A group of colleagues of varying ages, genders and ethnicities listen to one another talk in an open forum session. Other groups are meeting in the background, and some colleagues are chatting separately.
Historic England staff meet for an open space session at an "unconference" event in York. © Historic England
Historic England staff meet for an open space session at an "unconference" event in York. © Historic England

Everyone's Welcome

At Historic England, we’re always looking for new ways to promote the past that are inclusive to all and that celebrate the cultural diversity of England’s heritage.

To do that, we need people with fresh perspectives, from all walks of life, to join us. Discover more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion below.

On this page
  1. Embracing diversity
  2. Championing social mobility
  3. Women in Science
  4. Our support networks
  5. Supporting mental health and wellbeing

Embracing diversity

We believe that heritage is for everyone, and so are jobs in the heritage sector. As an equal opportunities employer, we’re working hard to improve diversity in our workforce and are always looking for new perspectives to help us protect extraordinary places.

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident, Youth Friendly, and a Gold Award winner of the Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index – but we’re not stopping there.

We work in partnership with Evenbreak to promote our job opportunities to an inclusive audience.

We’re committed to examining our behaviours and challenging biases that prevent us from being truly inclusive – taking steps to increase the representation of diverse voices in our workforce, on our Commission and on our advisory bodies.

Our commitment to welcoming and supporting LGBTQ+ people

We have been working to create a supportive and inclusive work environment for LGBTQ+ people for many years. Our thriving Pride Staff Network provides peer support, organises social events, and can provide feedback on issues to the organisation. We are inclusive in our work, including through projects like Pride of Place, a ground-breaking celebration of places that tell important LGBTQ+ histories.

We have good representation of LGBTQ+ people at Historic England, broadly reflecting estimates of the UK population and we are very proud of that. We recognise that more work is always needed to maintain this. We are fully committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive work environment where colleagues feel safe and can thrive. Our aim is to ensure that all colleagues feel able and confident to be out and open in the workplace about their sexual orientation and gender identity if they choose to be.

Championing social mobility

We believe engaging with heritage helps social mobility and that it is vital for all people to have the opportunity to reach their full potential through participation in heritage.

Historic England is a significant employer in the heritage sector, and we have a responsibility to ensure we reflect this aspiration within our organisation and increase social mobility in the sector by encouraging talented people from all socio-economic backgrounds to join our workforce and to support them to thrive, develop and progress their career with Historic England and beyond.

We have signalled our commitment to Social Mobility by joining over 700 organisations in signing the Social Mobility Pledge. We also participate in the Social Mobility Index in order to better understand how we can shape our policies, processes, practices and culture to reflect these aspirations.

Women in Science

Are you interested in a career in science and technology? Our specialists have shared their stories to inspire you.

According to the United Nations, women are typically given smaller research grants than their male colleagues and, while they represent 33.3% of all researchers, only 12% of members of national science academies are women. 

This is why we're proud to feature women in science at Historic England. We hope that their examples will inspire others to pursue education and careers in science, technology and engineering.

Gallery

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

Photograph showing a light-haired woman in a red jumper and apron standing at a tabletop working using a brush to conserve an artefact. Photograph showing close up of woman’s face with light hair and black frames glasses. Photograph showing a short, dark-haired woman working at a desk, she is using two screens and is looking at a series of graphs while typing on the keyboard. Photograph showing a blonde-haired woman smiling in seated position, wearing a blue top. Photograph showing a woman in a hard hat on crane platform working to restore North Portico at Witley Court. Photograph in portrait style, showing dark, curly haired woman smiling widely wearing a green top and black cardigan. Photograph showing a woman flying a helicopter over a rural landscape. Woman is wearing a knitted hat, red coat and is smiling at the camera. Photograph showing dark-haired woman in red coat, high vis and hard hat using a decay detection drill on Belsay Hall roof trusses. Photograph showing a short-haired woman in blue jumper leaning over a desk to look at an image through a magnifying device. Photograph showing a decorated historic building with arched roof covered in a faded mural. A woman is shown next to equipment, she is dark haired and smiling. Photograph showing a dark-haired woman in gloves and an apron working at a desk. She is using a paintbrush to work on a piece of glass on the tabletop. Photograph in portrait style, showing woman smiling widely, wearing glasses and a checked shirt. Photograph showing a woman in a lab featuring a microscope, bottles and boxes in the background. A woman with short hair and glasses is looking at a petri dish on a table. Black and white photograph showing dark-haired woman’s face. Photograph showing a short-haired woman in a purple jumper standing while working at a desk. She is reading results from a small machine while typing on a keyboard. Photograph showing a dark-haired woman standing in front of a microscope.

Our support networks

We’re working hard to improve the diversity of our workforce and have set up a range of employee network groups to provide peer support and advice to us on how to be more inclusive, including:

  • Inclusion Champions
  • Wellbeing Forum
  • Mental Health Champions and First Aiders
  • Disability Network
  • Gender Equality Network
  • Neurodiversity Network
  • Pride Network
  • Race Equality Network
  • Social Mobility Network

Supporting mental health and wellbeing

Looking after the mental health and well-being of our people is one of our top priorities. We’re proud to have been awarded Gold from the charity Mind in their Workplace Wellbeing Index, demonstrating our long-term and in-depth commitment to employee mental health.

We also have Mental Health First Aiders and Champions across the business who are there to support you. What’s more, courses, resilience training and meditation classes are available to everyone who works here, as well as a wide range of other initiatives to promote mental health and wellbeing.

Next steps

Working with

Evenbreak Talent First logo
Disability confident leader logo
Mind Wellbeing Index Gold Badge 2022-23 logo
Black History Month Diversity Champion logo
Diverse Jobs Matter logo
Scope=Equality for disabled people
Social Mobility Foundation logo
BME Jobs logo
Disability Job logo
LGBT Jobs logo
Neurodiversity Jobs logo