The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has released its updated equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) action plan for 2026 to 2028. This plan aims to address ongoing challenges such as the under-representation of female leaders, inequity across ethnic groups, and bias in peer review within the bioscience community.
Since 2022, BBSRC investments have led to improvements, including an increase in female representation on the BBSRC Pool of Experts from 29% in 2022 to 36% in 2024. Additionally, 41% of committee members were female in 2024. Initiatives like the Connecting Culture Fund and EDI Network Grants have supported various programmes, from mentoring to neurodiversity awareness.
The refreshed plan outlines four priority themes for the coming two years. These include continuously improving BBSRC's operations, ensuring accessibility to all its activities with a focus on Black British researchers, diversifying career pathways, and leading EDI efforts within the biosciences as part of wider UK Research and Innovation initiatives. Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, BBSRC Executive Chair, stated that the plan aims to remove barriers and build confidence so everyone can contribute to their full potential.