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Equalitylink March 2010
March's monthly bulletin keeping you up to date with current equality and diversity issues and the work of ECU
Welcome
Equality Challenge Unit supports the higher education sector to promote equality and diversity for all staff and students. Equalitylink is a monthly bulletin keeping you up to date with current equality and diversity issues and with the work of ECU.
Equality update
Recent developments with implications for higher
education institutions
Equality Bill 2010
House of Lords committee and report stages
The committee and report stages of the Equality Bill have now been completed. The bill will now have a third reading in the Lords, before the consideration of amendments.
During the most recent stages, votes were held on the proposed socio-economic duty, the public sector equality duty in relation to religion or belief and on civil partnership ceremonies in religious buildings.
The latest news, guidance, questions and information on ECU's work relating to the Equality Bill can be found on ECU's dedicated webpages.
Equality and the HE workforce
Report finds positive workforce trends
A report into the higher education workforce by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) found positive progress on equality in the HE workforce in England.
The higher education workforce framework 2010 was published on 25 February. The report highlights 'a greater willingness among higher education institutions (HEIs) to embrace cultural and behavioural change in equality and diversity'.
Positive trends include:
- An increase in the proportion of women in academic posts, with the proportion rising from 27% in 1995/96 to 39% in 2008/09
- An increase in the proportion of senior lecturers from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, from 3.9% in 1995/96 to 6.9% in 2008/09
- A slightly faster rate of increase in the proportion of female professors than had been anticipated, from 13% in 1999 to 22% in 2008
HEFCE workforce overview shows positive equality trends
National Student Forum
Government responds to recommendations on improving the student experience
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has launched a response to the National Student Forum annual report 2009, highlighting the work going on in the HE sector to improve the student experience.
The response from BIS outlines the good practice that exists in the sector and the work being undertaken in six areas of student life including work supporting disabled students. Examples of ECU's work and other sector resources have been highlighted.
Disabled students
QAA revised Code of practice published
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has published a revised section of its Code of practice which covers how HEIs make their courses and premises accessible to disabled students.
The Code of practice, Section 3: Disabled students is intended to help institutions ensure that disabled students have an opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of university life. It covers every aspect of the student life cycle, including recruitment, the design of inclusive methods of teaching and learning, and supporting students with employment or further study.
ECU's disability team was part of the advisory group for the revision, which incorporates advances in good practice in meeting the entitlements of disabled students and changes to the law with regard to disability discrimination.
Our work
Supporting the higher education sector to promote
equality and diversity
ECU announces new Chief Executive
David Ruebain to join ECU in June
Equality Challenge Unit is pleased to announce the appointment of David Ruebain as Chief Executive.
David is currently Director of Legal Policy at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the statutory body with responsibility to protect, enforce and promote equality and human rights. He will join ECU on 1 June 2010.
A practicing solicitor for 21 years, David is a renowned expert in the fields of education and disability. As Head of Education and Disability Law at Levenes Solicitors, David was nominated for the Law Society's lifetime achievement award in human rights, and is a winner of RADAR's 2002 People of the Year award. In his current role David leads on the Commission's work on the Equality Bill.
David said:
'I am thrilled to be taking up this post at a key time for universities. The sector faces a very challenging economic, legal and political environment and ECU can play a key role in helping to navigate this and continue to maximise opportunities for all.'
ECU appoints new chief executive
New JNCHES Equality Working Group
ECU has been invited to sit on a new equality working group set up under the New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (New JNCHES) 2009 pay agreement.
Chaired by Professor John Brooks, a UCEA and ECU board member, the joint working group will focus on strategic equality issues with a view to assisting HEIs and local unions. This could include recommending guidance and action plans on equality issues to New JNCHES and the HE sector.
Initially the group will focus on the progress that HEIs have made on undertaking equal pay reviews, and research the issues behind differences in pay at sector level in relation to gender. This could potentially be expanded to look at differences in relation to ethnicity, disability and other protected characteristics.
Accelerating Equality
ECU's flagship equalities event for the HE sector
ECU will be holding its biennial national conference in London on 17 and 18 November this year with an expanded programme of inspirational speakers and focused breakout sessions.
This major national conference brings together higher education leaders, equality and diversity experts and representatives from national sector organisations. From radicalisation on campus to equality in the recession, the packed agenda has been planned to allow delegates to grapple with the challenges that lie ahead.
To ensure that you can attend, please save the dates until booking opens. We will be launching an event website, bringing you updates on speakers, themes and workshops in forthcoming issues of Equalitylink and will let you know when booking opens.
Read more about ECU work and ongoing projects on our website www.ecu.ac.uk/projects.
