Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion is central to the mission and vision of the University of Birmingham. On our founding in 1900, a core commitment was to accept women and people of all religious backgrounds as equal members of the University community. Today, challenging discrimination, addressing inequalities and promoting greater understanding continues to be one of the key challenges we face as part of a globalised society.

We are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive learning and working environment where discrimination is not tolerated, where all members of the University can flourish and reach their full potential; where we engage with and learn from our community and where we affect positive change within the University, our city and wider society. We see this as integral to our mission and vision as a global university.

Athena Swan logo
Race Equality Charter Bronze Award logo

Our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Scheme 2021 – 2024 sets out our objectives and actions based on the inter-locking themes of:

  • Creating an inclusive environment: developing a University community where everyone feels welcome, included and empowered to succeed
  • Dismantling barriers: addressing the structural barriers faced by groups within the University in order to create more equitable outcomes
  • Integrating equality, diversity and inclusion: issues and impacts are considered and addressed across our activities

We are proud holders of the Advance HE Race Equality Charter and Athena Swan Charter, with a majority of our Schools also holding Athena awards. We are actively working to increase our proportion of senior female academics, the number of people from minority ethnic groups we employ and the degree awarding gap.

In November 2020 the University formally adopted the IHRA definition of Anti-Semitism – this is in parallel with our existing expectations that all members of the University community should be treated with dignity and respect and that there is no place on our campus nor within our community for any form of discrimination.

The University is also signed on to Can't Buy my Silence - a pledge to commit to not using Non-Disclosure Agreements to silence people who come forward to raise complaints of sexual harassment, abuse or misconduct, or other forms of harassment and bullying. 

Further information about EDI at the University of Birmingham