Methodology

Project team and governance

An Advisory Group provided valuable input into the design of the project and analysis of initial findings.

The project team and the Advisory Group included members with and without disabilities, to ensure the lived experience of disabled people informed not just the outcomes of the project, but also its purpose, design, direction and governance.
 

Desk review

The study began with a review of publicly available documentation published since 2022 on the experience of disabled engineers and technologists at work.

Key findings from the desk review included:

• Despite minimal industry-specific data, we know that disabled people are underrepresented in engineering and technology, and those in the industry face considerable challenges
• There is a lack of detailed guidance for managers of disabled people in engineering and technology
• The under-representation of disabled people in engineering and technology is not due to the lack of information, but more likely to the lack of implementation. This raises the question what prevents employers taking action to address this, and how could IET enable them to do so?
• The role of new technologies, such as AI, have an important role to play in addressing under-representation. How can the IET use its position to explore this in project outcomes?
• Co-creating the work with disabled people is vital to the quality, credibility and impact of the project overall.

These insights helped to establish the evidence base for the project, identify gaps in understanding, and inform the design of the next phase of the study, including the development of research questions and the approach to identifying participants.
 

Interviews and focus groups

The second phase of the project was a series of interviews and focus groups conducted with disabled engineers and technologists, line managers and HR professionals.

Between September and October 2025, the project team conducted eight focus groups and four one-to one interviews with 32 participants in total. The 32 participants comprised 23 disabled engineers and technologists, five line managers and four HR professionals.

Participants in the study were recruited by the IET. The approach to recruitment involved direct contact with known disabled engineers and technologists, circulating information about the project amongst professional networks, and leveraging IET social media and that of project team members.

The interviews and focus groups were conducted by one or more members of the project team, and Advisory Group members. The focus groups were facilitated in pairs. For the lived experience focus groups, efforts were made to ensure the facilitating pair included someone with lived experience of disability, and this was generally the case.

The interviews and focus groups explored six key questions designed to address both barriers and enablers of inclusion, and to generate practical actions for employers, managers and professional bodies. 

The questions (which were slightly adapted for different stakeholder groups) aimed to establish psychological safety, accessibility and respect for lived experience, and encourage open, reflective discussion regarding both individual and systemic challenges, as well as examples of positive practice:

1. What do you need right now to help you feel safe and participate fully in this group?
2. What positive experiences have you had, working as a disabled engineer or technologist?
3.  What are the main barriers that you face to inclusion in employment as a disabled engineer or technologist?
4.  What is needed to create an inclusive culture and working environment for disabled engineers and technologists, enabling them to enter and remain in employment?
5. What would help increase employers and managers’ awareness of disability inclusion, and the implementation of solutions required by disabled engineers and technologists?
6. What else needs to change to improve the lived experience and increase representation of disabled engineers and technologists?

The study was designed using an inclusive research approach. All the interviews and focus groups were conducted virtually, and participants were offered a range of ways of contributing: verbally, in chat or using Mural.

Participant feedback helped shape the questions, ensuring the voices of disabled engineers and technologists were front and centre of the design and interpretation of the findings.

Data analysis and sense-making

All focus groups and interviews were conducted on MS Teams and transcribed with the permission of participants.

An initial analysis of the data was conducted using two different AI tools: ChatGPT and Delve. Each transcript was reviewed to identify key phrases, experiences, and examples related to disability inclusion, barriers, enablers, and organisational context.

The initial themes were developed and findings compared across the three participant groups – disabled engineers and technologists, line managers, and HR professionals – to identify points of similarity and difference.

The findings were then grouped into overarching themes: barriers to inclusion and participation; enablers, and actions. A collaborative approach was taken to sensemaking, testing interpretations, validating themes and co-developing our compelling messages and recommendations.

This approach ensured that the findings were analytically robust and authentic to the lived experience of disabled engineers and technologists, treating participants as knowledge partners.
 

Ethical considerations

Ethical practice underpinned all stages of this research, contributing to ensuring that the project was not only about disability inclusion, but also modelled inclusion in practice.

• Participants provided informed consent and were assured of anonymity and confidentiality.
• Sessions were conducted in accessible formats with flexibility around communication preferences and participation methods.
• The research team aimed to maintain sensitivity to emotional and psychological wellbeing throughout, ensuring that individuals could withdraw or pause participation at any point.