Equality Challenge Unit
Annual review 2010
The culmination of the 2007-10 strategy
Our mission
Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) works to further and support equality and diversity for staff and students in higher education across all four nations of the UK.
ECU works closely with colleges of higher education and universities to seek to ensure that staff and students are not unfairly excluded, marginalised or disadvantaged because of age, disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or through any combination of these characteristi8cs or other unfair treatment.
Providing a central source of expertise, research, advice and leadership, we support institutions in building a culture that provides equality of both opportunity and outcome, promotes good relations, values the benefits of diversity and provides a model of equality for the wider UK society.
Core services
ECU has over ten years of experience providing high quality services to managers and staff working across institutions including the ECU advice service, our monthly news round-up Equalitylink, online information and practical resources.
www.ecu.ac.uk
Contents
Foreword
2010 was a tumultuous year for UK higher education institutions requiring responses to a wide range of political, economic, legal and social changes.
‘ECU continues to provide expertise, research, advice and leadership on equality for the HE sector.’
In an environment of uncertainty and change, the importance of sound equality and diversity strategies has proven especially important; particularly given the danger of unintentionally perpetuating or increasing inequalities for staff and students.
To assist in this, ECU’s skill staff team has provided a central resource for a sector looking for thorough and nuanced equality and diversity support. ECU has run a full programme of projects and activities in addition to successfully completing the planned outcomes of a four-year strategic plan (2007-2010).
From leading on sector responses to key government consultations, holding a series of workshops on the development and implementation of the Equality Act, to providing an ongoing expert advice service, ECU has kept the sector up to date with their legal responsibilities. But more than this, they have actively progressed the agenda beyond compliance, highlighting the benefits of equality and diversity and focusing on real equality outcomes.
ECU has continued to emphasise working in close collaboration with the higher education sector to ensure it delivers effective information and enables effective practice to be shared across all institutions.
As in previous years, ECU has developed partnerships with sector organisations and expert consultations to produce research reports, guidance materials, events and activities. In 2010 ECU significantly expanded its activities and service delivery into Scotland, and from 2011 a full programme of activities will be delivered in cooperation with Scottish colleagues.
During 2010 ECU has also been involved in a thorough consultation process with the sector in all parts of the UK and with Board members and funders to inform the 2011-2013 strategy. This ambitious plan will build on the achievements of 2007-2010, as ECU continues to provide expertise, research, advice and leadership on equality for the HE sector.
Professor John Brooks
ECU Chair
2010 in figures
ECU’s 2010 highlights in figures
‘ECU is not only a trusted source of advice and guidance but also an ally, an advocate for equality and diversity and a catalyst for change in the sector.’
Equality and diversity manager
= Provided practical advice in response to over 300 queries from the sector on issues ranging from implementing equality duties to supporting inclusive practice
= Contributed to over 40 stakeholder steering and advisory groups across the sector
= Worked in partnership with 160 higher education institutions on projects, networks and workshops
= Undertook 30 in-depth projects investigating best equality practice for staff and students across all the protected characteristics and targeting specific higher education functions
= Engaged with 10 regional higher education equality networks and national practitioner groups by hosting seminars, providing policy updates and giving advice
= Worked with over 120 agencies, sector groups and trade unions to deliver activities collaboratively and efficiently
= Presented formal submission to 18 consultations on equality and diversity issues affecting the higher education sector
= Produced 25 practical publications including research, guidance, briefings and updates
= Worked proactively with 114 organisations and national stakeholder groups to embed equality throughout the sector
ECU strategy 2007-2010
2010 marked the final year of the ECU four-year strategy, covering the years 2007-2010.
This period has seen significant social, legal and economic change that had an impact on the development of equality and diversity within the higher education sector. By providing direction and targeted resources, ECU’s strategy has been to anticipate and respond to these developments.
The 2007-2010 programme of work covered staff and students and targeted all functions within institutions including governance and management, staff and student services, estates and research and teaching. It has aimed to engage with the sector at every level and to work with institutions to develop the tools and information needed to meet equality and diversity objectives.
The positive review of our services by the sector in 2009 commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) confirmed that this strategy had provided a robust foundation for our work. With refocused objectives, this approach will continue to provide the operational structure for our activities during the next three years.
Meeting our objectives
The 2007-2010 strategy was underpinned by three strategic objectives, each supported by a programme of projects and activities.
Objective 1: to develop an authoritative evidence case
Robust and transparent equality data continues to be essential in order for higher education institutions to analyse and prioritise were action is required. In a challenging financial climate this prioritisation is more necessary than ever.
Successes include:
= heidi equality, a data tool for analysing and benchmarking equality data, developed with the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). A successful series of training events for equality practitioners introduced the tool to the sector.
= Improving the sector’s success in encouraging disclosure rates and collecting and analysing monitoring data to underpin services for disabled staff and students.
= Groundbreaking national research to provide evidence of issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans staff and students.
= Qualitative research on behalf of HEFCE to investigate the equality implications of the Research Assessment Exercise 2008.
An overview of equality statistics
ECU’s annual statistical reports provide a national picture of the progress made so far on equality in higher education, enabling individual institutions to benchmark their own progress against the rest of the sector. Importantly, it also allows them to identify areas where they need to focus the resources available for equality work.
Produced annually since 2008, the statistical reports draw on equality data for staff and students from the HESA databases. Crucially, the set of annual reports raise awareness of the key equality challenges facing higher education.
ECU’s third statistical report, published in November 2010 is supplemented by online analysis tools developed by ECU and HESA.
