NatureScot Equality Report 2023

Foreword

Valuing nature is a key priority of our Corporate Plan, to help towards a more sustainable future and tackle the nature and climate crises.  One of the ways we aim to achieve this is through inspiring more people to connect with nature so that there is an increasing appreciation of the benefits it provides to health, well-being and our prosperity. 

I am committed to ensuring that equality and inclusion are a central feature of our work in this area.  For too long marginalised people and communities have not been sufficiently representative of those who currently connect with and benefit from nature.  This report highlights the work we have done to better support and encourage greater diversity in this area.  This is not just through our actions to increase participation, but by supporting greater diversity in nature-related jobs and skills, and through enabling greater diversity in those who shape and influence nature-related policies and strategies.  

Examples of this work include encouraging greater use of our fantastic National Nature Reserves (NNRs), and supporting Backbone CIC, a Minority Ethnic (ME) outdoor environmental organisation, with the ‘Our Natural Heritage’ project.  This was a project to support more people from ME communities to experience nature, with visits arranged at Tentsmuir, St Cyrus and Cairngorms area NNRs.   The project also empowered participants to develop their skills on helping to protect and sustain the natural environment.    As part of the new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) we worked with Young Scot to target groups who would help influence and shape the strategy to ensure a more inclusive approach to its development.  

We have also continued to make good progress in ensuring that NatureScot is seen as an employer of choice, where everyone has the same opportunities.   Over the past 4 years we have seen a step change in our approach, including changes to our ways of working, which has allowed greater empowerment on where and when people work. This has enabled greater flexibility and supports a better work/life balance.  In particular, this helps those with child or caring responsibilities thus enabling them to have more opportunities within NatureScot.  This has helped us to meet our outcome of reducing our gender pay gap to 9%, actually reaching 7.5%. Whilst we have gender parity within our senior leadership team and on our board, we recognise that more can be done to improve gender representation within our senior manager cohort.    

We also continued our work to increase diversity within the organisation.  With young people disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we increased the opportunities for placements and apprenticeships within NatureScot, to help develop their skills and support career progression.  This included a partnership with CEMVO to develop ‘Ethnicity in Nature’ placements, where we offered four young ME people the opportunity to come and work for us.  We also participated in the John Smith Centre Minority Ethnic Emerging Leaders’ Programme, an internship scheme for young people from ME communities to develop a range of workplace skills.  More details can be found in the report on what we have done to make NatureScot a more inclusive organisation with equal opportunities for all. 

We are proud of what we have achieved, however we know there is more we must do to support greater diversity in nature and contribute to its protection and restoration.  This report therefore includes a refreshed set of Equality Outcomes and actions that we aim to deliver over the next four years, so that all of Scotland’s people have the opportunity to value and benefit from nature. 

Francesca Osowska Chief Executive

Ro-ràdh

Tha an luach a chuireas sinn ann an nàdar na àrd-phrìomhachas sa phlana chorporra againn airson teachd-shaoghal nas so-sheasmhaiche agus airson aghaidh a thoirt air èiginnean an nàdair is na gnàth-shìde.  Am measg nan rudan a nì sinn airson seo a thoirt gu buil, bheir sinn brosnachadh do bharrachd dhaoine a dhol an sàs an nàdair airson ’s gun aithnich barrachd is barrachd dhaoine dè na buannachdan slàinte, sunnd is soirbheachais a thig na lùib.

Tha mi an dealas a dhèanamh cinnteach gum bi co-ionnannachd agus ion-ghabhaltas aig cridhe ar n-obrach san raon seo.  Fad ùine mhòr, cha robh gu leòr de dhaoine ’s coimhearsnachdan on oir am measg na feadhainn a gheibh cothrom a dhol an sàs an nàdair is a gheibh cothrom air na buannachdan a thig na chois.  Tha an aithisg seo a’ cur solas air an obair a rinn sinn airson taic nas fheàrr a thoirt seachad agus airson iomadachd nas motha a bhrosnachadh san raon seo.  Chan e dìreach iomairtean a bhrosnaicheas com-pàirteachas a chuireas sinn air dòigh ach a bharrachd air sin, cuiridh sinn barrachd taic ri barrachd iomadachd ann an obraichean is sgilean co-cheangailte ri nàdar agus le bhith a’ cruthachadh cothrom airson barrachd iomadachd am measg na feadhainn a dhealbhas poileasaidhean is ro-innleachdan co-cheangailte ri nàdar.   

