Call for participants: attracting diverse staff to university leadership roles

As noted in the Provost's recent Long View, UCL suffers from a lack of diversity, particularly in leadership positions.

Women, people from a Black and Minority Ethic (BME) background and people with disabilities are all underrepresented amongst UCL's Heads of Department (HoDs), Deans and Vice-Provosts.

The UCL Equalities and Diversity team will be running a number of focus groups and surveys to examine the issue of leadership in higher education in more detail. 

The focus groups will consist of:

• Female professors who have never been HoDs
• Current/former female HoDs
• Current/former male HoDs
• Departmental administrators/managers

Areas of leadership roles that will be examined are:

• Administrative duties
• Recognition for the role
• Impact on life outside work
• Status and reward
• Prominence of the role
• Impact on research
• Organisational culture

The reasons for the discrepancies in diversity are not clear. However, previous discussions at equalities and diversity fora indicate that some perceived or actual elements of the role may affect the willingness of staff to take them on. This may be particularly pronounced for staff from diverse backgrounds. 

If you are interested in getting involved or can suggest others who would be good to have on the focus groups, please contact Sarah Guise, Head of Equalities and Diversity.

Sarah Guise, Head of Equalities and Diversity, UCL Human Resources