equality challenge unit annual review of 2011 · an overview of our work in 2011 and the impact...

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Equality Challenge UnitAnnual Review of 2011

We knoW inequality in He Can mean…

…Failing to attraCt and retain tHe talents oF diverse staFF.

Female staff, disabled staff and black and minority ethnic staff are = unlikely to be promoted to professor level or senior management.

Disabled staff can have problems obtaining reasonable adjustments = and support.

Disabled staff, women and black staff were submitted at a lower rate = to the Research Assessment Exercise, which may impact on submission to the Research Excellence Framework.

Female research staff are considering an institution’s commitment to = gender equality before applying for jobs.

…Failing to provide a supportive and inspiring experienCe For all students.

Students from black and some minority ethnic backgrounds are less = likely to achieve a first or 2:1 qualification than white students.

Processes to meet the needs of international students with = protected characteristics (eg disabled students, lesbian, gay and bisexual students) are not in place in all institutions.

Many students are carefully considering the equality credentials of = institutions before they apply.

…losing out in an inCreasingly Competitive He environment.

This is ECU’s review of our work with the higher education sector across the UK, and the further education sector in Scotland during 2011. We hope that the information and spotlights on specific initiatives give you a flavour of what ECU does, why we are here and how we work in partnership with universities and colleges.

Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) works to further and support equality and diversity for staff and students in higher education across all four nations of the UK, and in further education in Scotland.

What we do We work closely with colleges and universities to seek to ensure that staff and students are not unfairly excluded, marginalised or disadvantaged because of age, disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or through any combination of these characteristics or other unfair treatment.

How we work Providing a central source of expertise, research, advice and leadership, we support institutions in building a culture that provides equality of both opportunity and outcome, promotes good relations, values the benefits of diversity and provides a model of equality for the wider UK society.

Contents

WelCome 4

no barriers to progression 6

tHe CHanCe to suCCeed 8

enHanCing reputation and adding value 10

our support For universities and Colleges 12

you said… 14

strategiC aim: evolve 18

strategiC aim: assist 22

strategiC aim: transForm 26

strategiC aim: understand 30

Working in partnersHip 34

our Work – responding to your priorities 36

our Funding in 2011 40

Here to Help – tHe eCu team 44

a strong board 48

any questions 52

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WelCome

As mentioned, we also undertook our first sector survey to aide our understanding of your concerns and to measure the impact of our work. Thank you to everyone including heads of institutions, human resources and equality and diversity practitioners for sharing your thoughts with us. The quotes, facts and statistics you see throughout this review come from this major piece of work.

The diversity of the sector means that individual institutions have different priorities, specialisms and demographics that impact on their approach to equality and diversity. I have met with many vice-chancellors and other leaders over the past year. Some consider equality to be part of their core mission, some see the ‘business case’ of the benefits of equality, while others are interested in legal compliance. Some institutions may feel that we ask too much of them – that compliance with legal requirements is where the agenda should stop – while others call for us to push the agenda further. With such differences, ECU may not always be able to meet the expectations of everyone but we are committed to supporting all institutions in advancing the agenda, whatever their perspective.

I truly believe that we can attain substantive equality and diversity in our lifetime. Indeed, I think it is inevitable. We are on a journey that, notwithstanding setbacks, is irreversible and universities and colleges have the opportunity to be at the forefront of this progress.

David RuebainChief Executive, ECU, [email protected]

ECU’s mission is to support institutions to advance equality and diversity, providing

a central resource offering sector-specific expertise, guidance, advice, and leadership. This review offers an overview of our work in 2011 and the impact that it had on the sector and seeks to illustrate that equality is at the core of providing first-class higher education.

As widely expected, 2011 continued to be a year of change and uncertainty for the higher education sector. The full impact of the HE white paper, fee and student-number changes has still to be understood, but there are worrying signs that in some cases the great strides forward that the sector had made in equality may be whittled back by the encroaching fear of higher fees and the AAB/core and margin proposals.

The findings of the first of our sector-wide surveys paint a diverse picture. For some, there remains a steadfast support for, and understanding of, the role that equality plays in a successful and responsive institution. Others have found the need to place additional, competing demands on staff with a remit for equality and diversity.

Either way, ECU believes that the current situation in fact makes continued investment in equality and diversity an institutional priority; especially with an increasingly competitive sector, the drive to put students at the centre of a university’s mission and the upcoming Research Excellence Framework.

For us, 2011 was also a year of change, marking our ten-year anniversary and launching our new strategy, evolve=assist=transform=understand.

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For staFF, equality Can mean…

‘For any higher education institution, it is a strategic imperative to ensure the skills and talents of all staff are

maximised. Enabling all staff to work to their full potential drives an institution forward and builds an inclusive environment that encourages staff retention and excellence.’ Professor Michael Brown, Vice-chancellor, and Sir Bert Massie, Governor, Liverpool John Moores University, Foreword to Enabling equality: furthering disability equality for staff in higher education (ECU, 2011)

Only 19.1% of professors are women.

