In our 2023 report, we committed to several key actions
to help us to advance EDI at Northumbria.
1) Proactive and targeted work to reduce our known pay gaps
Northumbria is a progressive institution driven by our
exceptional people. Being an organisation that promotes fairness in a community
where all staff and students feel they belong is a key commitment underpinning
our new Strategy.
Our ambition is clear, to continue our progress to reduce our median pay
gaps in relation to gender, ethnicity and disability.
Over the last year we have implemented a range of
initiatives designed to improve representation and align with our ambition of
closing pay gaps. We developed a pilot of a reverse mentoring scheme for Black,
Asian and Minority Ethnic colleagues and, following the success of the pilot,
this will expand to include the equality characteristics of Gender, Disability
and LGBTQ+.
A Shadow Chair initiative was developed and piloted
throughout the year and will expand from September 2024. The initiative
responds to lack of diversity across leadership at the University and provides
an opportunity for colleagues to develop their business awareness their
leadership potential, in time supporting us in our ambition to close our pay
gaps.
We are actively monitoring promotions round outcomes
following the introduction of the new Academic Development Review (ADR) process
last year, following a pilot in the previous year. We monitor the diversity of both those
who obtain feedback during the ADR process and of those who are successful.
This is used to inform future iterations of the ADR scheme, including
communications, information workshops and guidance documentation.
We have continued to support equality leadership
development programmes for both women and minority ethnic colleagues. In
November 2023 we expanded this offering to include supporting colleagues to
attend a recognised LGBTQ+ specific leadership programme.
2) Implementation of our Race Equality Action Plan to
advance race equality, in line with the University Race Equality Charter
submission, July 2024
We developed our Race Equality Action Plan and submitted
our first institutional application to the Race Equality Charter in July 2024,
the outcome of which will be confirmed in September 2024. The implementation of
our Race Equality Action Plan will be supported by our Race Equality Steering
Group and action owners across our University Executive.
3) Embed learnings from our progress through the Disability
Confident Leader process to ensure meaningful change is made, including
creating more opportunities for Disabled people to gain meaningful employment
with us
Our work and commitment on advancing Disability equality
continues beyond the achievement of Disability Confident Leader. Our Disability
Equality Steering Group have identified a range of actions they will focus on
for the new academic year. We have increased data disclosure rates following a
campaign recognising the importance of understanding our Disabled colleague
community.
We have made recommendations to enhance the recruitment
experience for young Disabled people who may seek employment with us following
participation in supported internships.
4) Demonstrate significant progress in line with our
ambitions for Gender Equality aligned to our institutional Athena Swan Silver
Submission, Spring 2025
We have delivered the majority of actions in our current
Athena Swan Bronze action plan, and we are currently progressing our
institutional Silver application for submission in March 2025.
5) Develop a proactive approach to inclusive recruitment
furthering our recruitment strategy and advancing our work on positive action
We have undertaken several actions in relation to our
approach to recruitment. This has included embedding EDI into our recruitment
training, enhancing the transparency of the recruitment and selection procedure
and the use of gender decoding software for recruitment materials.
We have diverse selection panels and use Vercida as a job board specialising in
recruitment of diverse talent.
When using search agencies, we provide clear briefs in
relation to our EDI commitments and expectations to ensure we obtain diverse
candidate pools.
6) Expand the work of the Vice Chancellors Diversity and
Inclusion Fund (VCDF) to enable embedding meaningful learning into our
practice
The Vice Chancellors Diversity Fund continues to support a range of EDI related projects throughout the year. All
project outcomes are fed into the University EDI Committee and recommendations
are presented by the project owners to the Committee for consideration.
In 2024 we reviewed and enhanced the fund to both
streamline the process and support work which is thematically linked to key EDI
priorities.
7) Embed EDI into the supply chain, ensuring equality
considerations are implemented into our procurement processes
Our Procurement Team understand the positive impact that the University
can have on our suppliers and their supply chains. We are therefore committed
to embedding EDI principles into our processes as well as our tenders. This
includes:
Having a designated member of the Procurement team act as our responsible procurement champion, which includes working with the University EDI team on various initiatives
Including relevant and proportionate EDI requirements in our tenders
Where possible, actively seeking and engaging with diverse suppliers, ensuring equal access to opportunities through our tendering processes.
Promoting fair and transparent procurement practices that seek to eliminate bias and support underrepresented businesses
This is further supported by our Financial Regulations which require all
University colleagues to have due regard to the need to act in a responsible
and ethical manner in all transactions.
8) Embedding of EDI into robust decision-making processes
through the implementation of the redeveloped EIA process
Implementation of our new EIA process was supported via
multiple training sessions throughout the year. The redeveloped process is now
embedded across the organisation, enabling feedback from the EDI team to be
given easily during EIA development and streamlining the approvals process for
authors.
9) Amplify inclusion further through our research ensuring
findings and learnings of best practice through research is implemented into
our own organisational practices
We have held two standalone amplifying inclusion events
during the year for colleagues and students and embedded our approach to
‘amplifying inclusion’ further in our inaugural EDI Conference in June 2024,
where best practice from varied EDI themed research was shared with conference
attendees to inform their own practice.
Return to main EDI Report page.