Get involved
How to take part in ECU’s work
Promoting equality in pay
Practical seminar on conducting equal pay reviews
ECU has been running a project on equal pay in HE. The project found that many HEIs do not automatically involve their equality and diversity specialists in the process of the pay review, so they are not well-placed to align the pay review with work on gender, nor equipped to respond to queries relating to equal pay.
ECU is holding a practical seminar in Cardiff on 21 April 2010 to launch new guidance on methods of conducting pay reviews in HEIs. The guidance is intended to help HEIs plan and conduct equal pay reviews and assess the impact of their pay policies and practices on pay equality. It has been designed for staff responsible for ensuring pay equality whether they have a background in equality and diversity or human resources.
Aimed at equality and diversity practitioners as well as human resources departments, this practical seminar takes delegates through the process of equal pay reviews, focusing on how equality and diversity should be embedded into the process.
The morning sessions will provide an overview of equality issues in relation to pay and introduce the findings of the ECU equal pay project. The afternoon is based on the new ECU guidance and will take participants through the processes of an equal pay review.
Closing date for bookings: Wednesday 7 April 2010
Promoting equality in procurement
Join the working group
ECU is developing guidance for HEIs on how to build equality-promoting strategies into their procurement policies and practices.
To ensure that this guidance is as helpful and relevant to the sector as possible, we are setting up a project working group to contribute to and comment on the advice we give.
We don't foresee that this will involve a significant time commitment, and your contribution will be recognised in the published guidance.
We are also interested in receiving examples of how your HEI is promoting equality through procurement to feature in the guidance.
The closing date for expressing your interest in joining the group or to share your examples is Wednesday 31 March 2010.
Follow the link below for details of how to become involved.
Get involved with the Promoting equality in procurement project
Equality in HE: statistical report 2010
Which statistics do you need to support your work?
ECU is currently working on the 2010 edition of our annual statistics report. Equality in higher education: statistical report 2010 will provide national figures relating to equality and diversity in HE, for use as an evidence base for driving work by institutions where inequalities exist.
To ensure the report is relevant to the sector, ECU is taking this opportunity to invite feedback on the following:
- How have you used previous editions of the report in your work?
- What aspects of these reports have you found useful?
- What areas could be improved?
- What additional statistics or information would be beneficial to your work in this area?
If you have any comments and feedback on these questions, please contact Chris Brill:
Tel: 020 7438 1021
Email: chris.brill@ecu.ac.uk
Equality in HE: statistical report
Resources and support
New publications and resources to support equality
and diversity in your institution
Developing and embedding inclusive policy and practice in higher education
The Higher Education Academy has published the final report on their work supporting HEIs to embed and develop inclusive policies and/or practices to enhance the learning experience of students from under-represented groups.
Developing and embedding inclusive policy and practice in HE
Supporting international staff
Website for new staff
Approximately one third of new academic members of staff at UK institutions now come from overseas. University of Leeds, supported by HEFCE, has launched a one-stop website designed to assist and support new international staff with a wide range of issues, both personal and work-related.
The site was developed following feedback from international staff in HE about the information they would find helpful. Some of the content is open to all, and HEIs are encouraged to direct prospective and new international staff to the site.
Areas of the site are available on a subscription basis. Subscribed institutions can upload university-specific and tailored content and have access to a 'subscribers only' section.
For further information contact Christopher Butcher:
Tel: 0113 343 4047
Email: c.w.butcher@adm.leeds.ac.uk
Events
Upcoming sector events
Gender equality training for careers professionals
29 March 2010, Reading
A one-day gender equality training programme tailored for higher education career professionals. Developed by the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, this interactive training workshop will help delegates to:
- Understand factors affecting entry into non-traditional careers for women
- Understand how to overcome gender stereotyping issues
- Develop a wider awareness of the range of science, engineering and technology careers
Promoting equality in pay
Conducting equal pay reviews
21 April 2010, Cardiff
ECU seminar
Aimed at equality and diversity practitioners as well as human resources departments, this practical seminar takes delegates through the process of equal pay reviews, focusing on how equality and diversity should be embedded into the process.
Promoting racial equality in HE
21 April 2010, University of Northampton
Part of the series of open lectures from the Equality and Diversity Research Group at the University of Northampton
heidi equality training
26 April 2010, London
heidi equality is a new online tool that allows users to easily access relevant higher education equality data, covering both staff and students, in a useful and targeted format.
ECU and HESA have developed a one-day training session to introduce equality practitioners and others using equality data to heidi equality.
If you would like your event to be featured on our website and the next issue of Equalitylink, please email details to Anna Roberts, Communications Manager.
Contacts
ECU Press Office
Anna Roberts Allison
Communications Manager
Telephone: 020 7438 1018
Email: anna.robertsallison@ecu.ac.uk
Out of Office enquiries
For urgent media enquiries outside of ECU office hours
Mobile: 07810 556 724