NIPA Diversity Survey outcomes comparative article against data from the Census 2021
June 2, 2024
The Diversity of NIPA Members
Following the publication of the results of the NIPA Diversity Survey, NIPA have considered the outcomes against data from the Census 2021 to explore how well the organisation reflects the general population, highlighting the groups of people who are less involved in professions which partake in the planning of national infrastructure.
It should be noted that we received 126 responses out of c. 500 members meaning these results comprise only a sample of the wider membership, but they will be used as a basis against which we can compare future survey results and measure progress.
In order to get the most accurate picture of the NIPA membership we would strongly encourage all members to respond to future NIPA Diversity Surveys.
The full results of the survey can be found here.
The Census 2021 data used within this article only includes results from England and Wales. While no respondees indicated that they worked in Scotland, 0.83% selected “Other”, with the remainder in England and Wales. Where the questions and answers differed between the NIPA Survey and the Census 2021, this is explained in the text or tables below.
Age
NIPA members were asked “What age group do you fall into?” and the table below compares the results with Census 2021 data. The results suggest that people under 30 are underrepresented in NIPA.
| NIPA Results |
Census Results
|
|
| 18 – 30 | 10.92% |
23.77% (‘16 – 30’)
|
| 31 – 39 | 25.21% | 21.07% |
| 40 – 49 | 31.09% | 21.94% |
| 50 – 64 | 28.57% | 28.97% |
| 65+ | 4.20% | 4.26% |
Gender
NIPA Members were asked “To which gender identity do you identify most?” and the table below compares the results with Census 2021 data. Census information for Woman and Man comes from statistics for male and female, while information for ‘All other gender identities’ comes from statistics on Gender identity. The results suggest that women are underrepresented in NIPA.
| NIPA Results |
Census Results
|
|
| Woman | 38.33% | 51% |
| Man | 60.83% | 49.00% |
| Non-binary/third gender | 0.83% |
0.1% (‘Non-binary’ and ‘All other gender identities’)
|
Disability and Long-Term health
NIPA Members were asked “Do you have a disability or long-term physical or mental health condition?” and the table below compares the results with Census 2021 data. The results suggest that people with disabilities are underrepresented in NIPA.
NIPA Results Census Results
| NIPA Results |
Census Results
|
|
| Disabled | 8.40% | 17.80% |
| Non-disabled | 91.60% | 82.20% |
Ethnicity
NIPA members were asked “What is your ethnic group?” and the table below compares with results from Census 2021. The results suggest that while people who are from Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Groups are well represented, people who are Asian, Black or come under ‘Other’ are underrepresented.
It is important to note that there are multiple, more specific ethnic groups within all these broader categories that may be specifically underrepresented.
| NIPA Results |
2021 Census Results
|
|
| Asian or Asian | 3.33% | 9.30% |
| British Black, Black British, Caribbean or African | 0.83% | 4.00% |
| Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Groups | 5.83% | 2.90% |
| White | 90% | 81.70% |
| Other Ethnic Group | 0.00% | 2.10% |
Sexuality
NIPA members were given a number of options and asked “Do you consider your sexuality/ gender identity to be” with the option to select one of the options, and the results are considered below against the Census 2021 data. The results suggests that gay, lesbian and bisexual people are well represented in NIPA.
It is important to note that as Gay and Lesbian was included as a single answer in both the NIPA Survey and the 2021 Census, it is possible that one of these groups is underrepresented.
“Transgender” was included as an option but was not selected, this suggests that transgender people are underrepresented in NIPA and/or this may have been due to the conflation of sexuality and gender identity making this question difficult to answer for some people, which is a limitation of the NIPA Survey.
| NIPA Results |
2021 Census Results
|
|
| Heterosexual/straight | 84.87% | 89.40% |
| Gay or lesbian | 4.20% | 1.54% |
| Bisexual | 6.72% | 1.28% |
| Prefer to self describe | 0.84% |
0.34% (‘Pansexual’, ‘Asexual’, ‘Queer’ & ‘Other sexual orientation’)
|
| Prefer not to say | 3.36% |
7.5% (Did not answer)
|
