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An Update on Spektrix Team Demographics: 2023

An Update on Spektrix Team Demographics: 2023

Data on the diversity of our team, management and board in 2023, and our work to build a more inclusive workplace over the last 15 months.

In July 2020 and December 2021 we published data on the demographics of our team, as part of our commitment to build, measure and continually improve the overall diversity of the team and the experience of every individual working at Spektrix. In 2021, we also outlined our approach to data collection in detail - from the principles by which we work, to our practice in designing questions and naming categories for team members across multiple global regions. 

The major changes we made to our survey in 2021 made it impossible to draw useful comparisons with our results from 2020. This year, however, we’ve made only minor adjustments to the survey, and I’m pleased that this allows us to more directly assess how the diversity of our team is changing. 

If you have questions about any of our plans or approach, we’d be delighted to speak with you - please reach out on consultation@spektrix.com.

 

How to read the data

The most recent survey was run in March 2023 and reflects the makeup of the team at this point in time. It doesn't reflect any changes that have happened since then.

In March 2023, 97% of team members responded to the survey. This marks a significant increase from 90% in December 2021 and 82% in July 2020.

All figures are shown as percentages; team members who did not participate are not included in the data for any year, so percentages are given as a proportion of participants, rather than a proportion of all team members.

At Board and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) level, we’re looking at small numbers of people, meaning that a single change within the team can have a significant impact on percentages. Throughout, we describe data changes from 2021 to 2023 in one of two ways:

  • As a percentage point (pp) change. In most cases, we’ve used this approach to highlight a change in group size - for example, if 10% of team members identified as female in 2021, and 15% did so in 2023, this would be a change of 5 percentage points.

  • As a percentage (%) change. In some cases, smaller group sizes mean that a minor percentage point change can represent a significant shift within a specific group. In the same example, a change in group size from 10-15% represents a 50% increase in the proportion of team members identifying as female.

The colours used in these visualisations have been chosen to be visible to as many viewers as possible, including people with colour blindness or other visual impairments. Numerical data is also included to support anyone unable to view the visualisations. If you struggle to access the data in either format, please get in touch.

 

Spektrix team data: 2021 - 2023

 

What was the occupation of your main household earner when you were aged about 14?

This question looks at the socio-economic background of team members (i.e. how privileged/affluent a background people have come from). There is no perfect way to measure socio-economic background, however we have taken the approach recommended by the UK's Social Mobility Commission. Respondents selected one of seven categories, which have been aligned to three economic background levels in this data in line with Social Mobility Commission guidance.
A free text field was not offered for this question.

Since 2021, the proportions of the whole team who come from lower and intermediate socio-economic backgrounds have both increased by 70-75%, but we're still underrepresented in these two areas compared to the UK population.

2021

A chart showing the different occupations of the 2021 Spektrix employees' main household earner when they were aged about fourteen

2023

A chart showing the different occupations of the 2023 Spektrix employees' main household earner when they were aged about fourteen

Key Aggregated response Year Team SLT Board

 

Lower socio-economic backgrounds 2021 11.8 14.3  
2023 20.2 12.5  
  Intermediate backgrounds 2021 9.1 42.9 20.0
2023 15.5 37.5  
  Professional backgrounds 2021 72.7 42.9 80.0
2023 60.1 50.0 66.7
  Exclude 2021 6.4    
2023 4.2   33.3

 

What is your age?

A free text field was not offered for this question.

The age of the team as a whole is similar to 2021, except in the 45-54 age group, which increased by 5pp from 2.7 to 7.7.%. Most of the corresponding decrease was in the 25-34 age group.

2021

a chart showing the different age brackets of Spektrix employees in 2021

2023

a chart showing the different age brackets of Spektrix employees in 2023

Key Response Year Team SLT Board

 

18-24 2021 6.4    
2023 4.2    
  24-34 2021 62.7 28.6  
2023 58.9 37.5  
  35-44 2021 27.3 28.6 60.0
2023 27.4 25.0 50.0
  45-54 2021 2.7 42.9 20.0
2023 7.1 37.5 33.3
  55-64 2021 0.9   20.0
2023 1.2   16.7
  Prefer not to say 2023 1.2    

 

What nationality(ies) are you?

Spektrix offices are based in the UK and US, so we offered two specific options - American and British - as well as ‘Nationality(ies) not listed’ and ‘Prefer not to say’.

22.8% of the wider team listed an additional or different nationality. In total, 27 different nationalities were listed compared to 17 in 2021.

These were:

American, Australian, Austrian, British, Canadian, Caribbean, Chilean, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Grenadian, Indian, Irish, Italian, Lithuanian, New Zealand, Nigerian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, South African, Swiss, Taiwanese, Turkish

 

Which language(s) do you speak at home?

