Strategic equality plan

Our plan is based around three objectives and covers the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex (gender) and sexual orientation. Our plan also covers our commitment to advancing the Welsh language and to working in a truly intersectional way – recognising how different aspects of a person’s identity can combine to create unique experiences of advantage or disadvantage.

Our plan is both inward and outward-facing. We want Cardiff University to be a place where everyone feels they belong, and a civic university that contributes to a fairer society locally and globally.

Overview of our plan

Our Strategic Equality Plan 2024-2028 has been built around three key touchpoints that will help us to achieve our vision:

How we’re doing things differently

This is the first time Cardiff University has taken a programme-led approach to delivering our Strategic Equality Plan. This means we are using programme management tools to ensure the Plan doesn’t just sit on a shelf, but is delivered with clarity, accountability and impact, such as:

• our dedicated Strategic Equality Plan Programme Manager works to coordinate delivery and support colleagues across the University
• our approach is agile and transparent – we regularly reflect, adapt and report on our progress
• we work collaboratively with colleagues across the University to develop and lead meaningful projects

a Strategic Equality Plan Programme Board meets regularly to oversee progress, manage risks, and steer key projects

Stories of progress

To give you a flavour of the projects and positive changes supported as part of the SEP in the last year:

Improving accessibility with AccessAble

We partnered with AccessAble, an online platform which provides accessibility information about our campus.

Supporting a safe and respectful community with Report + Support

We've introduced a new platform, Report + Support, where students can report bullying, harassment or discrimination and access support in a safe and confidential way. The tool can also be used by staff and members of the public to report on behalf of students.

Embedding inclusion through the EDIAware module

Our new online training module, EDIAware, is signposted to all incoming undergraduate and postgraduate students during induction. The module helps students understand their role in creating an inclusive university. It’s already been completed by over 7,000 students across the institution.

Building inclusive practice with our EDI Community of Practice

We are bringing colleagues together to share ideas and drive change across areas such as developing an impact assessment mindset, race hate crime reporting to the police, and neurodivergent inclusion. These sessions create space for learning, reflection and action across our University community.

Celebrating diversity year-round

From Pride and Black History Month to Disability History Month, we’ve supported vibrant celebrations that raise awareness, support belonging, and spotlight the voices of diverse communities across the University.