Advisory Content – this communication and attached report contains discussion of racism
Dear Colleagues
We are writing to thank everyone who took part in the Race Equality Charter staff and student surveys, and to share the results of the surveys.1,318 staff participated, a response rate of 40%, and 605 students participated, a response rate of 4%.
A summary of the results can be found in the report’s Executive Summary and the detailed staff and student responses are in sections 8 and 9 of the report.
The surveys offered the opportunity to share experiences and suggestions about race equality in the University.
The results of the surveys indicate that inequalities exist in our Institution and provide insights as to the specific areas where improvement is required to achieve our ambition of becoming an antiracist University, as set out in our Antiracism Strategy which was launched this year. We will address the issues raised in the surveys with commitment and determination and in consultation with our community. We are committed to tackling racism in all its forms, and any reports of racism by staff or students are deeply concerning to us.
The responses show the importance of fostering a sense of belonging in the working and learning environments. Staff and students have reported that they have experienced racism and are unclear as to the most appropriate route for reporting it. Staff indicated the importance of transparency in recruitment and selection and career development processes, and students indicated that race could be discussed in the learning environment more frequently.
We have identified the areas where action is required and will take forward the work through an Antiracism Strategy Action Plan, to build on the work undertaken to date. Priorities are as follows:
- Implementing and monitoring the new Recruitment and Selection Policy which has a focus on addressing under-representation and embedding equality, diversity and inclusion
- Build on the race literacy training delivered to staff, including senior management, to increase knowledge and awareness of antiracism
- Further promoting and developing our race incident reporting systems such as the Online Reporting Tool and the role of the Race Equality Champions
- Continue to drive decolonisation through the priorities and aims of the Decolonising the Curriculum Steering Group.
- Drive work on addressing the ethnicity awarding gap through our Race Equality Strategy Group
- Embedding antiracism in University initiatives and policies for staff and students through our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Student Support and Experience Committee and in all University business, working with our Court members
- Continue with a rolling programme of race listening activities to further explore the results of the survey
Our commitment to the principles of the Race Equality Charter will continue to support our work on antiracism, and the surveys will be repeated to enhance our understanding of the experiences of staff and students. Racial inequalities have no place in our University and we look forward to continuing to work with our community to tackle and dismantle it.
Thank you for engaging with this report and if you would like to provide feedback or comments, please e-mail recsurvey@abdn.ac.uk
Best wishes
Ruth Taylor
Vice-Principal (Education), Co-chair of Race Equality Strategy Group
Siladitya Bhattacharya
Head of School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, Co-chair of Race Equality Strategy Group
Support
You can seek support from the following:
Human Resources Team hr@abdn.ac.uk
- University Counselling Service counselling@abdn.ac.uk
- University’s Race Equality Network for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers racenetwork@abdn.ac.uk
- Employee Assistance Programme-Care First (detail can be found here)
- AUSA Advice team ausaadvice@abdn.ac.uk
- AUSA Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Students Forum either at ausapresident@abdn.ac.uk or bme-forum@abdn.ac.uk
Further information can be found on our Race Equality – Support website