UPDATED 14 NOVEMBER 2019
Unfortunately the Sutton Bonington event is no longer available 

Earlier this year we held our first Race Equality Charter Survey – the University’s largest-ever survey into racial equality on campus. More than 2,400 staff and students across our UK campuses completed the survey – thanks to everyone that took part.

We’re now looking at the themes raised by the survey in more depth. To help us do this, we inviting BME staff across our campuses to take part in focus groups exploring the issues and concerns raised, and how to tackle these in our action planning.

We’re calling on BME staff across all job families and levels to sign up to the focus groups, which will take place from Wednesday 4 to Wednesday 11 December. Each group will have a maximum ten participants, will last for 1.5 hours, and will include guided discussion on the themes raised by the survey. There are sessions available on University Park, Jubilee, King’s Meadow and Sutton Bonington campuses.
• Wednesday 4 December 2019 – University Park
• Thursday 5 December 2019 – University Park
• Friday 6 December 2019 – Jubilee
• Wednesday 11 December 2019 – University Park
• Wednesday 11 December 2019 – Kings Meadow Campus

Professor Sarah Sharples, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and co-chair of the Race Equality Charter Self-Assessment Team, said:
“The Race Equality Charter survey gave us rich data on the experiences of BME colleagues working at the University, and the issues and challenges they face. We now want to work on understanding these in more detail, and identify actions that can address them.

“We appreciate this is asking a lot of our BME colleagues, and recognise that it can be a difficult process. But by addressing these experiences and challenges as a group, we can start to understand their origins, the processes that sustain them, and the work we need to do to eliminate them.”

Stacy Johnson, co-chair of the Race Equality Charter Self-Assessment Team, added:

“The RACE Equality Charter process signals a whole University commitment to race equality. In this phase, we want to ensure that the voice of the University’s BME community is strong and that we listen carefully.
Now is the time to be open and truthful and make the most of the opportunity to exert influence on what we do going forward.”

The University is set to apply for Race Equality Charter bronze status in summer 2020. Data from the survey and focus groups are a key part of the application process, and essential for our institutional and departmental action planning.

The Race Equality Charter gives us a framework in which to identify, explore and address issues affecting the representation, progression and success of BME (black and minority ethnic) students and staff at the University. Bronze status recognises the work the institution is doing to create “a solid foundation for eliminating racial inequalities and developing an inclusive culture that values all staff and students. A Bronze award acknowledges commitment and preparation to act.”

For more information on the Race Equality Charter and the focus groups, please email the team.