Key points
- The speech and language therapy profession is 97% female and 3% male
- The speech and language student population is much less diverse in socio-economic terms than the student population as a whole
Careers and diversity workshop
Alongside raising the profile of speech and language therapy as a career, we are looking at ways to improve the diversity of the profession.
We recognise that the issues are complex and have been persistent over many years. In terms of career choice, young people are influenced in many different ways and by many experiences.
In June 2019, we hosted a careers and diversity workshop. This highlighted and discussed issues of diversity within the profession and developed plans to tackle them.
Workshop aims
- To develop ideas and actions to increase recognition of the profession.
- To explore why the speech and language therapy profession does not reflect the diversity of the population it serves, and develop ideas and actions to address those issues.
- To recognise the social complexity of the issues and wider impacts on diversity and career choices.
More information
Read an article about the event (PDF) featured in the September 2019 issue of Bulletin.
To note, this project was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Diversity research
We have compiled a snapshot of research about perceptions and diversity in speech and language therapy and in other healthcare professions. References are included if you would like to do further reading.