96.4% of senior managers are white.

Equality in HE: statistical report 2011 (ECU, 2011)

‘[My manager] is incredibly supportive and has helped me to alter my working patterns to ensure I can continue to work effectively for the organisation while not jeopardising my health.’

‘As a disabled academic, I am isolated and ignored. My past experience is undervalued and unrecognised. There are no opportunities for recognition or progression, and it is horrendous to be continuously overlooked in favour of other staff (less experienced etc.) who achieve this because their “face fits”. Ultimately, if I could afford to leave I would.’

‘I feel that my employer likes to talk about being inclusive, but that they find the practice messy and inconvenient.’

‘The support has provided me with a lifeline – I would not otherwise be able to carry out my work effectively.’

Enabling equality: furthering disability equality for staff in HE (ECU, 2011)

The experience of black and minority ethnic staff in HE in England (ECU, 2011)

…no barriers to progression

‘BME staff spoke of being ruled out for promotion; of not being encouraged to apply; of being given no good reason

for their lack of progress; of having to insist on being considered for training opportunities. In sum, of their being stuck, and being made to stick, for no clear reason in relation to less experienced white colleagues making advances in their careers.’

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For students, equality Can mean…

‘Participating in [ECU and the Higher Education Academy’s] programme helped us focus on performance outcomes,

and their importance for our black and minority ethnic students. It is important to make sure our students maximise their potential and this is especially true as we enter into a new era of changes in funding with all the implications for institutions of a more discerning student population.’ Baroness Blackstone, Vice-chancellor, University of Greenwich,Foreword to Improving the degree attainment of black and minority ethnic students (ECU/Higher Education Academy, 2011)

29.8%

9.1%

14.4%

4.5%

6.1%

The attainment gap is highest = between white and black students. The difference was 29.8% in 2009/10.

Assumed unemployment rates = were higher for male leavers (9.1%) than for female leavers (6.1%).

14.4% = of students studying creative arts and design subjects declared a disability, only 4.5% of students on business and administration studies courses declared they were disabled.

Equality in HE: statistical report 2011 (ECU, 2011)

…tHe CHanCe to suCCeed

Religion and belief in HE: the experiences of staff and students (ECU, 2011)

‘My first day of lectures was on Yom Kippur… [one of] the three days when I come out of the woodwork and go to synagogue and I pray… my first day of lectures I was caught between a rock and a hard place.’

‘For the international students, there is a lot of fear. Many are paying high fees and some are government-sponsored, so to consider rocking the boat [by reporting discrimination or harassment] would not even enter their mind; the consequences are so high.’

‘A priest attempted to bless me along with others on the entrance to first year exams. It really upset me and I found it difficult to concentrate during the exams.’

‘Those who had changed practices and procedures foundbenefits for disabled students, along with other students, in

approaching their academic work. Instituting this cultural shift may alsoenhance the experiences of disabled international students who are not entitled to disabled students’ allowance.’Evidencing equality: increasing disclosure and take-up of DSA (ECU, 2012)

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For universities and Colleges, equality Can mean…

…enHanCing reputation and adding value

‘We made a business decision; we don’t want to lose our best staff. We really do aspire to all this good practice being business as usual.’

‘It makes a place exciting to work in, feel that it can do anything really, when you’ve got change happening and people challenging, that new ideas are supported, I think that gives an institution the edge.’

‘If we’re to attract the best then we need the best environment, the best practices.’

Athena SWAN: measuring success 2011 (ECU, 2011)

‘It does make good business sense to know who you have in your organisation… You need to create an environment in which people feel comfortable to volunteer [information].’

Religion and belief in HE: the experiences of staff and students (ECU, 2011)

‘Providing an inclusive learning environment and support infrastructure to retain, develop and motivate both staff and students from a range of backgrounds is a vital component of the university’s image as a socially responsible and responsive institution.’

University of Worcester, Joining up agendas: internationalisation and equality and diversity in higher education (ECU, 2011)

‘Inclusive strategies represent sound business sense. [ECU’s] survey demonstrated that sexual orientation and/or gender identity was a factor in the choice of institution for 14.7% of lesbian, gay or bisexual students and 23.7% of trans students.’

The experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans staff and students in HE (ECU, 2009)

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eCu supports universities and Colleges by…

…FoCusing on seCtor-speCiFiC equality issues

…providing adviCe, guidanCe, neWs and praCtiCal resourCes

‘Objective, professional and balanced.’

Head of institution

Our policy team answered over 200 queries through our advice service in 2011.

71, 805 unique visitors accessed information on our website throughout the year. We produced 24 publications including ‘how to’ leaflets for frontline staff, briefings on legislation and in-depth research reports.

549 delegates joined us during 20 workshops and seminars to develop knowledge of the Equality Act, equality considerations in the Research Excellence Framework and specific research into staff and student equality.