Mar eisimpleir, mar phàirt dhen obair seo, tha sinn a’ toirt brosnachadh do bharrachd dhaoine tadhal air na tèarmainn nàdair nàiseanta mìorbhaileach againn agus tha sinn a’ cur taic ri Backbone CIC, buidheann a’ bhlàir a-muigh do mhion-shluaghan leis a’ phròiseact Ar Dualchas Nàdair againn.  ’S e pròiseact a tha seo a bheir taic do bharrachd dhaoine o mhion-shluaghan a dhol an sàs an nàdair, le tadhalan a chuirear air dòigh gu tèarmainn nàdair nàiseanta aig Tentsmuir, Eaglais Chiric agus a’ Mhonaidh Ruaidh.  Thug am pròiseact seo cothrom dha na com-pàirtichean cuideachd piseach a thoirt air na sgilean co-cheangailte ri dìon is taic dhan àrainneachd nàdarra.    Mar phàirt dhen Ro-innleachd Bhith-iomadachd Albannach ùr, lorg sinn buidhnean targaide còmhla ri Young Scot airson cothrom a thoirt dhaibh buaidh a thoirt air an ro-innleachd agus a dhealbhadh, a dhèanamh cinnteach gun tèid a leasachadh air dòigh a bhios nas ion-ghabhalaiche.   

Rinn sinn deagh adhartas cuideachd ann a bhith a’ dèanamh cinnteach gu bheilear a’ coimhead air NàdarAlba mar rogha nam fastaichean far a bheil na h-aon chothroman aig a h-uile duine.   Thairis air na ceithir bliadhna seo chaidh, thàinig ceum-atharrachadh air mar a dhèiligeas sinn ri cùisean, a’ gabhail a-staigh an dòigh-obrach againn agus thug sinn barrachd saoirse dhuinn a thaobh càit is cuin a nì daoine obair. Tha cùisean nas sùbailte ri linn, le co-chothrom eadar obair is beatha nas fheàrr.  Tha seo gu sònraichte a’ cur taic ris an fheadhainn aig a bheil clann no a tha a’ gabhail cùram cuideigin, a’ toirt barrachd chothroman dhaibh am broinn NàdarAlba.  Mar thoradh air sin, choilean sin an t-amas a bh’ againn airson beàrn an tuarastail a thaobh gnè a lùghdachadh gu 9% agus fiù 7.5% aig a’ cheann thall. Ged a tha co-ionannachd tuarastail againn aig ìre an àrd-sgioba stiùiridh agus a’ bhùird, tha fhios gu bheil barrachd leasachadh ri dhèanamh aig ìre nan àrd-mhanaidsearan againn.     

Rinn sinn sìor-obair air àrdachadh na iomadachd nar buidheann cuideachd.  Leis gun robh buaidh nas motha aig galar mòr-sgaoilte COVID-19 air daoine òga, chruthaich sinn barrachd chothroman airson greisean-gnìomhachais agus preantasachdan ann an NàdarAlba airson piseach a thoirt air na sgilean aca agus mar thaic do dh’adhartas an cuid chùrsaichean-obrach.  Ghabh seo a-staigh com-pàirteachas le CEMVO airson greisean-gnìomhachais ‘Cinnidheachd ann an Nàdar’ a chruthachadh anns an d’ fhuair ceathrar òga à mion-shluaghan a thighinn a dh’obair againn. Ghabh sinn pàirt sa phrògram Ceannardan Òga ann am Mion-shluaghan aig Ionad John Smith cuideachd, sgeama inntearnasan do dhaoine òg o mhion-shluaghan airson raon de sgilean obrach a leasachadh. Gheibhear barrachd fiosrachaidh san aithisg againn mu na rinn sinn airson ’s gum bi NàdarAlba na bhuidheann nas ion-ghabhalaiche far am faigh gach neach na h-aon chothroman.

Tha sinn pròiseil às an adhartas a rinn sinn ach tha fios againn gu bheil barrachd ri dhèanamh mus bi barrachd iomadachd ann an nàdar agus airson taic a chumail ri dhìon is ath-shlànachadh.  Tha an aithisg seo a’ gabhail a-staigh seata ur de bhuilean is gnìomhan a thaobh co-ionnannachd a tha fa-near dhuinn thairis air na ceithir bliadhna seo romhainn airson ’s gum bi cothrom aig a h-uile duine ann an Alba an luach a tha san nàdar fhaicinn agus cothrom fhaighinn air na buannachdan a thig na chois.

