Dr Katie Perry, chief executive of The Daphne Jackson Trust discusses how the words we tell children can be used when thinking of an organisation's EDI efforts.
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Although these words are normally associated with what parents tell their children they are messages that could just as easily be used by anyone when thinking of how to create a welcoming, positive and inclusive workplace that allows for equality of opportunity for all. We need working environments where everyone can develop and flourish while feeling safe and respected.

Not wishing to trivialise the increased activity in the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) space that has been happening over the last few years, but we all need to do more, far more, and all be accountable for our actions and behaviour. From those in senior management to those at the entry levels of an organisation, it is a collective responsibility to ensure that policies become practices and that bad behaviour is not tolerated.

I am a chief executive of a small charity with 13 staff (all part-time, except me) who work the equivalent of 9.1 FTE staff. I spend my working life striving to ensure that there is equality of opportunity for all my staff and all the returners we support, but it can be difficult as a leader of a small charity. Having spent 20 years working for a small organisation battling to make a difference I have become more certain of the fact that we must work together with other organisations in order to be able to make a real difference to EDI metrics:

- We must share examples of good practice
- We must not be afraid of talking about what we are doing with one another, whether it has worked or not
- We must share case studies and role models.
- Above all, we must all be bold in our voice and our actions and do things that challenge the norm.

At the Daphne Jackson Trust we have realised how much more we can accomplish by working collaboratively with others and so have sought out opportunities to join both established networking groups, as well as more informally working with other organisations that share common goals. On a more personal level, I have always tried to say yes to being part of committees or working groups so that I can both offer my expertise of working with returners and the particular challenges they face, as well as increase my own knowledge and experience so that I can, in turn, help to improve EDI in the sector.

Two of the groups that the yrust has joined are the Royal Society of Biology’s Member Organisation Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, which offers member organisations the chance to discuss, debate and share learning and best practice with one another on what member organisations are doing in regard to EDI.

The second is Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Science and Health (EDIS), which is a coalition of organisations working to improve EDI in the science and health research sector.

There are many other small organisations like ours with limited resources that benefit from the shared learning and opportunities to use what other larger organisations have developed in a beneficial way.

Thinking now about the work we do to support research returners after a career break. We sometimes think of researchers as being super-human, squirrelled away in a lab, working tirelessly day and night as they inch towards their ‘eureka!’ moment. But if you ask anyone that has worked in research, they will probably tell you the reality is very different.

Researchers are people, just like you and I, and we all have lives both inside, and outside of work that shape what we do, where we work and how we work.

In research, there’s a pervasive expectation that every researcher should follow a linear path – going through University, gaining their first position in a lab to eventually reaching fruition decades later as a fuzzy-haired Professor. But life isn’t always so linear – and many researchers take unexpected turns in their work and personal lives that don’t follow traditional ‘norms’. Career breaks happen surprisingly often – some are short and specific such as a gap between grants, or pivoting research interests and switching to a new field. Others are longer and might be related to having a family, caring for a relative or dealing with a health issue.

At the Trust, we embrace non-linear career paths. We welcome diversity in all its guises and support every brilliant mind that wants to contribute to our fantastic research ecosystem. No matter where they come from, what they studied, nor how convoluted and disjointed their career might have been. Every mind matters.

We support and champion a better work/life balance more suitable to a modern-day research workforce. We work with highly skilled researchers from many backgrounds and specialisms across STEM, arts and humanities and social sciences who almost certainly would not have been able to return to their careers at all without their Daphne Jackson Fellowships. This benefits the individual, the STEM community and the wider society.

Perry is a physicist with a background in science communication and holds a degree and PhD in Physics from the University of Surrey. In 2022, she was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Surrey in recognition of her unwavering commitment to securing the legacy of Daphne Jackson’s vision – supporting research returners.

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