We welcomed representatives from 138 HEIs (82% of all UK HEIs), 15 colleges in Scotland (37%), 2 colleges in England and Wales, and 28 sector partners to our events.

In 2011 we undertook 26 projects considering a range of protected characteristics, staff and students and different functional or service areas.

We worked closely with 123 education institutions on initiatives to change practice and support staff and students.

10 regional and 3 national networks of equality practitioners working in universities and colleges fed into our work.

67 sector organisations were involved in our projects in 2011.

…advising and supporting seCtor organisations

We contributed to the steering or advisory committees of 19 stakeholder groups, including funding council committees and mission group equality forums.

We ensured equality was considered in key sector developments including the Research Excellence Framework and the Research Concordat.

We provided detailed responses to 11 government and sector consultations.

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HoW you rated tHe quality oF our Work

top 3 Frequently used resourCes

you said…

adviCe and support71.1% = of E and D practitioners had sought advice or support from us.

Of these, 81.5% were satisfied or very satisfied. 1 in 4 = HR respondents had also sought advice or support. 100% were

satisfied or very satisfied with the service provided. 86.8% = of you found the Equalitylink newsletter useful or very useful.92.5% = found our website useful or very useful.Two in three = (66.7%) of HR practitioners agreed or strongly agreed that

our work helped to support line managers and staff at their institution.

making a diFFerenCe67.5% (over 2 in 3 respondents) said our work had led their institution to undertake specific equality and diversity activities.

195 equality and diversity practitioners, human resources leads and heads of institutions completed our annual sector survey in 2011. You can read a summary online: www.ecu.ac.uk/about-us/annual-survey.

Guidance and good practice publications

ECU website Seminars, conferences, and events

Equality Act briefings

Religion and belief in HE: researching the experiences of staff and students

Equality in HE: statistical report

‘ECU is a key agency for the sector, providing expert, evidence-based reports and positions on key aspects of equalities work. Distribution of ECU resources has been valuable for drawing a wider group of managers into the frame of appreciating the formative value of equality and diversity work.’

Head of institution

top 3 Frequently used publiCations

Excellent(45.2%)

Good(42.0%)

Average(7.4%)

Fair(2.1%)

Poor(3.2%)

76.3% = of equality and diversity (E and D) practitioners and 30.8% of HR leads were frequent users of our services and resources.

64.3% = of the responding heads of institutions were aware of our objectives and familiar with resources and services.

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‘It’s impossible to over-state ECU’s impact on raising the profile of equality and diversity in the sector: ECU just is the source of clear, authoritative guidance, presented in a way that is unfussy and practical. The level of professionalism forestalls many of the criticisms levelled at equality work.’

you said…

‘I believe ECU's work had significant impact in our institution's efforts to investigate the disabled staff experience.’

Equality and diversity practitioner

‘Your advice and guidance, materials and publications are of much more value to me than other bodies which take a more generic approach.’


‘It is really important to have someone like ECU in place, so that you can feel reassured that you are doing the right things and if you are not, that they are there to help you.’


‘It would be difficult without [ECU’s] sector-wide perspective to give credence to our work and its very existence gives support and weight to the importance of equality within the sector.’



‘The lead ECU offers to the sector… pushes us along to try and adopt the best practice. Without the ECU’s lead we might hold back a little more.’

Head of institution

‘My role as equality lead would be almost impossible to manage without access to the ECU website supplying all the information you require for the role. I view the information provided by ECU as a major part of my CPD.’


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STRATEGIC AIM: Helping institutions to meet tHe CHallenges oF an evolving eConomiC and Funding environment

equality and tHe researCH exCellenCe FrameWork

Supporting institutions, REF assessment units, panels and subpanels to understand their obligations to equality and ensure the widest possible range of submissions.

ECU has been involved from the early stages of the development of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions and assigning funding to them. As part of the REF Equality and Diversity Advisory Group we have been able to help shape the framework and guidance.

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the selection rates for staff with a declared disability, women (particularly aged 30-50) and black staff were low. Equality is being taken very seriously in the REF – institutions that don’t provide a satisfactory code of practice for staff selection procedures will not be able to submit at all.

Throughout 2011 we developed and held training for REF managers and equality and diversity practitioners as well as producing guidance for panels on equality requirements, information on developing a code of practice, and a range of materials on equality impact assessments and templates for staff to disclose personal circumstances. We have a dedicated section of our website that will continue to be developed to support the submissions process: www.ecu.ac.uk/our-projects/REF.

It is clear that the changes to the higher education sector, including planning for the implementation of fees and changes to funding structures, continued to impact on your work and equality in 2011.

ECU aimed to help institutions as they tried to meet these evolving challenges, and to focus on the role equality and diversity can play in improving the staff and student experience at this critical time.

