Equality, diversity and inclusion

As a school, we are committed to promoting equality, celebrating diversity and maintaining an inclusive environment for all members of the school community.

We achieve this by fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for students and staff regardless of gender, disability, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or nationality, and by promoting equality and diversity in all our practices and activities.

We are a vibrant and diverse community, with students and staff from many nations and ethnic backgrounds. The school’s leadership reflects this diversity. Race, religion, disability, gender and sexuality are all core components of our teaching and active areas of research for many members of our staff.

Governance

The school has an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee which considers equality matters across all protected characteristics relating to staff, students and curriculum. The Committee also has a number of active working groups:

Race equality

The school has an active Race Equality Action Group. The group’s activities have included staff training, inviting inspiring external speakers, organising a photography exhibition and auditing the curriculum.

Gender and sexuality equality

The Athena SWAN Charter was established in 2005 to address gender inequalities and, in particular, the underrepresentation of women in the sciences. It has since been expanded to encompass the arts, humanities and social sciences as well.

Cardiff University has held a Bronze institutional award since 2009, and the School of Social Sciences has held a Bronze departmental award since 2014. It was renewed in 2023.

The school has an active Gender and Sexualities Equality Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee enables the school to carry out its responsibilities in Gender and Sexualities Equality, making recommendations and leading on developing, implementing and monitoring the School’s Gender Equality Plan. The Sub-Committee reports to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Disability equality

The school is committed to improving equality for those who have physical disabilities, physical or mental health conditions or who are neurodivergent. This includes students, staff and all those involved in research and other activities of the school. We have a Disability Equality Sub-Committee that works to ensure the school carries out its responsibilities in disability equality and anti-ableism. Disabled students in the school, like all students in Cardiff University, are able to receive support through the Student Disability Service Student Disability Service.

Welsh Champions Group

This group arranges Welsh medium teaching, organises Welsh-speaking tutors and supervisors for students, and promotes the school’s bilingual development through social gatherings and meetings of Welsh-speaking staff and students.

Contact us

The Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is Professor Sally Holland. She sits on the Senior Management Team and chairs the school’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.