36 C O N T E X T 1 7 3 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 HISTORIC ENGLAND INCLUSION TEAM Diversity in the heritage workspace Historic England’s approach to inclusion, diversity and equality recognises that there are large sections of the population that neither the organisation nor the sector is reaching. Historic England’s Strategy for Inclusion, Diversity and Equality 2020–2023, which launched in November 2020, was our statement of intent to ensure that a diverse range of people are able to connect with, enjoy and benefit from the historic environment. Historic England’s purpose is to improve people’s lives by championing and protecting England’s historic environment. We recognise that as an organisation, and more broadly as a sector, we are not currently reaching large sections of the population. While we have already taken some steps to make Historic England and the work that we do more inclusive, we know that there is more we could be doing. The strategy outlined an ambitious array of actions we could take to do this and serves as a tool to hold ourselves to account with. This strategy is for Historic England. It is not intended as a strategy for the historic environment sector, but it does include actions for us to support the development of a more diverse and inclusive sector. While it is a three-year strategy, our ambitions reach far beyond that, and we have seen throughout the delivery of the strategy so far, that other new areas of work emerge. Delivery so far has included building on and developing existing areas of work, and tackling new challenges, or existing challenges in new ways. The strategy was developed over 18 months, as a result of wide consultation with Historic England staff, commissioners and members of our external advisory group. We built the strategy around workshops and discussions with these stakeholders, and from drawing on existing research from the government and the historic environment sector. The research we drew from demonstrates a lack of diversity in those who engage with heritage, a lack of inclusivity within heritage sector decision-making and significant economic barriers to participation. For example, we know that people in deprived areas are significantly less likely to participate in heritage. In 2019/20, 51 per cent of adults in the 10 per cent most deprived areas in England had visited a heritage site in the past 12 months, compared with 83 per cent for those in the 10 per cent least deprived areas. Black and Asian people are less likely to engage with heritage thanWhite people, both in Children from Hampstead Hill School in the nave of St Stephen, Rosslyn Hill, Camden, London (All photos: Historic England Archive)
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