In June 2020, the University commissioned a Race Equality Review, in order to better understand issues of racial (in)equality faced by staff and students and to explore what the University can do to improve race equality in our community.
After an active listening exercise, a staff and student survey, and assessment of performance against targets, the University published a detailed Race Equality Review report in May 2021, which includes a series of recommendations to ensure fairer and more equal treatment of all staff and students.
In line with these efforts, SPEIR has decided to undertake its own race equality review, to try to understand the way racism and racial inequality function within our School specifically, to identify particular challenges faced by staff and students in our School and our disciplines, and to identify actions we can take to promote anti-racism and racial equality within SPEIR.
In Spring Term 2021, we established a SPEIR Race Equality Review Self-Assessment Team that includes staff and students from both the Department of Economics and the Department of Politics and International Relations. The Team’s aims are to gather data about racial diversity, achievement, and progression within the School and to listen actively to staff and students about their experiences of racism and racial (in)equality. For the latter, we will run student-led surveys and focus groups as well as surveys and focus groups for staff.
Contact details
If you are a staff member or student in SPEIR and would like to get involved, please contact Professor Sarah von Billerbeck or Dr Sam Rawlings
