The annual general meeting (AGM) of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity & Inclusion in STEM was held on Tuesday 21 May 2024 for the year from 10 February 2023 to 9 February 2024. It took place in Room P, Portcullis House from 16:00 to 16:45. 

The following Parliamentarians were in attendance:

• Chi Onwurah MP
• Baroness Brown of Cambridge
• Stephen Metcalfe MP
• Baroness Garden of Frognal
• Dawn Butler MP
• Liz Twist MP
• Lord Lennie
• Marsha de Cordova MP

The minutes of the meeting are below.

Laurence Robertson MP, an external chair appointed by the Speaker’s Office, checked that the meeting was quorate.

1. Election of Officers

Parliamentarians were voted into the following positions:

Chair	Chi	Onwurah MP	Labour	Returning
Officer	Carol	Monaghan MP	Scottish National Party	Returning
Officer	Baroness	Brown of Cambridge	Crossbench	Returning
Officer	Chris	Clarkson MP	Conservative	Returning

2. Confirmation of financial statement, annual report, and due diligence statement

The Group approved its financial statement, annual report, and due diligence statement. The Chair, Chi Onwurah MP, checked and signed off the financial statement and due diligence statement.

Laurence Robertson MP has completed and signed the checklist for external Chairs, and left the meeting.

At this point, many attendees were called to vote. Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Stephen Metcalfe MP, and Chi Onwurah MP, returned to discuss the Group’s current and future activities.

3. Summary of the Regional STEM Skills Inequity project

A short update on the Group’s previous project on Regional STEM Skills Inequity was provided by the Secretariat, the British Science Association. The project resulted in a report published in July 2023. The report included six key findings and four recommendations for the Government and STEM sector. 

4. Update on the current project on EDI strategies

The Secretariat provided an update about the Group’s new project on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategies in the STEM sectors. The project has evolved from an idea submitted by Professor Nira Chamberlain, immediate past president of the Mathematical Association, to the open call held by the APPG in early 2024.

The project will explore what can be done to improve data reporting on representation in the STEM workforce and how organisations can evaluate the effectiveness of their EDI actions plans. The APPG plans to do that by undertaking a series of interviews with STEM organisations about their EDI strategies, hosting a parliamentary roundtable on EDI data, and publishing a series of blogs.

The Group has discussed the importance of ensuring the project covers STEM-specific strategies. Potential questions that could be investigated as part of the project include:

• What separates STEM EDI strategies from general EDI strategies? Do companies have STEM-specific EDI strategies or targets? For example, many organisations will have a mix of STEM and non-STEM roles, which might require different approaches.
• Similarly, where organisations employ technical staff, are there EDI strategies for technicians?
• How are benchmarks set, and how is success measured?
• How is salary monitoring connected to EDI strategies?
• How granular is the benchmarking data on technical jobs? Does the ONS provide enough data on technical vs. non-technical jobs?

Members suggested Rolls-Royce, Siemens, and Cisco as examples of companies that could be interviewed in the frame of the project.

5. Future APPG project and plans

The Secretariat led a short discussion on future APPG plans. The Group discussed the following:

• The British Science Festival is hosted by the University of East London this year, and will take place from 11 to 15 September 2024 – could the APPG organise a visit or satellite event on diversity and inclusion in STEM? The Secretariat will discuss it with the Festival team at the BSA and come back with suggestions.
• The Secretariat noted the STEM sector's interest in green skills and the role of diversity and inclusion in achieving Net Zero. The APPG might explore this topic through one of its future events. The Green Alliance are currently working on the topic – consider reaching out.
• Neurodiversity – the topic is being covered regularly by other groups and organisations in the context of EDI, even when other diversity challenges are more well-evidenced, or have shown to be presenting more persistent challenges. Whereas, there is some evidence that neurodiversity is over-represented in some STEM roles. It was suggested that the APPG should continue to highlight areas of major underrepresentation, whilst being aware of the discussion of neurodiversity. By taking an intersectional approach and ensuring STEM is inclusive of all genders, abilities, and ethnicities, it is likely that progress will also be made on neurodiversity inclusion.
• Progression to university, and university outreach – should more steps be taken to ensure employer and university outreach is inclusive to all areas and educational settings? The Secretariat noted some research by the Office for Students about outreach activity by English universities, and suggested that this work could be included in the “data” phase of the new EDI strategies project.