In an increasingly competitive environment, higher education institutions are adopting varied strategies to attract talented students from overseas. In 2011, we worked closely with the Scottish higher education sector to investigate how progressing equality and diversity can improve the quality of the student experience and help institutions to compete in the global market.

We have yet to see the effect of higher fees on equality and diversity in higher education, but we have developed links with the Office of Fair Access to ensure that we can be involved in a sector-wide solution.

you told us… that you are trying to meet increased expectations with reduced resources, and that people new to equality and diversity were having to grapple with the remit.

In 2011 we increased the number of our free workshops and events, and repeated them across various regions. These sessions allowed practitioners to develop in-depth knowledge and increase their expertise to ensure that their institution could meet and exceed legal requirements and student expectations.

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you said…

68.9%= agreed or strongly agreed we effectively aided the HE sector’s management of equality considerations in the current economic and political environment. 89.0%= agreed or strongly agreed that our services and resources articulated the key equality and diversity issues facing the sector.

‘Without the sector-specific guidance provided by ECU the role of equality practitioners would be much more difficult and equalities work within HE would suffer. ECU’s guidance… is invaluable in what can be a very complex role.’


‘I find ECU extremely useful and valuable to my role. Often the role is a single person within an HEI, and externally this [is] the first place I turn to for advice, guidance, see the latest research/publications and see how other universities manage their diversity issues.’


‘I have found Strategic Approaches to Disabled Student Engagement particularly useful… departments are becoming increasingly interested in using [the] student voice to improve their course design and delivery but they are not always confident about involving disabled students.’


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STRATEGIC AIM: assisting institutions to meet and embed tHe requirements and ambitions oF equality legislation

keeping up WitH tHe equality aCt

2011 was another busy year keeping up with changes to equality legislation. With most of the Equality Act 2010 in place, the sector started the year gearing up to comply with the specific duties underpinning the public sector equality duty – which were due to come in to force that April.

ECU joined forces with the Higher Education Equal Opportunities Network (HEEON) to provide four regional events throughout March to help 81 HR and equality and diversity practitioners get to grips with the forthcoming specific duties for England.

On the day of our first event, and with less than a month to go before implementation, the Government Equalities Office announced the withdrawal of the specific duties for England. The Scottish Government also decided to withdraw the duties for Scotland in March, in order to include further specific detail – we responded to the consultation on the changes. In Wales the proposed specific duties went through as planned, resulting in a complex equality map across the country. We amended our materials to reflect the replacement duties, ensured the sector was kept up to date and issued revised guidance to reflect the changes.

With an increasing number of institutions operating overseas, we also issued guidance on the likely impact of the Equality Act on international activities.

2011 was the year in which we all got to grips with the ever-changing Equality Act. Institutions started to put measures in place to ensure they could meet the new requirements of the legislation, and ECU continued to provide updates and guidance on these new areas.

Alongside the Equality Act came the abolition of the default retirement age, prompting a rethink of flexible retirement and managing extended working lives. We worked with Oxford Brookes University Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice on resources for institutions to help them tackle employment planning.

you told us… that you valued our sector specific guidance and that our Equality Act briefings were vital in keeping you informed of the changes to equality legislation.

Aware of the limited resources in the sector and the demands of implementing new work, we also concentrated on what could be learned and adapted from the excellent work undertaken in the sector to meet previous equality legislation. HEFCE commissioned us to evaluate the success of disability schemes in higher education in England and the impact on staff and students and we published recommendations and guidance based on this.

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78.1%= of E and D practitioners and 64.1% of HR respondents (76.0% overall) had used the Equality Act briefings in the last 12 months. Our 2011 Equality Act briefings have been downloaded over = 1100 times.

Keep up to date with the Equality Act: www.ecu.ac.uk/subjects-equality-act-2010. Find out more about HEEON: www.heeon.ac.uk.

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you said…

‘The publications which detailed the changes introduced by the Equality Act 2010 were excellent, comprehensive and specific to the needs of HEIs during a period of significant change.’


‘When the university was reviewing its monitoring of protected characteristics to prepare for the Equality Act, we decided to put a case forward for [sexual orientation] monitoring. This required putting a case to the senior management team in HR as to the benefits… ECU were extremely helpful in advising me on the business case and on good practice, and we gained approval to extend the monitoring of our staff system and e-recruitment systems to include these wider characteristics.’


‘A vital ingredient to keep my knowledge up to date. Interpreting the Equality Act has been a struggle; ECU has helped me to do this.’


‘The professional support offered to all equality specialists by ECU is critical to ensure consistency and legal compliance across all HEIs.’


83.6% = of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that our services and resources helped the higher education sector as a whole to implement new legislation.

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STRATEGIC AIM: developing strategies to transForm systemiC or Cultural praCtiCes and approaCHes WHiCH unFairly exClude, marginalise or disadvantage individuals or groups

Systemic discrimination occurs when strategies, cultures and practices in an organisation disadvantage specific groups of people. Sometimes referred to as institutional discrimination, it is often unintentional. However, it is insufficient just to get people to the same starting point, when embedded discrimination may continue to disadvantage people.

you told us… that you were looking at ways to close the attainment gap between white and black students, that you were serious about increasing women’s representation in science, engineering and technology (SET) departments, senior management and professorial level, and that this issue also affected BME staff.