Spektrix offices are based in the UK and US, so we offered English as an option as well as ‘Language(s) not listed’ and ‘Prefer not to say’.

19.2% of the wider team listed an additional or different language. In total, 29 different languages were spoken compared to 17 in 2021.

These were:

Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Lithuanian, Mandarin, Marathi, Ndebele, Polish, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Scots, Serbo-Croat, Spanish, Swati, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, Welsh, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zulu

 

Which of the following categories best describes your race and/or ethnicity?

The options presented for this question were based on a combination of census categories from the UK and US. Before asking people to choose a category, we invited them to self-identify using a free text field. The combination of free text and categorised data allows us both to recognise and list people's self-described identities, and to draw useful comparisons over time and across the team.

In 2021, a number of team members chose the 'White' category but self-identified as Jewish. In response to this, we added Jewish as a category in its own right in 2023, and will continue to review the categories we offer to make them as representative as possible.

The next time we survey we also plan to make it easier for team members to tell us if they feel none of the categories we've offered for race/ethnicity fit well with their personal identity.

The overall ethnic diversity of the team has increased slightly, with the proportion of team members identifying as White decreasing by 1.9pp.
The proportion of team members identifying as Black has doubled from 3.5 to 7%. Whilst other identities have decreased as a proportion of the growing team, overall numbers have changed only slightly.

2021

A chart representing the different races of Spektrix employees in 2021

2023 

A chart representing the different races of Spektrix employees in 2023

Key Response Year Team SLT Board

 

Black (including Black British, Black American, African-American, African, Caribbean or any other Black background) 2021 3.6 14.3  
2023 7.1 12.5  
  East Asian (including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Tibetan and Taiwanese) 2021 2.7    
2023 1.8    
  Jewish 2021 1.8 28.6 20.0
2023 1.2 25.0 16.7
  Latin(o,a,x,e) or Hispanic 2021 2.7 14.3  
2023 1.8    
  Mixed Race 2021 1.8    
2023 3.0    
  South Asian (including Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Nepali, Pakistan, and Sri Lankan) 2021 2.7   20.0
2023 1.8 12.5 16.7
  South East Asian (including Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Thai and Vietnamese) 2021 1.8    
2023 1.8    
  White (including White British, White American, White European, English, Welsh, Scottish, British, Irish or any other white background) 2021 81.8 42.9 60.0
2023 79.8 50.0 66.7
  None of the above 2023 0.6    
  Prefer not to say 2021 0.9    
2023 1.2    

 

Members of the wider team provided 40+ different free text responses. These included:

African, African American, African American/Black & Puerto Rican/Latine, Asian, Asian British, Black, Black African, Black African American, Black African British, Black British, British, British Caucasian, British Indian Asian, Caribbean, Chinese, Chinese American, Latin American Hispanic, Indian, Indian South Asian, Jewish, Latinx, Mediterranean, Mixed Race, Polish, South Asian, White, White American, White Ashkenazi Jewish, White Caucasian, White British, White English, White European, White European Jewish, White Greek, White/Hispanic, White Irish, White Irish British, White Jewish

 

Which of the following categories best describes your gender?

The options offered were Agender, Female, Male and Non-Binary, although nobody selected Agender on this occasion. A free text field was also offered.
This and the next two questions follow guidance produced by UK charity Stonewall.

At all levels, there’s been an increase in the proportion of male team members.
The corresponding reduction has largely been in the proportion of female team members. The proportion of people identifying as non-binary is largely unchanged.

2021

A chart showing the distribution of different genders across Spektrix in 2021

2023

A chart showing the distribution of different genders across Spektrix in 2023

Key Response Year Team SLT Board

 

Female 2021 52.7 28.6 20.0
2023 45.8 12.5 16.7
  Male 2021 41.8 71.4 80.0
2023 48.2 75.0 83.3
  Non-binary 2021 4.5    
2023 4.2    
  None of the above 2023   12.5  
  Prefer not to say 2021 0.9    
2023 1.8    

 

Do you identify as trans?

We changed the wording of this question from, ‘Are you transgender’ to ‘Do you identify as trans’?
We know it’s important to recognise demographics as part of people’s innate identity and not as a choice or preference. That awareness informed the wording of this question in 2021; we’ve since reviewed guidance from Stonewall and followed their advice in 2023.

Trans people are only represented at Team level. Since 2021, there’s been a 1.0 pp reduction in the proportion of team members who identify as trans.
This year, a small number of team members told us they preferred not to answer this question. 

