University of Gloucestershire

Belonging: Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is a strategy for everyone.

Our Purpose

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is a strategy for everyone.

From our students and staff, and those we hope will join us in the future, to our partners, suppliers, and contractors. We intend it to be a catalyst for corporate, collaborative action, bringing about systemic change to improve our performance and reputation.

Jump to: Our vision | Our aims | Our goals | Our achievements

Our vision

To create an inclusive university where everyone is treated fairly and with respect..

Where we feel valued and have a sense of belonging.

To create a culture where it is safe to speak up and speak out and where we are empowered to grow and realise our full potential.

Our Aims

Staff and students understand their personal responsibility to role model and promote equity and they feel supported to positively challenge inequity and bias, generating change for the benefit of the University, themselves, and wider society.

As a community we respect and value diversity to enable students and staff to realise and harness their potential life and careers.

We build better, stronger, frank conversation in the University about all forms of discrimination, including racism, to ensure discrimination is challenged and eliminated.

Leaders and people managers are exemplars and proactively advance equity, diversity, and inclusion

Our governance structures themselves are, and are felt to be, inclusive, transparent, supportive, and advance equity, diversity, and inclusion.

The value and commitment we place on equity, diversity, and inclusion influences through our supply chain and partnerships.

Equality Impact Assessment are incorporated within our research planning and preparation for REF 2027.

We will be open to dialogue and challenge. Recognizing resources are finite and we will not always be able to achieve our aspirations as we might wish, we will agree priorities through dialogue.

Our Goals

Attract, retain, develop, and support a more diverse workforce – to improve the diversity of our workforce right across the University to enhance our creativity, innovation, and performance.
Improve students’ experiences, supporting their mental and physical wellbeing, creating a sense of belonging so they learn, thrive and achieve – Develop meaningful approaches to listen, hear and engage our Student Voice, taking a university-wide approach to ensure our students thrive.
Increase engagement in equity, diversity, and inclusion practice across the University through learning opportunities, joint working, and shared objectives. – We will seek opportunities to increase, and celebrate, the engagement of staff and students, recognising and rewarding the contributions they make towards achieving our vision.
Decolonise our culture and curriculum – The education we provide will be flexible and diverse, adapting to the ongoing evolution of each academic subject and its methods, to wider social, cultural, technological, and economic trends and to changes in students’ own expectations and priorities.
Inclusive Governance – that will effectively meet the needs of, and engage all our staff and students, taking account of all facets of personal identity; all our policies, processes and services are accessible, accountable, and responsive to our whole community.

Our Achievements

Find out more about our achievements below in our 2022 – 2027 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy

Our staff networks – Pride, Women’s and Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic + – are helping to shape and lead cultural change

We were one of the first 35 institutions in the UK to sign up to the Student Minds Mental Health Charter.

Our 2021 Staff Inclusion Survey indicated that 58% of staff perceive the University to be inclusive.

Whilst our Mean Gender Pay Gap has fluctuated since reporting started in 2017, it was slightly lower in 2021; our Median Gap maintains a reducing trend.

Our multi faith chaplaincy team offer a welcome Sanctuary space on each of our campuses and was rated top in the world in the International Student Barometer, 2022.

More than 300 student facing staff have been trained as Mental Health First Aiders through a partnership with SouthWest and Student Mental Health Minds.

We have an award-winning Reciprocal Mentoring programme where our students of colour partner with senior leaders in an equal, reciprocal learning relationship that brings about change at an individual and institutional level.