Funded by HEFCE’s Leadership, governance and management fund, we undertook research to document the experience of black and minority ethnic staff and investigate how institutional policy and practice may affect BME staff members differently. The report emphasises how the lived experience of discrimination damages individual lives, suffocates talent and fundamentally undermines the very purpose and efficiency of the institutions in which we work.

The HE sector is beginning to understand systemic barriers to progression and to tackle the complex issues behind them. Our joint work with the Higher Education Academy on BME attainment continued in 2011, and we’ve been supporting universities and colleges in Scotland to mainstream equality into their core functions through an action learning programme.

We also launched two systemic change pilots, working closely with groups of institutions to advance race equality and gender equality for staff. The initiatives will be measured and evaluated over the next year, with the intention of sharing what works across the sector.

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Women’s Career progression in set

The Athena SWAN Charter is a scheme that recognises excellence in science, engineering and technology (SET) employment for women in HE. In 2011 we measured the impact the charter has had on the number and level of women in SET in higher education since its launch in 2005.

The impact study was conducted through interviews and focus groups in five Athena SWAN award holding institutions, and clearly shows that the charter has instigated changes for individuals, SET departments and whole institutions.

The key findings on the impact of Athena SWAN include:Increased representation of women at higher academic grades, =

applying for promotion and an increased proportion of female SET students and academics.

Formalising and focussing gender equality initiatives. =A driving force in bringing about cultural change. =By the end of 2011 there were 69 Athena SWAN members; 52% of all eligible HEIs.

‘We wanted to send a message to the staff that we took them seriously and we wanted to work at conditions that would make them perform to the best that they could, that the conditions were not inhibiting what they did.’

‘As an institution we wouldn’t have been recognised as a Top 50 Employer if we didn’t have SWAN.’Athena SWAN: measuring success 2011 (ECU, 2011) www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/athena-swan-measuring-success-2011.

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T 81.9% = agreed or strongly agreed that we have been effective in assisting in developing and improving equality policies and practices at their institution.

72.3% = of E and D practitioners, 70.3% of heads of institutions, and 48.4% of HR leads agreed that our work led to their institution undertaking specific equality and diversity activities.

‘We have reformed our E and D committee to take a more proactive role in developing and monitoring equality strategies and related targets.’

Head of institution

‘I used publications such as research on transgender staff and students and the pregnancy and maternity leave guidance to train staff and students’ union staff and managers generally.’


‘Recent publication on disabled staff has helped to promote change within university.’


‘Participating in the project about disabled staff has led to the re-emergence of a staff disability forum in the university, which is excellent.’


‘We have leaned heavily on guidance on best practice around faith and belief, particularly with regards to the services we provide and accommodations we make to provide access to all aspects of university life.’


‘The current systemic change project has driven particular action to be taken perhaps sooner and in a more strategic way than would otherwise have happened.’


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STRATEGIC AIM: gatHering and using evidenCe oF, and data on, equality and diversity WitHin tHe HigHer eduCation seCtor at a national and loCal level

With increased demand on resources, it was clear during 2011 that it was becoming more necessary than ever for institutions to identify where to target their equality work most effectively. The pressures of a more market-led sector also made it imperative that institutions start to understand their student population in more detail.

Added to this, the public sector equality duties extended the data requirements to cover sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion and belief and pregnancy and maternity – some areas where not much data for staff or students existed.

you told us… that national equality data helps you to benchmark your progress against the rest of the sector and that there were gaps in your knowledge of the equality issues around new protected characteristics on campus.

We revised and extended our annual Equality in HE: statistical report to provide more information about the national equality picture, and also to examine how having a combination of protected characteristics can affect the potential of staff and students. The statistics report was often highlighted by practitioners as an important source for quantitative evidence for specific equality and diversity activities.

We also worked with HESA to update the online data management tool heidi equality which allows you to manipulate and analyse the information from the statistics report. Our guidance on designing and undertaking staff and student equality surveys helped institutions to understand more about their local environment.

Our in-depth research into the experiences of black and minority ethnic staff (academic and non-academic) and into the experiences of staff and students with a religion or belief provided rich qualitative data in new areas. Both studies were reported in the media, bringing the issues to wider attention.

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religion and belieF in He: understanding tHe experienCes oF staFF and students

Whether the ethos of a higher education institution is self-consciously secular or based on a religious heritage, all of us have had to address shifts in the role and nature of religion or belief in higher education.

Based on survey responses from 3077 HE staff and 3935 students, supplemented by in-depth case-study work, focus groups and interviews, our research was the first of its kind to focus on whether, and how, the experiences of staff and students on campus differ because of their religion or belief. Large numbers of people who consider themselves to be of no religion took part.

Discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief was found to be low in higher education, but there was an inconsistent approach to monitoring and responding to it when it occurred. Issues were raised around the prevalence of alcohol, provision for different dietary requirements and the use of spaces for religious observance and graduation ceremonies. Many staff respondents also called for more guidance on dealing with issues of personal identity and security, including during examination invigilation.

More than = 2 in 3 equality and diversity practitioners (67.5%) surveyed had participated in the religion and belief research project and/or used its associated publication, as had 38.5% of HR respondents.

You told us that our research was useful in highlighting gaps in current = provision and providing an evidence base for further work in this area. In several cases the research report had spurred on specific equality and diversity activities, such as the creation of religion and belief forums.

you said… 70.4% = agreed or strongly agreed that our services and resources had

helped their institution gather evidence to promote inclusion and progression for staff and students.

64.9% = of E and D practitioners surveyed had used the annual statistical report in the last twelve months.

57% = of E and D practitioners had either used heidi equality or made use of data from heidi equality in the last 12 months.

‘Research projects give credibility to promoting good practice within the institution. Student Attainment and Ethnicity Project helped us focus on what we could achieve rather than revisiting the data.’


‘I have found the statistical reports useful because the information is presented in a user-friendly way, and gives an overview of the HE sector, which is useful for comparisons. Publications which research particular group experiences in higher education are helpful because although we know that such experiences exist, it can be difficult to find evidence to support the anecdotal.’


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For ECU, engagement with people, institutions and organisations across the

sector is essential. Dialogue with the sector allows us to understand the areas where our support is needed, where the big challenges are. Joint working with institutions and partner organisations means our work can reach further, and help to bring about real change.

Working in partnersHip

Stakeholder engagement is at the core of our strategy for 2011-13. Over the next year we will be encouraging even more conversation about our work, including the resources and materials that we provide. We’ve developed a national college liaison group for Scottish FE providers that will continue to grow in 2012. We know from what you’ve told us that we need to build more links with the academic community, with students’ unions and human resources. I look forward to talking to as many of you as possible in the coming year.

Chris Hall Head of Stakeholder Relations and Communications, [email protected]

‘Equality practitioners can be quite isolated as there is often only one person within an institution with the remit… having the support of the ECU staff and the organised network of practitioners is vital in ensuring that best practice is spread throughout the sector.’


Our conversations are carried out through attending regional networks of HE and FE equality and diversity practitioners, meetings with vice-chancellors and committee chairs, mission groups and funding councils, and for the first time in 2011, through a sector-wide survey. By listening to the needs and concerns of stakeholders we can ensure that our work is relevant and focussed, and importantly, responsive to the rapidly changing HE environment. We also ensure we talk to the whole of the UK, attending networks in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Over the past year, the Scottish HEI liaison group in particular has developed a strong role in guiding our work to meet the particular challenges present in Scotland.

‘By working collaboratively with ECU and alongside other HEI's it has enabled us to gain buy-in from different parts of the university.’

138 = HEIs, 33 colleges in Scotland, four colleges in England, and four sector partners were members of practitioner networks.

We engaged with a = total of 86 sector partners across the main areas of our work.

We have a strong history of working closely with sector organisations, joining together to maximise our unique areas of expertise. Partners include the Higher Education Academy, Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, the funding councils, the Research Excellence Framework team, the Association of University Administrators, to name but a few. Most recently we have been working with the Office of Fair Access to help join up activity undertaken by widening participation and equality and diversity departments.

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our Work – responding to your priorities

you face, and responding to these has been one of the main influences on planning our future work.

The process of planning and preparing for our national biennial conference in November 2012 is well underway. We know that the theme, Enhancing reputation: adding value through equality, will strike a chord with many of you. We hope that you will find the programme engaging and thought-provoking. I hope to see many of you there, and look forward to working closely with all higher education institutions over the next year.

Gary Loke Head of Policy, [email protected]

ECU launched a new strategy in 2011 developed through consultation with

the higher education sector, our funders, HE sector bodies, equality organisations and individual practitioners. Our 2011 work was developed to help achieve the aims set out in the strategy.

‘Equality and diversity practitioner

Head of institution

The higher education sector is diverse: institutions vary in size, staff-student ratio, discipline focus, institutional priorities and many other aspects. This gives rise to the challenge of ensuring that our work meets many differing needs. We ensure that we involve as wide a range of institutions as possible in projects, considering, for example, mission group, geographical area, staff and student demographics, research or teaching focus, or specialism. Most importantly, a pre-requisite for involvement in some projects is clearly stated support for the work from the HEI’s senior management. It is through this high-level support that our projects have really started to have an impact on the workings of institutions.

In 2011, 123 HE and FE institutions were directly involved in projects. According to our survey, you’ve found many benefits from being involved, from driving forward and giving more weight to your work, to networking with other institutions and sharing best practice. If you would like to take part in our work in 2012, keep an eye out for open invitations and calls for contributions on our website and in our Equalitylink newsletter.

