There are around 64,000 people working in the UK nuclear industry today. On average, a team leader or manager has 6 direct reports, which means that there are around 11,000 people in the UK nuclear industry at the front line in terms of building teams, defining job roles, creating job descriptions, interviewing and making hiring decisions. Our LinkedIn group is for these 11,000 people. Often organisations have high level policies for diversity and inclusion, but what is really needed is practical support for those building and managing teams. The LinkedIn group is a space for people managers within the UK nuclear industry to share ideas and experiences, ask questions and work together to achieve diversity and inclusion. It aims to provide useful, practical and balanced information and support around diversity and inclusion. Group members can share information, read case studies, post information and ask questions to other members. We are fortunate to be living in a time where the benefits of diversity within the workplace are beginning to be realised and appreciated. However, achieving diversity and maintaining an inclusive culture within organisations is very much a work in progress and there are many different, and some opposing, views and perspectives on the topic. As well as online discussion groups, we encourage participants to get involved in online events such as webinars as well as in person events and activities. By sharing information and best practices from the nuclear industry as well as from other industries, we also aim to demystify and remove some of the nervousness often felt around this topic. The UK government announced the ‘’Nuclear Sector Deal’’ in 2018, including a target of 40% female representation in the UK nuclear workforce by 2030 (up from around 20% in 2018). As well as gender diversity we should also consider diversity in terms of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, education and experience backgrounds.