Francesca Osowska,  Àrd-oifigear NatureScot

Executive Summary

This is NatureScot’s sixth Equality Report and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to ensuring that equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of what we do.

Progress against equality outcomes 2021-23

1. Across the range of our activities, more people from Minority Ethnic (ME) communities, people with disabilities and disadvantaged families, individuals and communities enjoy and benefit from nature.  Progress – On track
2. Through changes to recruitment and attraction procedures more people from ME communities and people with disabilities apply for opportunities with NatureScot. Progress – On track
3. We have an age-inclusive culture that supports and values everyone.  Progress – On track
4. We have reduced the gender pay gap to 9%.  Progress – achieved

Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society, there has been a focus on a Green Recovery.  As part of our response, our focus has been on helping young people who were disproportionately affected.  Much of our youth engagement work has therefore taken an intersectional approach, with the aim of increasing the overall diversity of NatureScot and the environmental sector. 

Through our Programme for Youth Employment we have diversified our current reach beyond just the traditional graduate and student placements.    We have also undertaken work on nature-based jobs and skills for those from ME backgrounds, to help diversify the sector.

We had previously achieved our target of reducing our gender pay gap to 9% in our last report in 2021.  Our current average (mean) gender pay gap is now 7.5%.  More can be done to maintain a downward trend, and we remain committed to reducing our pay gap further.

Internally, we continue to look at how we can engage and work differently, through increased opportunities for employees to influence and shape what we do, and on developing our understanding of how we can more effectively engage marginalised communities.

We continue to encourage greater disclosure of equality information from our employees and whilst major gaps remain in our data our aspiration is to reduce this to the absolute minimum level.

Our new Corporate Plan for 2022-26 is driving our efforts to tackle the twin nature and climate crises.  At the heart of delivering our priorities is ensuring that equality and inclusion are reflected throughout our work, in all our approaches and ways of working.

About NatureScot

NatureScot is Scotland’s nature agency.  We are a public body, working to enhance our natural environment and inspire the people of Scotland to care more about it.  NatureScot believes that a nature-rich future, where everyone is involved, will make us happier, healthier, wealthier and more equal.

Our Corporate Plan for 2022-26 has three key priorities:

• Protecting Nature by expanding protected areas, regulating species management, and delivering effective planning advice on land and at sea.
• Restoring Nature through a new biodiversity strategy, restoring peatlands, aiding nature’s recovery and transforming farming.
• Valuing Nature so that the many benefits it provides to society can in turn attract public, private and social enterprise financing for both protection and restoration.

NatureScot strongly advocates for fairer and more equal access to nature for all.

We recognise that the ability to access nature can be more limited for some older people and children, disabled people, people from ME backgrounds, and by disadvantaged families, individuals and communities.

The evidence suggests that limited access to natural greenspace is often linked to poorer health outcomes particularly in urban areas suffering socio-economic disadvantage. The picture is complicated by the lived experience of some people with protected characteristics: for example, women and poverty, disability and poverty, health and poverty, etc. This makes access to nature for reasons of time, transport, money or physical access even more difficult.

About this report

This report is part of our statutory duties to report on our mainstreaming activity and progress on delivering our Equality Outcomes.    The specific duties also require us to take steps to gather employee information annually and, if not reported elsewhere, to report it within our mainstreaming report along with the progress made in using the employee information to better perform the general equality duty.  We also publish our gender pay gap, our equal pay statement and occupational segregation information (covering ethnicity, disability and gender).

The reports begins with a description of how we have mainstreamed equality and diversity in the delivery of our functions and provides a summary of progress against our Equality Outcomes.

Mainstreaming equality

This section updates on the wide range of activity which is contributing to mainstreaming equality in NatureScot. Mainstreaming requires us to integrate equality into our day-to-day work, and take account of equality while undertaking our functions.   A combination of our increased efforts to raise awareness of equality and inclusion is strengthening how we build equality into our business and shape and inform our policies and activities. 

In 2021-22 we reviewed our Corporate Plan priorities.  To ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of this, our Inclusion Group assessed the proposed new priorities against 2 questions:

• How does this proposal connect a more diverse range of people with nature (from an equality, diversity and inclusion perspective)?
• How does this proposal diversify NatureScot (to make our people – employees, Board, volunteers – more representative of the population of Scotland)?

Once our 2022-2026 Corporate Plan was published, we used the information gathered above to consider how our new Delivery Plans would contribute to equality, diversity and inclusion.  An EqIA Lite and Action Plan is now being drafted for each Delivery Plan and these will guide our future focus.  This work has also helped us identify our new Equality Outcomes.