2012 and beyondIn 2012, the focus is on practical resources and events, and targeted briefings underpinned by in-depth research. Our 2011 survey feedback has helped us to understand your equality priorities and the challenges

‘Participation [in the project] has been very useful in driving forward the equality agenda at my institution, by giving weight to the initiatives we are involved in.’

‘The key challenge is to carry the whole organisation in seeing E and D as formative benefits that improve key aspects of teaching, research and engagement, rather than as compliance or risk management options.’

‘The challenge is to mainstream equality and make it an integral part of our decision making processes.’

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in 2011…

67 sector partners

103 HEIs

17 colleges in Scotland

three colleges in England

…Were involved in our projeCts

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our Funding in 2011

ringFenCed FundingWe received ringfenced funding for specific projects and areas of work, including:Scotland-specific projects (SFC) =Supporting FE colleges in Scotland (SFC) =Athena SWAN Charter =

In 2011, the Athena SWAN Charter was funded by ECU and supported by:Higher Education Funding Council for England =The Royal Society =The UKRC =Scottish Funding Council =Biochemical Society =Higher Education Funding Council for Wales =

bespoke serviCesIn 2011 we began to offer additional fee-based services to individual higher education institutions when requested.

otHerThis includes income from external conference fees and consultation.

total inCome

Total: £1,487,168

Notes: Figures relate to the calendar year 2011. Our financial year is April to March.

Core FundingECU receives core funding from the following HE sector bodies:

Core funding£1,223,752

Ringfencedfunding£227,224 Other

£7,564

Bespoke services£28,628

Higher Education Funding Council for England =Scottish Funding Council (SFC) =Higher Education Funding Council for Wales =Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland =GuildHE =Universities UK =

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HoW We used it

outgoings

Total: £1,608,240

Notes:Figures relate to the calendar year 2011. Our financial year is April to March.Expenditure exceeds income by just over one hundred thousand pounds. Carry forward from the 2010/11 financial year made this possible.

FurtHering equalityOur activities to further equality and diversity for the sector included:26 projects including related events and workshops =Staff team =Delivery of the Athena SWAN Charter and awards =Production and distribution of publications, guidance and materials =Advice service, website and communications =Conference fees and related staff expenses =

governanCe and running CostsThe costs of maintaining and developing our expert team includes:Temporary support =Recruitment =HR, occupational health and health and safety support =Staff learning and development =Board of Trustees =Administration =IT =Fixed costs including premises =Legal fees =Accounting fees =


FurtHer inFormation Our full accounts for our financial year 2010/11 are available on our website: www.ecu.ac.uk/about-us/annual-accounts. 2011/12 accounts will be available in July 2012.

‘I really do not know what I would do without the resources and guidance provided by ECU. Well actually, I do, I would have to spend huge amounts of time sourcing the information for myself – such a waste of energy and individual institution resources.’

Governanceand runningcosts £327,694

Furtheringequality£1,280,546

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Here to Help – tHe eCu team

‘All I can say is that staff that work for ECU are worth their weight in gold. Your professionalism, guidance and advice is invaluable!’

Emily Blandford, Communications OfficerFatima Choudhury, Engagement Officer (FE)Freya Douglas, Scottish Engagement Officer

resourCes teamJuliet Adams, Head of ResourcesJonathan Gascoigne, Operations and Business Support ManagerVictoria Walter, Events and Resources Manager, PA to David RuebainJoy Henry, Unit Support Officer

2011 ColleaguesThe following colleagues were part of ECU’s team in 2011:Ray Arunchote, IT ManagerNeil Baker, Senior Policy AdviserKate Byford, Senior Policy Adviser (Maternity cover)Sue Cavanagh, Deputy Chief Executive Deepty Harji, Unit Support OfficerSarah Hawkes, Senior Policy AdviserStuart Moore, Policy Adviser


‘All the staff are friendly… they are invaluable at regional equality meetings.’

Human Resources practitioner

Above: Some of the ECU team

CHieF exeCutiveDavid Ruebain

poliCy teamGary Loke, Head of PolicyChris Brill, Senior Policy Adviser, Disability, ageSarah Dickinson, Senior Policy Adviser, Athena SWANAmy Felsinger, Senior Policy Adviser, Disability, ageClaire Herbert, Senior Policy Adviser, RaceEllen Pugh, Senior Policy Adviser, Gender and gender identityClare Pavitt, Senior Policy Adviser, Sexual orientation, religion and beliefPeter Mason, Athena SWAN OfficerStephanie Neave, Research and Data OfficerPolly Williams, Senior Policy Adviser (maternity cover)

stakeHolder relations and CommuniCations teamChris Hall, Head of Stakeholder Relations and CommunicationsAnna Roberts Allison, Communications Manager

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tHe team

ECU launched an ambitious new three-year strategy in 2011 and the first half of the year

was dedicated to restructuring the ECU team to ensure we would be in a position to deliver on this.

