HCPC’s first diversity data report

We’ve been wanting to share diversity data for a long time

We are very pleased that our first Diversity Data Report is complete and ready to share with you.

We are striving for transparency and accountability and believe this is another positive step in that direction. Like many other organisations before us, this is not a ‘shout it from the rooftops’ event but rather a way for us to get real about our current status with our EDI data, what we’ve been working on to get there and where we’re headed with this data. Nonetheless, we are proud of the strides we’ve made and even more committed to changing the areas we need to do much better in. 

Here are some highlights from the report

As you will see in the report, the data we used came from our recruitment data for HCPC staff and partners[1] and from a voluntary survey of our registrants which was completed at the end of last year. These data sets were then analysed by an independent research team from Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Registrants’ profile

The overall response rate to the survey was 5.9% (15,168 out of 282,215) with a varied response rate by profession. However, we have been able to deduce some learning about the profile of our registrants and I have highlighted this below.

• Age – most respondents/registrants were age 45-54
• Disability – There are higher levels of HCPC registrants with disability (12.6%) than there are in the NHS staff population as a whole in England (4.4%)
• Ethnicity - There are lower levels of Asian and Black HCPC registrants (5.9% and 2.7%) than there are in the NHS staff population as a whole in England (10.4% and 6.1%)
• Gender – 71% identified as female, paramedics are the only male dominated profession
• Sexual Orientation - For both Heterosexual and Gay, Lesbian and Queer sexual orientations, the proportion of surveyed registrants (90% and 7% respectively) was higher than partners (81% and 3% respectively), whereas staff proportions 86% and 4% respectively) were similar to survey registrants and partners (Figure 18 in the report). All proportions were similar to Benchmark (NHS England Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics, March 2019) (84% and 2% respectively).

It’s worth looking at our monthly register snapshot if you are interested in seeing the age, gender and application route to our register for each of the professions that we regulate.

HCPC staff and partner data

Given that we already undertake annual reporting of our staff and partner data to our Council (see our HR Equality and Diversity Data for 2019 for example), there were no surprises for us.

• Age – most managerial staff are age 35-44 and most non-managerial staff are age 25-34. Partners are older than the registrant population as a whole (likely given the experience necessary for the positions). The majority (82%) of partners were 45 and over.
• Disability - 4% of staff declared that they have a disability and partners – 6%. We also know that declaration rates by staff for disability are quite low (69 selected prefer not to say). So improving the self-identification rates is one thing we will keep pushing for next year.
• Ethnicity - We know that there is strong diversity amongst the whole staff population (51% Black, Asian and Other), but that the diversity drops in terms of black representation in more senior positions (manager level and above). The majority of managerial level staff were White (63%) compared to 43% of non-managerial level staff
• Gender – While we are female dominated as a whole staff population (59%), the proportion of males in managerial level positions (43%) and above is higher than those in non-managerial positions (37%)

We are aware of the challenges we face on this important agenda, based on our annual staff and partners diversity data analyses and we are never complacent. This is why, boosting diversity at all levels of seniority at the HCPC will be a core component of our first EDI Strategy 2021-2026 and supporting Action Plan 2021-2023, which we are currently developing.

Collecting registrant data again

We need to boost the amount of responses from our registrants and will be requesting diversity data again in late 2020/early 2021.

So, if you are an HCPC registrant we encourage you to participate so that you will be able to learn more about the profile of your profession and help us to gain a better understanding of the issues that you face and how different groups are affected by our processes so that we can identify ways of supporting you.  

This data set is unique and has the potential to be very beneficial (not just for the HCPC) – it will provide the most comprehensive profile of HCPC registered Allied Health Professionals, scientists and psychologists, in all four countries of the UK, and working in NHS and non-NHS settings.

This is just the beginning

While we are very happy to have published our registrants’ diversity data, this is really just the beginning.

Our plan for the future is to step up as a leader in this space. We want our registrants, partners and employees’ diversity to reflect that of the world around us, on all levels. And we want our employees to report a strong sense of belonging, regardless of their characteristics. We want a climate in our organisation where everyone can feel welcome and valued; employees, partners, registrants and service users alike.  

For now, we have some work to do specifically around increasing the response rate from our registrants and enhancing diversity at all levels of the organisation. 

Read more about Diversity & Inclusion at HCPC where we will publish annual diversity numbers from now. Stay tuned for the information about the registrant diversity data survey next month and the publication of our first EDI Strategy 2021-2026 in early 2021.

[1] Partners are HCPC registrants, members of the public and legal professionals who contribute their expertise to the HCPC and play important roles in the regulatory/decision making processes. There are a number of different partner roles including CPD assessors, legal assessors, panel chairs, panel members, registration assessors and visitors.