Foreword
Professor Kamil Omoteso
PVC Dean College of Business, Law and Social Sciences, and Chair of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
This year’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion report is underpinned by the Equity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Strategy (2022-2025). It provides a picture of embedded inclusion that enables a felt, lived, valued and inclusive experience where people feel they have purpose, place, choice and belonging.
Our EDIW Strategy is delivered through six core standards:
- a culture of belonging
- a zero-tolerance approach
- being free from bias
- having diversity of thought
- intersectional by default and a strategy for wellbeing
Through our strategy, we firmly see inclusion as everyone’s business, and we distribute accountability to deliver progress and impact.
This report draws attention to the University’s achievements this year where inclusion and wellbeing are embedded and acknowledged as a strength, such as in the recent Teaching Excellence Framework exercise, where once again the University of Derby was awarded Gold. In the Stonewall Workplace Index, the University received another gold award for its inclusive LGBTQIA+ environment and became a Top 100 employer, having improved our ranking again this year. We were the only university invited to contribute to an All-Party Parliamentary Group report on Faith Friendly Workplaces, launched at the House of Lords and we are the first university to engage in the Race Equality Code, focusing on governance practice.
The University was also awarded the best health and wellbeing initiative in the 2023 Universities Safety and Health Association (USHA), Health and Safety Awards and informed government policy on workplace menopause as we participated in a Ministerial Roundtable. The annual People and Planet audit places Derby as a top 30 University for Sustainability, rising by 29 places this year. Our successes in inclusion and wellbeing are important to us, and we continue to benchmark ourselves to identify best practice and strive for progress in all areas of inclusion and wellbeing.
We have maintained our sharp focus on equity. We have increased the diversity of our reporting pay gaps further and for the first time published our disability pay gap information. We now voluntarily publish disability and ethnicity as well as the mandated gender pay gap information. Our work to support women’s career progression remains a high priority as we prepare for Athena Swan Institutional Silver and we have taken a deep dive into our ethnicity data and await the results of our submission to the Race Equality Charter, acknowledging our gaps with planned interventions.
We recognise that there is a deeply felt connection between inclusion and wellbeing that rests in an environment where people feel psychologically safe to be their whole self. The findings from last year’s race survey told us that ethnicity is important to the way that people feel connected to us. In response, we have established the annual Race Lecture Series to promote and embed ongoing race-related dialogue.
This year we launched the Wellbeing Framework. Our approach to wellbeing is holistic and connects inclusion and wellbeing to how people experience work and is delivered through 8 pillars:
- Emotional
- Physical
- Spiritual
- Environmental
- Occupational
- Social
- Digital
- Financial
We offered a festival of workshops and seminars across all 8 pillars to support the framework’s introduction and with our awards and external collaborations, we continue to build our resources and profile.
We see development as instrumental to driving a culture of belonging and mutual respect where people can thrive whatever their background. In June we hosted the annual Inclusion Conference, which offered a diverse range of interactive workshops and this year we have offered colleagues the opportunity to participate in 61 equality, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing related activities, as well as a ‘Make Your Money Go Further’ roadshow. Our rich catalogue included awareness of: minority lived experience: gender, race, disability, neurodiversity, autism, role models and allyship and men’s mental health and wellbeing, including menopause. We have also continued to raise awareness of the issues relating to Antisemitism and Islamophobia.
A measurable impact of EDIW awareness can be found in the disclosure data included in this report. Over the last year, our data shows that the number of people refusing to disclose their protected characteristics has again decreased. We would like to see all disclosure rates continuing to rise in this way because it is a clear demonstration of a culture that has inclusion at its centre.
This report shows that we have a lot to be proud of, but we are not complacent.
The Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Strategy’s themed objectives
1 Accountability and leadership
We will embed inclusion within our governance practices to improve accountability and leadership.
Equity, inclusion, and wellbeing will be discussed openly at all levels to engender trust and remove any barriers that equip poor attitudes and hinder progress. We will actively take time to listen to people’s lived experience and shape our processes to enhance staff engagement.
2 Culture and belonging
Develop a culture that is compassionate and culturally sensitive, foregrounding connections with others through our networks; locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Collaboration is a key underpinning feature of this strategy, recognising that shared ownership will deliver success. We work closely with our critical friends, networks, allies, employees, and partners to enrich the inclusion agenda and to help us build cultural competencies within our staff and student populations and enhance and strengthen our engagement with the community.
3 Workplace representation
Evolve a workplace that prioritises diversity and equity, maximising the potential of our people.
We aim to improve equity in the workplace by taking proactive steps to empower potential and unlock talent. We will do this by attracting and retaining a diverse workforce that is representative of the city and the region, and that our leadership is representative of the staff body, thereby increasing diversity of thought.
4 Wellbeing and accessibility
Accessibility and wellbeing are inclusive and universal, creating a full people experience.
