The 25by’25 journey

A staff survey carried out in 2019 showed that diversity was the most appreciated workplace attribute at CERN.

Approved by the CERN Council at its June 2020 meeting, the updated European Strategy for High Energy Physics puts an emphasis on the societal impact of particle physics and on diversity and inclusion within the field.

In particular, it states that “Particle physics, with its fundamental questions and technological innovations, attracts bright young minds. Their education and training are crucial for the needs of the field and of society at large. For early-career researchers to thrive, the particle physics community should place strong emphasis on their supervision and training. Additional measures should be taken in large collaborations to increase the recognition of individuals developing and maintaining experiments, computing and software. The particle physics community commits to placing the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of all its activities.

A new strategy, called 25by’25, was then devised within CERN’s D&I to boost MPE diversity with respect to two measurable quantities, namely gender and nationality.

This CERN-wide endeavour, aimed at obtaining scientific excellence through diversity and inclusion, was approved by the DG and the extended Directorate in May 2021.

For the gender distribution, the main quantifiable aim of the strategy is to increase proportion of women from 21.4 % (as of 31.12.2020) to 25% by the end of 2025, with focus on STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Math].

For the nationality indicator, the main aim is to improve ratio of Member States’ budget contribution to hiring rate. Where nationality concentration exceeds 25% , measures to be put in place to change the trend.

Note that 25% is an aspirational target/indicator (not cap/quota) and it corresponds to an average across CERN MPE (not for each department).

The strategy aims at being a sustainable effort (NOT fireworks then darkness) and is a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) target.

The 25by’25 strategy implements a new approach to tackle diversity, namely from inside via the Focal Points/Focus Group members, rather than from outside through HR.

The figure below summarizes the main points of the 25by’25 strategy.

The steps in the program were applied to all departments at CERN through a small group of staff in each department called “Focal Points”.

The first step was to establish if, how, and at what progress level D&I is embedded in processes and practices within each department. The review included qualitative as well as quantitative feedback from members of personnel.

A systemic understanding of the D&I field in practice was obtained by using the Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Benchmarks (GDEIB, https://centreforglobalinclusion.org/about/ ). This is an effective and cost-free method to evaluate and measure an organisation's D&I progress level. The GDEIB standards and methodology ensured a strategic and integrated approach to D&I progress across a number of benchmark categories, namely:

1. Recruitment
2. Career Evolution and Retention
3. Benefits, Work-life Integration, Wellbeing and Flexibility
4. Leadership and Accountability
5. Survey, Statistics and Measurement
6. Communications
7. Learning and Development

The second step was to define a “Fitness Plan” tailored to each department so as to increase the D&I maturity level for each of the categories. This was carried out by all departments by the end of 2022.

After the deployment of the Fitness Plan in each department, periodic evaluations will take place to adjust the course of the progamme in that department, if need be, and to ascertain his results.

The 25by’25 journey in SY

Three representatives from SY were selected in May 2021 to represent different MPE categories in terms of age group, gender, nationality, seniority, role. They were Maria Elena Angoletta (RF group), Belen Maria Salvachua Ferrando (BI) and Christophe Lolliot (ABT) and were referred to as “Focal Points” within this part of the 25by’25 journey.

The SY Dept D&I review took place in November 2021 via several Focus Group sessions, namely carefully planned discussions designed to gather quantitative and qualitative feedback on the perceived D&I level in SY for each of the seven benchmark criteria.

About 10% of SY MPEs were invited to take part in these sessions, The review participants were selected to represent different categories in SY according to age group, gender, nationality, seniority and role at CERN. The participants of each group included members of the same staff category, to promote full disclosure.

A document summarising the SY D&I review findings was prepared and published in EDMS by December 2021.

A fitness plan was prepared by the Focal Points in collaboration with the SY DH and DPO. Presented and approved at the SYMB on May 30 2022, it included figures for both manpower and budget required by the programme in 2023.

Maria Elena Angoletta (RF) was then nominated to fulfill the new role of Diversity and Inclusion Officer (DIO) for the SY department during this initial phase of the 25by’25 journey.

The figure below shows a general roadmap of the 25by’25 journey in SY.