2021

A chart representing the number of Spektrix employees who identified as trans in 2021

2023

A chart representing the number of Spektrix employees who identified as trans in 2023

Key Response Year Team SLT Board

 

No 2021 97.3 100 100
2023 96.4 100 100
  Yes 2021 2.7    
2023 1.8    
  Prefer not to say 2023 1.8    

 

What is your sexual orientation?

The proportional changes in response to this question are generally very small.
At Team level, there are small increases in the proportion of team members identifying as Heterosexual/Straight, Queer, and Gay/Lesbian. 
The only defined group which has reduced in size is Bi/Pansexual; however, there’s also been a small increase in the proportion who Prefer to Self Describe.

2021

A chart representing the different sexual orientations of Spektrix employees in 2021

2023

A chart representing the different sexual orientations of Spektrix employees in 2023

Key Response Year Team SLT Board

 

Bi / Pansexual 2021 16.4    
2023 11.3    
  Gay /  Lesbian 2021 11.8 14.3  
2023 13.1 12.5  
  Heterosexual / Straight 2021 60.9 85.7 100.0
2023 61.3 87.5 83.3
  Queer 2021 3.6    
2023 7.1    
  Prefer to self-describe 2021 1.8    
2023 3.0    
  Prefer not to say 2021 5.5    
2023 4.2   16.7

 

Do you consider yourself to be disabled?

There’s been a small increase in the proportion of team members who identify as disabled.
The proportions of team members who Prefer to Self Describe or Prefer Not to Say have also increased, with a corresponding decrease in the proportion who don’t consider themselves disabled.

2021

A chart representing how many Spektrix employees considered themselves to be disabled in 2021

2023

A chart representing how many Spektrix employees considered themselves to be disabled in 2023

Key Response Year Team SLT Board

 

No 2021 88.2 100.0 100.0
2023 83.3 87.5 100.0
  Yes 2021 6.4    
2023 7.1 12.5  
  Prefer to self-describe 2021 2.7    
2023 6.0    
  Prefer not to say 2021 2.7    
2023 3.6    

 

Do you consider yourself to be neurodivergent?

The proportion of team members who consider themselves to be neurodivergent has almost doubled, from 11.8% to 21.9% of the team. 
Fewer people told us they did not consider themselves to be neurodivergent, and fewer people preferred to self describe, than in 2021.

2021

A chart showing how many Spektrix employees considered themselves to be neurodivergent in 2021

2023

A chart showing how many Spektrix employees considered themselves to be neurodivergent in 2023

Key Response Year Team SLT Board

 

No 2021 78.2 85.7 100.0
2023 70.8 87.5 100.0
  Yes 2021 11.8    
2023 21.4 12.5  
  Prefer to self-describe 2021 5.5    
2023 2.4    
  Prefer not to say 2021 4.5 14.3  
2023 5.4    

 

Do you look after or care for someone with long term physical or mental ill health (not in a paid capacity)?

There’s been a small increase at  in the proportion of people with caring responsibilities.
There was also a small increase in Team members who told us they Prefer Not to Say or Prefer to Self Describe in response to this question.

2021

A chart representing the different caring responsibilities of Spektrix employees in 2021

2023

A chart representing the different caring responsibilities of Spektrix employees in 2023

Key Response Year Team SLT Board

 

No 2021 92.7 57.1 100.0
2023 86.3 62.5 66.7
  Yes 2021 5.5 42.9  
2023 7.1 37.5 33.3
  Prefer to self-describe 2021 0.9    
2023 1.8    
  Prefer not to say 2021 0.9    
2023 4.8    

 

Continually improving our approach to demographic measurement and inclusion

We measure team demographics for two main reasons:

  • To understand the current demographic makeup of our team and how that changes over time

  • To hold ourselves accountable for building an increasingly representative team

Last year we surveyed team members using an anonymised form. This was a useful tool with which to understand team demographics, but not helpful in measuring how people’s identities related to their experience of recruitment, onboarding or working at Spektrix, since we couldn’t easily map responses to other surveys of team engagement or satisfaction. This year, improvements to our employee engagement tool, CultureAmp, means we can run demographic and engagement surveys through the same tool. This allows us to retain high levels of privacy and anonymity, but will also enable us to identify differences in feelings of inclusion, opportunities for progression, and investment in company values against individual and intersectional demographic groups. 

Alongside this change in our measurement tools, we’ve continued to review our questions and the language we use in each of them; the main changes are set out above, alongside the relevant questions. We’ll continue to improve our approach based on sector guidance, free-text responses and internal feedback, before we next measure team demographics in 2024.

 

Interested in joining our team? Visit our Careers page to view open roles or submit a speculative application.

 

Michael Nabarro is CEO and co-founder of Spektrix