a diverse and inclusive group of people hugging each other in a park with the sun setting behind them

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion

Ecology and environmental management is not a very diverse and inclusive profession. A 2017 Policy Exchange report [1]  that looked at over 200 professions in the UK reported that environmental professions were the second least diverse of all those reviewed. A shocking statistic. Our own Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) findings from the State of the Profession report in 2025 reiterated this, highlighting not only issues of diversity within the profession, but also a lack of equality in terms of experience. 

Having a diversity of people in our sector makes us a stronger profession. One that can draw on the widest pool of talents, skills, knowledge and experience needed to tackle the environmental crises we face.  

At CIEEM we are on a mission to create change and to make the ecology and environmental management profession more inclusive, more welcoming and more diverse. Everyone deserves the right to work in ecology and for the environment in which they live, especially those who are most marginalised in society where the climate crisis effects the most. [2]
We know that environmental concern and action are not the preserve of one homogenous group. So, we need to understand: 

  1. Who currently makes up our profession. We are doing this by collecting ED&I data on our members via the MyCIEEM portal – ED&I.
  2. Why that concern and action is not translating into a professional career choice. 
  3. What the barriers are that prevent people seeing themselves as an ecologist or environmental manager. 
  4. How we can champion our profession as a profession for all and create more routes into it.
  5. How to support our membership and profession to understand ED&I issues and embed best practice of inclusive ways of working. 

At a time when we continue to face a shortage of capacity in the sector, we need to be welcoming people in, and supporting our current volunteers, staff and board to thrive to remain in the sector. 

 

At CIEEM, we have made a start… 

  • In 2021 we funded some research into the lack of ethnic diversity within our profession. The summary Breaking Down the Barriers to Inclusion report identified a number of actions for CIEEM and others to take that would, over time, create change. 
  • We have joined the RACE report where we collect ED&I data on our staff and board, you can see our transparency cards here. We also collect ED&I data on our membership to gain an accurate representation of who is in our sector. If you are a CIEEM member, please submit your data via the MyCIEEM portal.  
  • We have appointed a staff member with dedicated responsibility to lead on activities to promote and support diversity and inclusion, collaborate with ED&I professionals, and ensure accessibility at CIEEM. 
  • We have provided training to our staff, board and members on creating diverse and inclusive work environments. 
  • We have developed a careers website showcasing the range of jobs that come under ecology and environmental management, providing talks in schools and further, working with others to create a wider choice of learning and training opportunities to enter the profession (e.g. apprenticeships, T-levels), and hosting Green/National Careers Week (see  Green Jobs for Nature). 
  • We have created engaging and inclusive STEM career resources and training members to deliver them across the STEM schools network, reaching beyond our usual networks. 

 

Action you can take 

If you are a professional in ecology or environmental management, have you thought about raising awareness of your career with young people in your local community?  You might also consider becoming a  STEM Ambassador in order to reach out to the next generation of potential professionals.  

If you also happen to be a member of CIEEM, why not sign up to become a mentor through our dedicated platform? It’ll develop your professional development whilst also helping those who are wanting to progress in their careers- a win-win! 

 

We as CIEEM are always committed to continuous development and are working on several ED&I groups and collaborations to make the sector more inclusive, more diverse and equitable to all. If you are interested in learning more about the work that we are doing or working towards, please get in touch with us at diversity@cieem.net  

[1] Policy Exchange (2017) The Two Sides of Diversity – see https://policyexchange.org.uk/ 

[2] Race Equality Foundation (2023) Environmental changes hit people from ethnic minority communities in Britain harder – see https://raceequalityfoundation.org.uk/press-release/environmental-changes-hit-people-from-ethnic-minority-communities-in-britain-harder/