We have also undertaken activities such as the promotion of Black History Month and other relevant events; reviewing how we undertake equality training; developing our use of co-design; and, improving the quality of our EqIAs. 

Leadership & Governance

Our Chief Executive has overall strategic responsibility for equality and diversity.  Consideration of equality and diversity is built into our planning and decision-making processes.  Employees are encouraged to consider equality and diversity needs when developing proposals for projects, when developing or reviewing policy, and when seeking decisions from our senior leadership team.  In addition to employee information, we also collate evidence relating to people’s enjoyment of the outdoors, and greenspace through our research and monitoring work.

We report quarterly to our Board on our workforce profile and progress on equalities work through our People Report.  Our Board, Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team attend, and are key speakers at, our Women’s Network events and other related occasions.  We have two equality champions within our Senior Leadership Team, which further ensures equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our work to make nature available for all.

We continue to be committed to the National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) which aims to “make gender inequality a historical curiosity in Scotland”.  NatureScot signed the public pledge in support of the work of NACWG, cementing our commitment to progressing gender equality in Scotland.

Board Diversity

We are required to report on our progress towards the Gender Representation on Public Boards Scotland Act (2018).  We were one of the first public bodies to achieve gender parity in 2015.  In 2022 we ran a competitive interview for three board vacancies:

• Applications received: 66
• Gender split: 56% male and 44% female (0% prefer not to say)
• Invites to interview: 33% male and 67% female

We appointed one male and two female board members.  Our Board now consists of seven male and five females which will ensure our Board continues to have approximate gender parity.

We recognise the benefits of widening board diversity beyond gender and continue to take a number of positive actions towards this. For example, in Board recruitment where we can raise awareness of opportunities with minority groups and groups representing young people.   While selection to the board is on merit, the personal specification for board membership is very wide and seeks to encourage people from under-represented groups to apply.    We continue for the time being to have a representative of our Young Employee Panel attend our Board meetings.

Equality Impact Assessments

A key tool for helping employees to focus on equalities is to carry out Equality Impact Assessments (EqIAs).  We have reviewed our approach to EqIA to make it a more dynamic and valuable process.  One example of this has been to build our employee networks into the EqIA process and build momentum around mechanisms for consultation with the sector and ME representatives.

In addition, we have also implemented an EqIA e-learning package to better facilitate training on their production, developed an EqIA evidence tracker tool to allow authors to record relevant evidence,  and revised the information on our new Intranet to provide advice to employees on what they need to know about the completion of EqIAs.  

Digital Accessibility

In response to the Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) (No 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, we have focused our efforts on making our external facing website accessible.  This has included employee training on how to ensure documents are accessible to those with disabilities, through use of tools such as MS Word’s Accessibility Checker.    We have also undertaken a check of all our existing on-line content to ensure it remains accessible and we regularly audit our websites. 

Digital communications content posted on social media or any other digital channels is produced with digital accessibility in mind, such as adding ALT text to images or graphics and captions on video content. 

Internal systems are undergoing accessibility audits and reviews, with accessibility built into the Information Management Programme.

Inclusive Communications

We have worked with deafscotland on developing some inclusive communication around walking outdoors, using British Sign Language (BSL), subtitles and voice overs on our website. We have also co-designed a number of accessibility videos which have been published on our website for visitors to review before their arrival.  An example of one of these videos is for our Battleby office near Perth. 

Through our work with partner organisations we had previously identified several barriers to accessing nature for under-represented groups and communities with protected characteristics.  In association with the 2027 Partnership, NatureScot employed an associate apprentice, who worked to identify opportunities for us to overcome these barriers and take a more inclusive approach with our funding streams.

Working with colleagues an event was held in early 2022 to explore how to overcome these barriers.  These focused on various themes such as cultural, structural and systemic barriers to funding.  Following the event a number of recommendations were published in the report ‘Breaking Down Funding Barriers’.    These included dedicating some funds towards connecting with under-represented groups; working with other funders to co-design new accessible and inclusive funds; and, ensuring that equality, diversity and inclusion forms part of every partnership agreement we have in relation to our funding streams.  

The recommendations are now being implemented to make our funding more inclusive, with work planned during 2023 and beyond.

