Update from Dean for Diversity and Inclusion

Over the past few months, the Diversity and Inclusion team has been working hard to advance our strategic approach and priorities. For example, we have been working with a number of colleagues across the University and representatives from RUSU to collaboratively develop the University of Reading 2026 D&I targets.

The 2026 D&I targets cover key institutional priorities for students and colleagues across our four priority areas:

• disability & neurodiversity

• LGBT+

• race equality

• sex equality

Each of the targets align with our thematic approach by focusing on representation, student experience and attainment, staff experience and advancement and culture. Each of the 2026 D&I targets are underpinned by one of the following institutional action plans:

• Access and Participation Plan

• Athena SWAN Action Plan

• Disability and Neurodiversity Action Plan

• LGBT+ Action Plan

• Race Equality Charter Action Plan. 

The updates for each action plan are as follows:

• The Awarding Gap Steering Group has now convened and is advancing work in line with Recommendation 8 of the University of Reading Race Equality Review (2021) to reduce the undergraduate ethnicity awarding gap.

• Key actions from the institutional Silver Athena SWAN Action Plan for 2022 are being taken forward by the institutional Athena SWAN Implementation Team. These actions include a focus on representation and progression of staff as well as increasing the number of D&I leads in Functions.

• The University of Reading Disability and Neurodiversity Review (2022) supports the develop of the Disability and Neurodiversity Action Plan. An update on the review listening exercises will be provided by myself and Professor Elizabeth McCrum, PVC for Education and Student Experience, in the All Staff Talk on Wednesday 9^th February 2022. The talk will focus on the themes of recruitment, representation & retention, staff experience & advancement and culture. The Disability and Neurodiversity Review is due to be published in April 2022.

• The LGBT+ Action Plan informed our 2021 priorities for improving the LGBT+ student experience (based on Laville, Field and Hart, 2020) and advancing Bi Inclusion by co-creating and co-delivering Bi Inclusion training with representatives from RUSU and the LGBT+ Student Society. The next Bi Inclusion training session will take place on the 9^th of February 2022 and a sign-up link if available at UoRLearn. We also submitted to the 2021 Stonewall Workplace Equality Index with the outcome due in February 2022.

• The Race Equality Charter Action Plan has been updated in line with the recommendations from the Race Equality Review (2021). For example, the Decolonising the Curriculum Working Group (Recommendation 10) has now been launched and by July 2022, the working group will create an institutional definition of decolonising the curriculum as well as resources and training to support colleagues in this process. We will be submitting an application for the Advance HE Bronze Race Equality Charter Mark in July 2022.       

Further detail on D&I priorities and the UEB approved 2026 D&I targets will be published on Monday 31 January in the University of Reading 2020/21 D&I annual report.