On 28 March 2022, the RSS, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) and the London Mathematical Society (LMS) submitted a joint response to UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) consultation on its draft Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy.
Representing over 18,000 members working in mathematics, statistics and data science, the RSS, LMS and IMA called for a more detailed and complete strategy that sets out exactly how it will address UKRI’s equality, diversity and inclusion objectives.
In their response, the organisations called for UKRI to give more weight to the consideration of diverse individuals, communities and industries that benefit from funded research, as well as of teams undertaking the work. UKRI’s current ambition proposes a research and innovation system that everyone can participate in, contribute to, and benefit from, investments in research and innovation. Acknowledging the leading example set by the Irish Research Council, the response calls for UKRI to go further and provide concrete steps that set out exactly how it will achieve this.
The response also calls for an honest and thorough evaluation of the research culture that is causing the inequalities that UKRI’s EDI strategy seeks to redress. The data currently published by UKRI doesn't permit the kind of interrogation needed to examine hypotheses of what might explain the observed inequalities. The response appeals to UKRI to encourage external evaluation and research into policies, procedures and outcomes to ensure the most creative and effective solutions.
Read the response in full.