**10. Increased diversity in STEM staff representation**

Finally, there is a growing recognition of the need to increase diversity among STEM academic staff. This includes efforts to recruit more women and minority staff members, as well as providing support and training to existing staff members to help them better understand and support the needs of students from diverse backgrounds.

In all universities, you will find an Equality and Diversity Unit that works to promote diversity and inclusion across the institution, including in STEM disciplines. These units support initiatives to recruit and retain a diverse faculty and provides training and resources to faculty members to create inclusive learning environments. Additionally, universities have established Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committees (EDIC) that oversee initiatives to improve diversity and inclusion among staff members. These committees work to address barriers, supports recruitment efforts, and provide training and resources to promote inclusive teaching and mentoring practices.

Specific examples of successful initiatives include the University of Cambridge's Women in Science, Engineering, and Technology initiative (WiSETI) [35] which aims to promote gender diversity in STEM disciplines and provides support, mentoring, and training to female faculty members, as well as hosting networking events and recognising and celebrating the achievements of women in STEM.

Efforts are being made to increase gender diversity in STEM across the UK. For instance, the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Campaign [36] aims to achieve gender balance in the UK's STEM workforce. In addition to running events and conferences that aim to enable and promote the participation, contribution and success of women in the UK STEM workforce many institutions are engaging with WISE via membership which gives access to numerous additional benefits such as discounts and newsletters.

Advance HE is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education with some notable initiatives worth including here. Aurora is their leadership development initiative for women, run as a unique partnership bringing together leadership experts, higher education providers and research institutes to take positive action to address the under-representation of women in leadership positions in the sector [37]. Since its launch in 2013 more than 10,000 women from nearly 200 different institutions across the UK and the Republic of Ireland have participated in Aurora. The programme provides leadership training, networking opportunities, and mentoring to female staff members, enabling them to progress in their careers and contribute to a more diverse faculty.

Advance HE's Race Equality Charter helps institutions to identify and address the barriers facing Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff and students, while also providing a framework for action and improvement. Institutions can apply for a bronze or silver award, depending on their progress [38]. In April 2023, De Montfort University (DMU) became the first higher education institution in the UK to win a Silver Award under Advance HE's Race Equality Charter, demonstrating its commitment to addressing racial inequalities in higher education.

The Athena Swan Charter [39] is a framework which is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education and research. It was established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in STEM as well as medicine (STEMM) employment. The Charter is now used to address gender inequality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression that affect women.

These charters promote diversity among staff, for example, through targeted recruitment efforts, unconscious bias training, flexible working policies, mentoring programmes, and support networks for minority staff members. They highlight the growing recognition among UK universities of the importance of increasing diversity among STEM faculty. Through recruitment efforts, training programmes, and support networks, universities are working to attract and retain faculty members from underrepresented groups, promote inclusive teaching practices, and create a more diverse and supportive academic environment. These efforts are aimed at creating a

*Current and Emerging Trends within Higher Education That Enhance Diversity and Inclusivity… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.114240*

more diverse and inclusive STEM community, which will not only benefit the students but also help address the wider societal challenges faced by STEM fields.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), experts in UK higher education data and analysis, provides data that shows that the proportion of STEM academic staff declaring disabilities has increased over the time period (from 2% in 2007/08 to 3.8% in 2018/19), which is a much smaller percentage of STEM staff with disabilities compared to students. Furthermore, their data highlights decreasing representation at each major STEM career transition stage. The percentage of people with a known disability in the general population increases with age, but academic staff with a disability are less represented at each level of seniority. The data does not provide an explanation for the differences in the proportion of disabled staff and students, however an extensive review of available literature, analysis of HESA data for staff, and a series of interviews were carried out with disabled STEM staff to investigate the barriers to scientists declaring their disability and, importantly, what could be done to overcome them [40]. Various barriers were identified to declaring disability for STEM staff, including fear of stigma or discrimination, lack of clarity about the process for obtaining reasonable adjustments, and few role models with disabilities for early career scientists. Their conclusion was that several factors appeared to have a positive impact on declaration rates, including institutions providing clear definitions of disability as well as detailed information about available adjustments.