One example of where skills were developed to help with our co-design work was the development of the SBS that is highlighted earlier in this report.  Working with Young Scot, we targeted groups to help influence and shape the strategy, supporting our work to engage a wider audience in its production.  The approach has also been adopted as part of the on-going development of our work around ‘30 by 30’ and ‘Nature Networks’.  This collaborative process allows stakeholders from across Scotland to work together to design the frameworks that will lead us to reaching 30% of land protected for nature by 2030, and the roll out of nature networks.  The core objective of co-design is to move away from consulting with stakeholders to co-creating services and policies with them, thereby ensuring that it is a more inclusive approach.  More details about the co-design approach can be found at the 30 by 30 and Nature Networks Co-design approach page on our website.

This approach was developed by a project placement through our Programme for Youth Employment.   The placement was focused on enhancing behavioural change through adopting a co-design approach.   This initially had a focus on engaging coastal communities for a marine biodiversity monitoring project and then subsequently with ethnic minority organisations and disability groups.  Support was also provided to NatureScot teams on the use of co-design in their work, as a method of engagement and the benefits it provides to communities.  Further details about the placement can be found in a podcast, produced as part of a campaign to promote young people in green jobs. 

As part of our on-going approach to developing co-designed solutions to our work we will continue to further develop the necessary skills and capacity amongst our staff.

Minority groups are often under-represented in online survey samples.  We have sought to address this through the use of booster samples. For example, for our second and third COVID-19 Recreation Surveys an additional booster sample of minority ethnic participants was included. 

For the next ten year cycle of SPANs we will be supplementing the current approach with more targeted surveys or through other qualitative research approaches.  Such studies could examine particular groups, activities, or intersectional factors.  Possible models for this kind of work are the Understanding the Drivers report, which provided detailed qualitative insight into the factors motivating and sustaining outdoor participation, and the recent survey of young people’s views on the future of Scotland’s nature and climate.  

Equality Outcome 2 - Through changes to recruitment and attraction procedures, more people from ethnic (ME) communities and people with disabilities apply for opportunities with NatureScot.

We are continuing to make good progress towards this action through our partnership work with CEMVO Scotland, who carried out a review of our recruitment processes and careers site.   As part of this review, training has been given on human rights and anti-racist approaches to recruitment.   Key actions following the analysis include: implementing positive action measures with ME groups for recruitment; further developing the recruitment system to provide E&D monitoring (see action 2.2); and, development of our careers site to ensure inclusivity, and be clearer on our achievements and being seen as an employer of choice.  A clear and concise approach and process to recruitment will help uphold and implement our equality strategy.  

The introduction of the new recruitment system and development of a new recruitment approach are steps towards ensuring our recruitment is inclusive.  One recent example of putting this into practice was the launch of a pilot scheme to ensure our interviews are inclusive by sharing interview questions with candidates prior to attending their interview.  Initial feedback from both candidates and vacancy managers has been positive. 

Our partnership working with ME groups is a vital step towards increasing diversity within our sector.  We also continue to be committed to the Young Person’s Guarantee which aims to connect every 16 to 24 year old in Scotland with an opportunity such as a job, training or volunteering.  In support of this we continue to provide placements within NatureScot and more details can be found in the article below.

In line with our new ways of working, People & Organisational Development team have carried out a review of NatureScot’s polices and processes, working in partnership with our trade union colleagues.   As part of the review, the format of our people policies has been redesigned and grouped into suites to ensure that our policies and processes are clearer, transparent and accessible. 

Alongside our work with trade union colleagues, we have also consulted with our employee networks to overcome any barriers to the new format.  This included feedback from our DAWNN network on the recruitment process to ensure it was inclusive for our neurodiverse colleagues.  As mentioned in equality action 2.1, we have recently launched a pilot to ensure our interview process is inclusive.

We have not made as much progress on this as was anticipated.  We plan to have a central Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) strategy. This will actively encourage our employees and also capture who in our workforce are STEM ambassadors, so we can ensure they have opportunities and actively promote STEM in lower representation areas.  This will involve collaborative working across our sector and further engagement with education institutions.  This will be progressed in conjunction with our young employee network and panel to develop a strategy which is attractive to young people.   

In 2020, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, NatureScot made a successful transition to working at home as part of the lockdown restrictions.   When offices were able to fully re-open again in 2022 we introduced new workplace arrangements.  This enables employees to become office or home workers or a mixture of the two.  This was greatly assisted by the introduction of new IT collaboration tools and the provision of home office equipment.  Approximately 70% of employees have taken up the opportunity to work at home on a permanent or regular basis, with the remaining 30% also having the flexibility to work occasionally at home when required.

