As at 31 March 2011, 22.3% of our employees were female and 13.5% were from ethnic minority groups. This compares with respectively 22.7% and 13.5% at 31 March 2010 and 22.6% and 13.2% at 31 March 2009.

We have continued to make our inclusive leadership programme available to our middle managers in the UK, while our 'Foundations of Leadership' programme, which is aimed at the next generation of managers and which contains an inclusive leadership module, has been completed by 500 employees since 1 April 2010. In addition, in the US a programme focusing on the prevention of workplace bullying and sexual harassment was also implemented; approximately 97% of US non union employees had completed the training by 31 March 2011.

For a fourth year we have received 100% in the Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Index in the US. In the UK, we have been placed in the Top 100 of the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index for the third year running, and were also in the Times Top 50 Employers for Women. In December 2010, National Grid was featured in Profiles in Diversity Journal as a leader in diversity, and was also recognised for its work in the US on supplier diversity.

Our employee resource groups, which cover areas including gender, ethnicity, disability, faith, sexual orientation and new employees, continue to deliver results in three areas: providing professional development opportunities for members through workshops and programmes; supporting the Company’s community relations activities through fundraising, volunteering, and providing support to organisations such as the American Association of Blacks in Energy; and working to increase broader understanding of inclusion through workshops, presentations and other educational events.

We have established a programme known as 'level playing field' which seeks to address the ongoing challenge we face around retention of under represented groups such as women and ethnic minorities. The programme is designed to enhance or make better use of existing processes such as mentoring and sponsorship, drive individual accountability for inclusion within the performance management framework, and encourage the application of flexible working policies.

Link to gender and ethnicity data for senior management team