IET celebrates Pride in STEM at its London Home, Savoy Place
06 June 2019
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The IET (Institution of Engineering & Technology) is celebrating equality, diversity & inclusion in STEM by flying the rainbow flag at its London home, Savoy Place throughout June for Pride Month, and again on 5th July for #LGBTSTEMDay.
By flying the rainbow flag at its central London home, the IET aims to raise awareness and increase support for LGBTQ+ people in STEM (science, technology, engineering & maths). The IET will also fly rainbow flags at its Stevenage HQ site, Michael Faraday House, as well as its Birmingham venue, Austin Court.
LGBT STEM Day (International Day of LGBTQ+ people in STEM) was established in 2018 as a day to celebrate and increase awareness for diversity and inclusion in STEM. The day also aims to highlight some of the global challenges LGBTQ+ scientists and engineers face, such as discrimination, in their own institution or country, or in places where they conduct their research domestically or abroad.
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In addition to flying the rainbow flag, IET London: Savoy Place has planted all the venue’s flower window boxes in pride colours. Rainbow lanyards will also be worn by staff at the venue, as well as by members and their guests. Through these visual acts of Pride, the IET is showing solidarity with the global LGBTQ+ STEM community, as well as celebrating the diverse people who make exceptional contributions in their chosen fields.
Jo Foster, IET Diversity & Inclusion Manager, said: “More needs to be done to ensure that STEM is being promoted as a viable career path for everyone. We are really proud to have our three UK venues fly the rainbow flag for Pride throughout the month of June – and we will continue to celebrate everyone from all backgrounds that not only represent and work for the IET, but those that are fantastic advocates and role models for engineering and technology.”
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Savoy Place, as part of the IET, is dedicated to a continued commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) 365 days a year. As one of the largest PEIs (professional engineering institutions) in the world, the IET has a duty to promote engineering to everybody and to encourage organisations to do more around promoting the importance of embracing ED&I.
A survey conducted by the IET last year showed that over a quarter of respondents (29%) who identified as belonging to the LGBTQ+ community would never consider a career in STEM for fear of discrimination.
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The IET believes that advocating ED&I in engineering is a crucial element to addressing the skills shortage that currently threatens UK industry.
Look out for the IET’s new diversity campaign, which launches across the IET’s social media platforms on Friday 21st June 2019.
#PrideMonth #PrideinEngineering #PrideinSTEM #LGBTSTEMDay
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