Key to the changes was the need to strengthen the policy team, bringing in more senior policy advisers

and employing a research and data officer. This has enabled us to be more responsive to the sector, without compromising on our planned project work.

Our increased commitment to involve and respond to our stakeholders prompted the creation of a new stakeholder relations and communications team which leads on our stakeholder engagement work, increased publication output and our growing presence in Scotland.

The resources team was cut back and roles redefined to ensure a stable infrastructure underpinning the organisation's work. This team is responsible for business development and management of events as well as overseeing operational needs including HR and finance provision.

Restructuring an organisation is never easy and difficult decisions had to be taken. However, there have been clear benefits within the organisation and feedback from the sector suggests that the changes have been welcomed. I would like to take this opportunity to thank ECU's team, past and present, for their commitment and understanding during what was a transitional year and, of course, for their outstanding contribution to our work.

Juliet Adams Head of Resources, [email protected]

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a strong board – joint CHairs

lead From tHe top‘Responsibility for equality and diversity for all staff and all students does not only sit with the specialist practitioners working in our institutions – it is also the responsibility of every single person on campus, from the students to the vice-chancellor.

It is the commitment of the vice-chancellor and senior management, however, that can be the deciding factor in whether initiatives can make a real and lasting difference to staff, students and to an institution’s reputation.

All universities publish an equality statement of some kind – the leadership team must prove that they really mean it.’

Professor Janet Beer, ECU Joint Chair,Vice-chancellor, Oxford Brookes University

quality needs diversity ‘I hold the view that diversity has an inherent educational value. By diversity I mean the existence and availability of different points of view, rooted in different life experiences. The educational value of diversity arises from using these different points of view as a learning experience.

A university is an institution of learning. We will learn more from those people, those ideas, those circumstances and those phenomena that we do not know, than from those we know only too well. I summarise this view in the phrase quality needs diversity. Without allowing diversity into our frame of reference we will not, I believe, attain true quality.’

Professor Chris Brink, ECU Joint Chair,Vice-chancellor, Newcastle University

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board membersProfessor Mark Cleary, Vice-chancellor, University of BradfordDr Felicity Cooke, Independent Equality PractitionerProfessor Tariq S Durrani OBE, Research Professor, University of StrathclydeMichael MacNeil, Head of Higher Education, University and College UnionProfessor Paul Olomolaiye, Pro Vice-chancellor and Executive Dean for the Faculty of Environment and Technology, University of the West of England BristolProfessor Colin Riordan, Vice-chancellor, University of EssexJenny Share, Vice Principal (Registrar), Leeds Trinity University CollegeRosemary Stamp,Director, Stamp ConsultingBarbara Stephens OBE, Director of Student Coursework and Specialist Projects, Open UniversityDavid Williams, Director of Human Resources, Swansea University

2011 board membersThe following colleagues were part of ECU’s Board in 2011:Professor John Brooks, Vice-chancellor Manchester Metropolitan University (Chair)Christina McAnea, National Secretary for Education and Children's Services, UNISON

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any questions?

ECU’s research, guidance and resources are all available on our website: www.ecu.ac.uk/publications. You can search them by title, subject or functional area. Some of our publications are produced in hard copy. Contact [email protected] if you would like a copy.

HoW do i Find out more about eCu?Visit our website for news and information about individual projects, our strategy and our work across the UK. www.ecu.ac.uk

Sign up to our newsletter Equalitylink to keep you up to date with current equality and diversity issues relevant to higher education, and the work of ECU: www.ecu.ac.uk/news/equalitylink. Over a thousand stakeholders receive updates and news ten times a year through our newsletter.

Follow us on Twitter: @EqualityinHE

Can you give me some adviCe?ECU provides advice for staff in institutions on the full range of equality and diversity issues, from developing equality objectives to supporting the needs of students. Unfortunately we can’t advise individuals but we’ll try to signpost relevant organisations in situations where we can’t help.Email: [email protected]

Have a look at our website to check if your query is one of our frequently asked questions: www.ecu.ac.uk/your-questions

If you have a question on a specific equality area, you can contact the relevant policy lead directly: www.ecu.ac.uk/contact-us

HoW do i Find tHe resourCes mentioned in tHe revieW?

How to find usEquality Challenge Unit 7th Floor, Queens House 55/56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields London WC2A 3LJ

T 020 7438 1010F 020 7438 1011E [email protected] www.ecu.ac.ukTwitter @EqualityinHE

Alternative formatsECU’s Annual Review is available in alternative formats.An accessible Word version is available to download: www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/annual-review-2011

For other formats, please contact:E [email protected] 020 7438 1023

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© Equality Challenge Unit 2012

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equality challenge unit annual review of 2011 · an overview of our work in 2011 and the impact...

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