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Last updated: 17 November 2008
The Civil Service is committed to providing equal opportunities for all, irrespective of ethnicity or nationality, gender, transgender, sexuality, disability, age, religion, marital status and working patterns. It aims to listen to, value and respect everyone as individuals with a contribution to make to ensure the Service achieves its aims.
The Cabinet Office is responsible for ensuring that the Civil Service as a whole meets the Government's commitment to achieving greater representation of minority ethnic staff, women and staff with disabilities at senior levels, and to value the diverse skills, experience and background of all who work in the Civil Service.
Overall, applications from women continued to follow the downward trend seen over recent years. In 2004, some 38.9 per cent of all applications came from women compared to 46.7 per cent in 2003 and 49.9 per cent in 2002. Women made up 41.5 per cent of those recommended for appointment in 2004 compared with 49.8 per cent in 2003.
In 2004, 40.1 per cent of applicants to the General Fast Stream were women, as were 44.5 per cent of those recommended for appointment. In the Statisticians scheme women represented 41.2 per cent of applications and 37.2 per cent of those recommended for appointment. In the Economists’ competition, women made up 34.2 per cent of applicants and 36.5 per cent of successful candidates. [See Chart 1]
Chart 1 – Women: Applications and Appointments 1 by Competition
The Analysis by Gender table [PDF 72KB, 4 pages] details the number of applicants by gender at each selection stage of the Fast Stream schemes.
In terms of their progress through the selection process, female applicants were more successful than their male counterparts in the GFS and Economist schemes but not as successful in the Statistician and GCHQ competitions. In general, some 5.8 per cent of women who applied for the Fast Stream were recommended for appointment, compared with 5.2 per cent of male applicants.
In 2004, the proportion of both applications and successful candidates from minority ethnic groups decreased from 2003 levels; applications across the Fast Stream decreased from 16.3 per cent in 2003 to 14.6 per cent in 2004. Of those recommended for appointment across all schemes, 5.4 per cent were from minority ethnic groups compared with 7.8 per cent the previous year. [See Chart 2]
In 2004, 12.3 per cent of applicants to the General Fast Stream were from an ethnic minority, and they represented 2.7 per cent of those recommended for appointment. In the Statisticians scheme, minority ethnic groups represented 22.4 per cent of applications and 7.0 per cent of those recommended for appointment. The representation of minority ethnic groups remained highest in the Economists scheme, where 29.3 per cent of applicants and 12.2 per cent of successful candidates where from an ethnic minority.
Those with an unknown ethnic origin reduced to 2.3 percent of applications compared to 5.3 per cent in 2003.
Chart 2 – Applications and Appointments by Ethnicity 2
Applications
Recommended for Appointments
The Analysis by Ethnicity table [PDF 69KB, 4 pages] contains the number of applicants by ethnicity at each selection stage of the Fast Stream schemes.
In general, ethnic minority applicants were less successful than white candidates as they progressed through the selection stages. Overall, 2 per cent of ethnic minority Fast Stream applicants were recommended for appointment, compared with 6.0 per cent of white applicants. Of those applicants for which ethnic origin was not known, 7.0 per cent were recommended for appointment.
The overall percentage of applicants declaring a disability has increased from 2.4 per cent in 2003 to 3.2 per cent in 2004. The proportion of candidates recording a disability who were recommended for appointment increased from 3.5 per cent in 2003 to 7.3 per cent in 2004.
In 2004, the number of applicants for the General Fast Stream who recorded a disability was 232; this was 3.5 per cent of all General Fast Stream applicants and compares to 2.4 per cent in 2003. Of these candidates, 95 requested a Preliminary Interview Board and exemption from the QTs and a further 88 requested a PIB after being unsuccessful in the QTs. In total, 90 candidates were successful at PIB and invited to CSSB. There were 27 General Fast Stream candidates with a recorded disability who were recommended for appointment. This was an increase to 9.0 per cent in 2004 from 3.9 per cent in the previous year.
In the Statisticians scheme, some 1.6 per cent of applicants declared a disability, as did 4.7 per cent of those recommended for appointment. For the Economist Fast Stream, the corresponding numbers were 1.2 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively and those for the GCHQ scheme 4.3 per cent and 12.5 per cent.
The Analysis by Disability table [PDF 71KB, 4 pages] provides the number of applicants recording a disability at application and assessment centre stages, and includes figures for those who requested a Preliminary Interview Board under the Department for Work & Pensions’ Employer Disability Symbol (two ticks) scheme to determine whether they should be invited to the assessment centre stage.
In general, applicants who recorded a disability were more successful at the assessment centre, than those applicants who did not. Overall, 12.4 per cent of Fast Stream applicants who declared a disability were recommended for appointment, compared with 5.2 per cent of applicants who did not.
In an increase from previous years’ trends, the average age on application for the schemes overall, and for the General Fast Stream, was approximately 26 years. This is also the average age of successful candidates in both cases.
Applications for the 2004 Fast Stream came from over 100 UK universities and a wide range of academic backgrounds. The 467 candidates recommended for appointment came from over 50 different universities. Across all Fast Stream schemes, applications from Oxbridge universities rose from 9.1 per cent of all applications in 2003 to 16.1 per cent in 2004. The proportion of successful candidates coming from Oxbridge universities remained stable between 2003 and 2004.
The most common degree disciplines amongst those recommended for appointment to the General Fast Stream were Humanities and Social Science, with 61.1 per cent of successful candidates coming from these disciplines. In the Statisticians scheme, which requires a numerate degree, 55.8 per cent of those recommended for appointment had a background in mathematical sciences. A background in economics is a requirement of the Economist scheme, and 88.7 per cent of its successful candidates had an economics–based first degree.
The Analysis by University table [PDF 67KB, 3 pages] lists the University of First Degree for both applicants and successful candidates.
The Analysis by Degree Type table [PDF 63KB, 1 page] details the degree types of applicants and successful candidates in line with the categories of the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
The Open Fast Stream Diversity Trends table [PDF 64KB, 2 pages] provides overall diversity trend data over the last seven years for all the open Fast Streams. Chart 3 shows how the number of applicants to all Fast Stream schemes has changed since 1998.
Chart 3 – Number of Applications by Year and Gender 3
Chart 4 shows how the proportion of candidates who were recommended for appointment has changed since 1998 in terms of gender distribution.
Chart 4 – Success Rates 4 by Year and Gender
The General Fast Stream Diversity Trends table [PDF 66KB, 2 pages] provides diversity trend data over the last seven years for the GFS scheme alone.
Footnotes