We take a holistic approach to wellbeing and prioritise workplace health and wellbeing by providing tools and a programme of activity that drives a positive wellbeing environment. Our leaders will manage wellbeing in a consistent way, undertaking open conversations that support good mental health. We will integrate universal accessibility and inclusion into the needs of the organisation, our students, and our employees. We will plan and design inclusion and wellbeing into our buildings and increase digital capabilities through learning.
5 Evaluation and recognition
Gain external recognition through inclusion and wellbeing charter marks, delivering excellence.
We will evaluate our success through the recognition we achieve in the charter marks and employer recognition schemes that we submit to. Through the Race Equality Charter and Athena Swan, our data will enable us to address race and gender equity in the employee lifecycle, our research environment, academic pipeline, and student outcomes. The Mental Health at Work Commitment will increase accountability and responsibility for workplace wellbeing.
6 Student engagement
Cultivate a landscape that embeds inclusion and enables our students to thrive, succeed and become socially transformative.
We enable successful outcomes for students by offering a diverse curriculum that is inspiring and thought provoking. We will deliver positive mental health support for all students and enable employability opportunities in real world settings.
Staff and student data
Staff data
Gender
Our staff body is made up of:
- male 41%
- female 58%
- other 1%
The number of people who identify as ‘other’ has increased from 16 in 2021-2022 to 26 this year.
Race
- all ethnic minorities groups 15%
- ethnically white 85%
The percentage of staff who identified themselves as an ethnic minority has increased this year from 13% to 15%.
Disability
- with disability 9%
- without disability 89%
The percentage of staff with a declared disability shows no increase from last year.
Sexual orientation
- lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and related communities (LGBTQIA+) 5%
- non-LGBT+ 82%
Religion and belief
- with religion and belief 50%
- without religion and belief 39%
Staff at the University observe a number of faiths and beliefs and the Religion and Belief Staff Network provides a space for dialogue and reflection.
Age
The University employs staff from a broad age range.
Student data
Gender
A slight shift towards a greater proportion of female students overall has continued, with a 1% increase this year.
Race
- all ethnic minorities groups 22%
- ethnically white 57%
Disability
- with disability 16%
- without disability 84%
Sexual orientation
The overall numbers of students from the LGBT+ communities have increased again this year. There has been a 3% reduction in the numbers who are declining to declare their sexual orientation.
Age
We have seen a decrease in our students who are under the age of 25 with a decrease of 3% for students under 21 since last year. We have seen an increase of 2% of students aged 25-29 and an increase of 3% of students aged 30 years and over.
Culture
The continuing improvements that have been achieved in relation to inclusion at the University demonstrate an intrinsic link between culture and staff satisfaction and the ways that the University strives for excellence in EDI.
Staff networks
Derby is a values-driven University, and its commitment to creating space for inclusion and a place for belonging is demonstrated in the way that it puts people at the core of its culture.
The University encourages its staff to participate in open dialogue through seven staff networks, which are:
- Gender Equality Network
- Race Equality Network
- Faith and Belief Network
- LGBTQ+ Equality Network
- Disability, Access, and Wellbeing Network
- Aurora Women's Network
- Diversifying Leadership
Each network offers, a safe space for peer-to-peer support, provides a consultation route for staff, presents opportunities to collaborate with the Union of Students, and helps embed inclusion across the whole University.
Gender Equality Network
The Gender Equality Network has celebrated International Women’s Day, Women’s History Month, International Men’s Day and Non-Binary People’s Day with workshops and communications.
Race Equality Network
The Race Equality Network has celebrated Black History Month and established the annual Race Lecturer Series. There has also been an increase in employees delivering workshops from a lived experience point of view.
Faith and Belief Network
The Faith and Belief Network has marked key religious dates throughout the year with communications and training opportunities.
LGBTQ+ Equality Network
The LGBTQ+ Equality Network has marked awareness days throughout the year. The progress flag was raised across the University sites marking LGBT+ History Month. During the month, training was delivered across the organisation to raise awareness of the issues that LGBT+ people deal with, and to give our staff the skills they need to support them.
Disability, Access and Wellbeing Network
The Disability, Access and Wellbeing Network has highlighted support and opportunities available throughout the year. Disability History Month provided an opportunity to promote the Sunflower scheme to our staff and students, which supports people with hidden disabilities.
External networking
The University continues to work with its regional partners to improve the lives of those in the community by offering the opportunity to bring together CPD (continuing professional development), research and keynotes. Collaboration of this nature is informing the way regional public services improve the delivery of inclusion agendas for their staff and services.
Wellbeing
The University takes a holistic approach to wellbeing. Throughout the year, members of staff and students were offered the opportunity to improve their understanding of wellbeing, learn to stay active, and take self-help steps to maintain positive mental and physical wellbeing. The activity included mental health awareness, understanding neurodiversity, domestic abuse, hate crime awareness, as well as a range of diversity and inclusion workshops.
