Everyone Belongs: Collegiate University Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan launches

Professor Tim Soutphommasane (pictured left) and Helen Mountfield KC (pictured right)

What is the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategic Plan? And what are we doing on EDI? The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan articulates an EDI vision for the collegiate University, our objectives and the approach that we will take in achieving them. 

Key highlights:

• During EDI inductions at 17 colleges during Freshers Week, undergraduate and postgraduate freshers had an opportunity to explore their role in creating an inclusive student experience.
• Existing work relating to gender equality, race equality and LGBTQ+ inclusion will continue and efforts on disability inclusion and accessibility will be strengthened.
• A racial and religious inclusion task and finish group will be established this term.

What is our work on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) about? It is a question we are often asked.

For us, the work of EDI in Oxford is very simple. We want Oxford to be a collegiate University where everyone belongs and is supported to succeed. And we believe that EDI is about creating the conditions of excellence in our teaching, research and engagement.

The launch of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan caps off a year’s effort from colleagues and students. The plan, developed through extensive consultation, is the first time we have articulated an EDI vision for the collegiate University as a whole.

This plan highlights four key objectives for our efforts relating to our culture, our work, our diversity and our leadership. We aim to advance this work guided by the values of curiosity, community, courage and excellence. We are emphatic in believing that a commitment to equality and diversity goes hand in hand with a commitment to academic freedom and free speech.

We recognise that the work of EDI is not always straightforward. Questions relating to diversity and identity can be contentious. As our recent research into British attitudes about EDI shows, people are often nervous about not knowing how to talk about diversity in the right way.

Against this background, it is more important than ever that we are prepared to be curious about differences and to be generous towards one another. That is the culture that we want to model across the collegiate University.

At the start of this term, we conducted EDI inductions for undergraduate and graduate freshers at 17 colleges. During these inductions, we facilitated conversations among students about how we can have an inclusive student experience. Along with colleagues involved in leading these inductions, we were impressed by how students engaged with scenarios involving issues including sexual inequality, disability, antisemitism and Islamophobia. Their discussion was sensitive, nuanced and imaginative.

These are the kinds of conversation we can have more of. This term, we will be rolling out new training for student leaders in our college common rooms (JCRs and MCRs). Staff will also have more opportunities to engage, with EDI being integrated into more professional development offerings and more regular briefings for senior managers and leaders.

Our existing work relating to gender equality, race equality, and LGBTQ+ inclusion will continue. There will be strengthened efforts on disability inclusion and accessibility, including through our digital accessibility programme. Reflecting our desire for collegiate University progress, we will be investigating how we can better collect diversity data relating to staff – including those employed by colleges. And, given our ambition for Oxford to be a leader on EDI, we hope to continue partnering with organisations to foster public conversations about equality and diversity.

We recognise, too, that EDI work must be responsive to events. Many in our collegiate University community have experienced a challenging time. Last academic year, along with the Vice-Chancellor and other senior colleagues, we heard from Jewish students and staff about experiences of antisemitism. We have heard from Muslim students about episodes of Islamophobia encountered on Oxford’s streets.

It is essential that everyone in our collegiate University understands that we do not tolerate any form of racism. We unequivocally reject and condemn any discrimination or harassment based on ethnicity, race or faith. 

Recognising the challenging time that some in our community have had, we will be establishing a racial and religious inclusion task and finish group this term. The group will bring together staff and students from across the collegiate University. It will be tasked with considering student experiences relating to racial and religious inclusion, and how we can strengthen our institutional responses to discrimination.

There is, of course, more that we can do on EDI. And we will. We hope that staff and students in Oxford will join us.