Oxford University’s Joint Committee for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion has published the first university-wide strategic plan to improve EDI. Titled “Everybody Belongs”, the plan includes increasing the proportion of BME Statutory Professors from the current 8% to 9% by 2029.
The foreword states that this plan marks “the first time we have articulated a strategic equality, diversity and inclusion vision for the collegiate University as a whole”. Previously EDI has been emphasised at college and department levels.
The plan involves using task and finish groups to help achieve and report on the University’s EDI. It will see the creation of racial and religious inclusion task and finish groups to work alongside the pre-established LGBTQ+ group. The strategy also offers more support for student leadership, particularly JCR and MCR presidents.
Regarding student access, the University seeks to remove barriers to undergraduate and graduate access and see an increase in the proportion of entrants from the bottom two quartiles of the Multiple Deprivation Index to 23% by 2028.
The University aims to increase the proportion of Black students awarded a “good degree” to 94%. As of last year, 8% of Statutory Professors are BME, a number the University aims to increase to 9% by the 2028/2029 academic year. The plan also wishes to reduce the gap between BME and white staff reporting being bullied or harassed by 2027, and remove all statistically significant pay gaps between BME and white staff by 2028.
The plan seeks to increase the proportion of female Statutory Professors from 22% to 26% by 2027, and female central University committee members from 40% to 60% in the same timeframe. It also aims to reduce the gap between female staff with and without caring responsibilities who feel they are supported in their professional development, which saw a ten percentage gap last year.
With regard to LGBTQ+ representation, the University aims to bring the percentage of transgender and non-binary staff who agree with the statement “I feel able to be myself at work” up from 57% to be in line with the total staff average, which was 83%.
The plan also highlights the University’s belief in the importance of free speech to its EDI mission, stating the two go “hand in hand”. While the plan is university-wide, it also acknowledges the strengths of the collegiate system in achieving these goals, which allows colleges to “innovate and respond to particular contexts”.
