Diversity and Inclusion - Our Initial Action Plan

In the UK, as in many other countries around the world, the past few months have seen a long overdue conversation about racism, diversity and inclusion in our society. Like many other organisations and institutions, the BIID has been looking at what specific actions we can take to develop a more diverse, inclusive and equitable UK interior design profession.

We have been contacted by many designers, design students and others working in the interior design industry with ideas and suggestions. We are very appreciative of everyone who took the time to get in touch and share their ideas; these have helped to create the intial action plan and will be passed on to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Action Plan

We are very much aware that there is no ‘quick fix’ for this issue and this initial action plan is only the first step in a long-term ongoing process.

1. We are undertaking research to try and provide a picture of the diversity of the current profession. This research will be in 2 parts.
   1. We are launching a Diversity In Interior Design Survey to get an understanding of the diversity of those currently working as interior designers.
   2. We will be doing an analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) to get an understanding of the diversity of recent interior design graduates. The results of these 2 research projects will be published by December 2020. We are hopeful that in addition to providing a benchmark against which progress can be tracked and trends over time identified, this research may help to identify where there are specific barriers to entry and/or progression.
2. We will include Diversity and Inclusion specific training content in our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) calendar for this membership year (1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021), and each subsequent year.
3. We will develop an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy which will lay out specific areas for long term action. This will be included as part of the BIID 2021-2024 Strategic Plan which will be published in March 2021.
4. We will work with a Diversity and Inclusion consultant to provide us with expert guidance on how we can best focus our time and resources in the most effective way.
5. We will establish a new Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In addition to overseeing current and future diversity research, Diversity and Inclusion training and the development of the EDI Strategy, this committee will also look at:
   1. How a commitment to  Diversity and Inclusion can be incorporated into our partnerships with external tradeshows, exhibitions, events and suppliers;
   2. How we can ensure that individuals have equal access to train as interior designers and equal opportunity to progress and succeed in their chosen profession;
   3. How we can collaborate with other organisations, charities and social enterprises working to improve Diversity and Inclusion in interior design.

How you can get involved:

We are now recruiting members to join the new Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  The committee will meet 3-4 times per year and meetings will be held online so there are no associated travel costs. Members from any category – Registered Interior Designer, Associate, Provisional Associate, Affiliate, Student – are welcomed and encouraged to join. Please email info@biid.org.uk before 12.00pm on Monday 19th October 2020 and we will get back to you with further details.