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Governance

The equalities agenda is embedded in the College's decision-making structure, through the work of the Equality and Diversity Committee, which reports to the College Governors via the University Executive Board. The Committee also reports to the HR Strategy and Policy Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee to ensure awareness of equality and diversity issues at strategic level across the College.

The Committee has a strategic overview of staff and student equality and diversity issues, with a broad remit. The Committee supports and champions equality and diversity across the College - its members are from all Schools and include student and trade union representatives.

The College publishes a comprehensive annual statistical equality and diversity report, setting out key equality data in line with the public sector equality duty. The report contributes to Birkbeck’s evidence-based policy making and enables it to identify and action areas for further improvement, inform the setting of indicators for the existing equality objectives, and consider what additional objectives should be identified.

Equality Objectives (2022-23 to 2025-26)

Through the delivery of its equality objectives, the College is committed to:

  1. Further Birkbeck's sector leading position on equal pay, building on the success of current data-led approaches stemming from annual equal pay audits to implement the further actions needed to eliminate the remaining gender pay gap and reduce other pay gaps identified through equal pay audit.
  2. Maintain the College's leading position in London and nationally as a flagship University of Sanctuary.
  3. Address cultural and structural issues facing Birkbeck staff and students from the diversity of ethnic minority groups, through delivering the commitments and initiatives on eliminating awarding gaps made in our Access and Participation Plan, and through using the Race Equality Charter as a framework to achieve culture change.
  4. Take further action to maintain and develop a supportive environment for disabled staff and students drawing upon best practice and the framework provided by the Disability Confident scheme.

An underpinning operational framework is being implemented to support the delivery of these objectives. This involves embedding equalities, diversity and inclusion work as core responsibilities of the new Faculties and Schools, and new academic leadership roles, created through the restructure, with dedicated administrative support, regular data monitoring and specific, meaningful and timely goals aligned to the College objectives set. The College is committed to maintaining its current range of Charter Mark and other awards, and in particular to ensuring that each Faculty has an appropriate award and action plan to promote gender equality under the Athena Swan scheme, which will align with the College Athena Swan award and the commitment developed under the College's submissions to the Race Equality Charter scheme, Disability Confident, and HR Excellence in Research.