Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Implementation Plan published
The University aspires to be a community where every person is able to be their authentic self, treated with fairness and respect and is able to thrive in their education or career.
Excellence flourishes in an environment that embraces the broadest range of people, that helps them to achieve their full potential. Plans to help progress this vision have been published this week.
The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Implementation Plan sets outs the systems, infrastructure and support we will be prioritising to help create more equitable outcomes for those who have faced structural and cultural barriers at the University.
Dr Kendi Guantai, Associate Professor and Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion said: “The EDI Implementation Plan concerns everyone in our community, and we all have a role to play in its success. It presents the ‘how’ of the EDI Strategy, and is designed to help us research better, teach better, learn better, communicate better and be better with each other.”
The EDI Plan includes Key Performance Indicators approved by Council and responds to issues flagged in our Employee Engagement Survey results.
We will be measuring and taking action to improve staff sense of belonging at the University and also to improve trust and effectiveness of our EDI-related processes. 56% of our staff believe the University is taking meaningful action on EDI and we want to see this improve year-on-year through delivery and impact.
Fiona McClement, Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, said: “There is a lot of goodwill and activity on EDI across the University, but we are not always reaping the benefits of this as much as we need to be. The EDI Implementation Plan provides a consistent approach for the strategy to be implemented as a cohesive and collaborative university-wide effort.”
Seven workstreams are being prioritised over the next two years:
- Resourcing, Rewarding and Recognising EDI work. This means making sure we have an infrastructure to deliver on our strategy and plans.
- EDI Governance. By working across the University in a unified manner, for greater impact and accountability.
- Positive Action. Through the development and roll out of new programmes for under-represented groups, we will be bold and conscientious on EDI.
- Culture, Behaviour & Systems Change. In this workstream, we will be prioritising reviewing and improving recruitment and the academic promotions process for improved EDI outcomes, and preventing and addressing unacceptable behavior.
- Data and Insight. Making high-quality EDI data much easier to better inform interventions and decision-making.
- Learning and Development. Taking a strategic approach to identifying and meeting the EDI learning needs of our community
- Equality Charter Marks. Developing evidence-based policies and practices through engagement with the Race Equality Charter and Athena Swan (which includes actions on caring responsibilities, flexible working and so forth)
The Plan follows a similar structure to the Access and Student Success Implementation Roadmap, for consistency and familiarity. It also aligns with the new Research Culture Strategy, complementing and supporting the interrelated purposes of both.