Equality, diversity and inclusion
We champion diversity and equality in everything we do to ensure that our community is an inclusive one.
As a school we are committed to recognising, respecting and valuing differences in the ways we work and interact with others. We work proactively to eliminate discrimination against equality, and make sure we uphold key values of dignity, courtesy and respect.
We strive to ensure equality of access to opportunities for all students and staff.
We were the first university in Wales to achieve both Athena Swan Silver and the Institute of Physics Juno Champion status for Physics and Astronomy, and hold Athena Swan Bronze for both Chemistry and Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Dignity at work
Our dedicated Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team work hard to make sure our School is a welcoming and friendly place. Our network of Dignity at Work (DaW) advisers are trained to provide advice to any staff members with concerns, while those of us with rainbow lanyards also identify as providing a safe space for discussing LGBT+ related issues.
Our current Dignity at Work advisors are (details of when and how to contact them are here):
Dr Jerome Cuenca
Dr Andreas Papageorgiou
Wendy Sadler
Dr Juan Pereiro Viterbo
Dr Lorenzo Mugnai
Dr Freeke van de Voort
Dr Keiko Kokeyama
Prof Steve Barker
Sofiya Valkova
Marie Paine
Madeline McLeod-Reynolds
Dr Jonathan Rourke
Dr Mahmoud Akhtar
Caroline Pasmore
Dr Greg Shaw
Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE)
We encourage staff and students working within geoscience to contribute to scholarly conversations about racism in Geoscience, with the aim of contributing to school policies that address equality, diversity and inclusivity issues.
Accessibility
We work continuously to make infrastructure and facilities available to all. We aim to ensure that all of our lecture theatres, offices and laboratories are fully wheelchair accessible, and additional support is available for students with disabilities, specific learning differences and sensory impairments.
The move to wider ranging electronic-based resources, complying with World Wide Web Consortium International Standards on accessibility, now widens access to these resources for those with a range of disabilities.
We’re also one of few UK universities offering truly accessible fieldwork within the Earth sciences. By collaborating with students to remove barriers, including adapting trips for individual needs and providing a PPE kit loan system, we can ensure that no students are prevented from experiencing learning out in the field.
Closing the Gap
The Closing the Gap initiative aims to increase the understanding of the barriers to black, Asian and minority ethnic student success, identify previously successful initiatives and share best practice experience with the view to close the current attainment gap.
Research shows a 13% average attainment gap between white students and students from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds across UK universities. In an attempt to close this gap, we are acting on recommendations to provide stronger leadership, have open conversations about race, develop more inclusive and diverse environments, analyse the data and understand best practice.