‘This year’s report shows us that there has been progress inequality over the past year. Institutions are continuing to provide an environment where more and more staff and students feel they can declare a disability, for example.’
‘There are clearly areas where we need to focus our efforts to effect any change… only 4% of BME academics are professor, when 11& of white academics have reached that level. Overall, we find that only 0.4% of all professors are black.’
www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/equality-in-he-stats-10
Objective 2: to support institutions in implementing effective equality practices
Equality legislation is complex and has been through an extended period of change with the advent of the Equality Act 2010. ECU provides support and guidance to help institutions understand and meet their legislative duties and develop effective equality practices.
Successes include:
= Informing the sector of the new legal requirements of the Equality Act through analysis, guidance, briefings and workshops on the implications for the higher education sector.
= Research into the experiences of black and minority ethnic staff, including exploring effective initiatives in institutions.
= Comprehensive guidance on balancing religious observance with academic and management responsibilities.
= Updated advice on supporting trans staff and students in response to sector requests and queries.
= Supporting the process of embedding equal pay within institutions, through empowering equality practitioners with guidance and practical tools developed with the Welsh liaison group.
Meeting legal responsibilities
Since the announcement of the Equality Bill in June 2008 through to the enactment of the Equality Act 2010, and the ongoing implementation of the regulation during 2011-2012, ECU has focused on readying the sector to meet increased legal responsibilities.
From detailed analysis of the original proposals in 2009 to outlining practical actions institutions needed to make before the key provisions finally came into force in October 2010, ECU has ensured that the sector is informed of the latest legislative development and what they mean for higher education institutions. Alongside specific briefings for institutions and students’ unions, we developed a dedicated area of the website and allocated a key contact in the policy team so that institutions could easily access the information they need.
ECU has ensured that the higher education sector’s voice has been heard by government at every stage of the development of the Act and its duties. Representatives from the sector gathered at regional events in England and Wales to inform ECU’s submissions to government consultations on the shape and scope of the Act’s specific duties.
To support HEIs in embedding the requirements of the Equality Act both now and in the future, ECU also contributed extensively to the development of non-0statuotur guidance and codes of practice by the Equality and Human Rights Commission throughout 2010.
As each of the provision of the Act come into force, ECU is committed to continued timely and targeted information and advice.
Objective 3: promote sustained institutions change in relation to equality and diversity
ECU believes that in order to feel the full benefits, equality and diversity cannot just be an ‘add-on’ or an afterthought. Equality is the responsibility of everyone in higher education and must be embedded within institutional procedures in order to effect real change.
Successes include:
= Developing initiatives to address the degree attainment gap between students with black and minority ethnic backgrounds and white students, alongside the Higher Education Academy.
= The continued growth and impact of the Athena SWAN recognition scheme for women in science, jointly funded and managed by ECU and UKRC.
= The wide uptake of guidance outlining the role, responsibilities and opportunities governing bodies have in advancing equality. The guidance, produced in partnership with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, has been reprinted several times to meet sector demand.
= Addressing inequalities in access to work placements for some students undertaking creative arts courses. Leaflets, posters and toolkits have been disseminated widely to careers advisers, academics arranging placements and students looking for placements.
= Producing the first targeted guidance highlighting the role of frontline staff in eliminating homophobic discrimination for student accommodation providers and international offices.
‘Even with the current economic climate putting pressure on many institutions… we have been impressed by the continual growth of the Charter and the commitment institutions and individual departments are making to the continued good practice for women in SET.’
David Ruebain
Systemic and cultural change
The Athena SWAN Charter is a membership and awards scheme to promote and recognise good employment practice for women working in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics subjects in higher education and research institutes. The project has been jointly funded by ECU and the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, with occasional support from the Royal Society.
The Charter requires institutions and individual departments to analyse their cultures and attitudes to effect material change in the employment conditions and career opportunities from women.
Launched in 2005 with ten founding members, the Charter celebrated its fifth year in 2010, with membership standing at 51 institutions from across of UK at the end of the year. This is an increase of 19% on 2009 membership, and encompasses nearly 40% of all eligible higher education institutions.
77 bronze, silver and gold awards have been presented over the life of the Charter across a variety of disciplines from nursing and midwifery to optometry and vision science, and from chemistry and chemical engineering to mathematics, meteorology and physics.
‘The galvanising effect of the department’s Athena SWAN Gold award has been remarkable.’
Department of Chemistry, University of York
Our work in 2010
ECU’s work to promote equality is driven by coordinated projects that reflect the sector’s key equality and diversity concerns, and help the sector to meet the requirements of equality legislation.
Our 2010 projects were organised around ECU’s strategic aims and focused on delivering specific outcomes for the higher education sector. These outcomes centre on providing evidence, implementing effective practice and promoting institutional change. the programme also seeks to cover all the protected characteristics, to focus support for staff and students, and to tailor guidance for specific functions within institutions.
Working closely with higher education institutions, sector bodies and network, ECU seeks to ensure expert input into each project and to maximise the impact through reaching ever-wider audiences across the sector.
Developing an authoritative evidence base for equality: heidi equality
ECU has continued to work with HESA in developing an equality function to the heidi (higher education information database for institutions) data management tool
The heidi equality tool is designed to provide higher education institutions with an evidence base for their equality work. Equality practitioners can easily access relevant equality data covering staff and students in a useful and targeted format. This can help practitioners identify and measure equality and diversity at their institution, and benchmark this against o0ther institutions in the sector.
ECU has designed a set of 44 ready-to-use equality reports covering key equality statistics as a starting point for practitioners to analyse evidence specific to their institution.