Alongside the introduction of new workplace arrangements, we have also empowered employees to be more flexible in when they work to fit around their domestic and personal circumstances, whilst still meeting business needs.  Whilst this arrangement needs to ensure that it does not impact on operational delivery it has greatly assisted employees to have a good work/life balance. 

During the period of this report 19 women have taken up maternity leave.  Some of these remain on maternity leave but of those that have returned to work, five remain on the same hours they worked before and four have lowered their hours to support their child care arrangements.  In the same period 18 men participated in paternity leave.  This was increased from four to eight weeks in 2019 and all 18 men took the full period off, utilising the flexibility to take this in different periods rather than all at once, to suit their personal circumstances.

Review of Equality Outcomes

NatureScot has reviewed its Equality Outcomes to ensure they reflect our corporate priorities and focus on the most significant inequalities emerging from our evidence and involvement activities.

Our refreshed outcomes reflect the Fairer Scotland Duty that was introduced in 2018 which places a “legal responsibility on particular public bodies in Scotland to actively consider how they can reduce inequalities of outcomes caused by socio-economic disadvantage, when making strategic decisions”.   Although NatureScot is not covered by the duty, we nevertheless target our efforts towards addressing inequalities experienced by individuals and communities.  We will address the Fairer Scotland Duty principally through Outcomes 1 & 2.

Revised Equality Outcomes for 2023-2027

The first two outcomes focus on a key priority of our Corporate Plan a nature-rich future for all, to inspire everyone to value our natural world.

Those with protected characteristics can face additional barriers in accessing and enjoying nature and the benefits it provides.    In response, we will undertake actions to engage with target groups to help them better connect with our natural world through nature-based recreation, volunteering, learning and employment.  A new and revised outcome will be implemented: 

Contributory Actions:

1.1 Develop a longer-term outreach programme for NNRs to increase visits to these places from target groups using co-production approaches.

1.2 Develop future campaign activity using co-production approaches with key audiences, including target groups.

1.3 Ensure our biodiversity, NNR and Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) campaigns and communications reach and are relevant to target groups.

1.4 Ensure evaluation of our project, campaign and communication activity includes consideration of protected characteristic groups.

1.5 Undertake bespoke survey work to ensure we have the evidence we need to inform our work.

Contributory Actions:

2.1 Ensure the revised Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan identifies specific actions to increase the number of minority ethnic people in the nature-based sector.

2.2 Work with CEMVO and Backbone CIC to promote nature-based jobs and pathways in ways that make careers in the nature sector a more attractive option for minority ethnic people

2.3 Include a requirement for projects that are looking to use volunteers to include proposals for an inclusive programme

2.4 Develop an approach to measuring and reporting on target groups in our projects

2.5 Co-design EDI best practice workshop with CEMVO for the Green Skills Week Conference

2.6 Identify and promote nature-based sector role models and their specific pathway to nature-based employment

2.7 Recruit two to three young ME people and/or from disadvantaged communities into placements annually

2.8 Celebrate our EDI achievements externally

Outcomes 3 to 5

These outcomes focus on transforming how we work, with the evidence coming from our workforce data, employee monitoring processes, surveys and employee networks.  This highlights that more needs to be done to increase representation from ME backgrounds, particularly young people from ME backgrounds, in NatureScot’s work.  As part of this we need to make people from ME communities aware of the career paths available in nature-based roles.   The evidence also highlights that more can be done to develop a more inclusive culture in the organisation and increase the number of women applying for senior leadership roles.

In response to the aspiration to be a more inclusive and representative organisation a revised set of new outcomes will be implemented:

Contributory Actions:

3.1 Develop young person/ME Board shadowing opportunity

3.2 Increase representation of target groups in our assessment panels, advisory boards and forums

3.3 Review and widen our Stakeholder Engagement Strategy to include target groups and other under-represented groups

3.4 Measure participation in decision-making

Contributory Actions:

4.1 All employees to set personal EDI objectives as part of their PDC conversations

4.2 Introduce standard question re EDI in all candidate statements/interviews

4.3 We have a co-ordinated employee network engagement plan and access to funds to support their activity

4.4 Enhance our EDI learning framework

4.5 Identify where membership of professional bodies could add value to our EDI work and support delivery of our EDI objectives

Contributory Actions:

5.1 Development of Women into Leadership Programme

5.2 Positive Action to encourage women to apply for senior roles

5.3 Include opportunities for job sharing in adverts

Gender Pay Gap & Equal Pay Statement

As at 31^st January 2023, our mean Gender Pay Gap has reduced to 7.5%. This has halved from 2017 when it was 15.01%.