we wanted to assure you that the built environment community stands with you and will offer all support that we can as we collectively try to manoeuvre through these difficulties together.

Discrimination of any kind should have no place in society, but recent events make clear that while there has been change, there remains much to be done to ensure that these incidents are truly things of the past.

The BE Inclusive partnership remains committed to playing our part in creating that change by eradicating discrimination in the built environment and shaping a more inclusive sector.

Useful links

• BS 30416 - Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace guide
• PAS 6463: 2022 - Design for the mind. Neurodiversity and the built environment guide