Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Equality, diversity and inclusion are central to the research, training and professional culture of our Institute.
All members of the institute are responsible for considering EDI in their professional lives and working environments, and all members have the right to expect equality of opportunity and treatment within the institute.
Statement
Racism damages careers in academia and limits the impacts of institutions and the contributions that they make to society. UCL is at the forefront of promoting race equality in the UK and believes:
Action for race equality exists because racism exists in our daily lives, our institutions and society at large. Racism in the UK is the exercise of historic power relations that produce discrimination and is ideologically driven. It means students and staff who identify and are identified as part of the white ethnic majority enjoy a position of relative and typically unspoken and unacknowledged privilege over Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students and staff. Racism manifests at work, in student attainment, staff appointments and promotions. Racism must be fought by everyone. This statement names the challenge.
The UCL Institute for Global Health, which delivers world-leading research and education, and has collaborations all over the world, promotes this UCL value by prioritising time and resources towards anti-racism activities, such as staff training, raising awareness to prevent the occurrence of racism. We monitor and investigate racial inequalities and take actions where these occur. These actions include, for example, support to those affected by racism or holding those practising racism to account through formal disciplinary procedures.
We have a zero tolerance to racism of any form, meaning that we tackle all instances of racism, however small that they might be considered. Our staff work in different settings. They receive our support if they are affected by racism in the UK (e.g. within the London-based Institute offices) or overseas (e.g. when visiting partners on projects).
We take this stance on racism to ensure that our Institute, like the rest of UCL, is welcoming, inclusive and fair to all.
Groups
We have the following groups represented in our EDI committee:
- Race Equality Group
- Community & Inclusion Group
- Date & Survey Group
- Education & Widening Participation Group
- Mentoring & Coaching Group
Athena Swan Award
IGH has successfully renewed their Silver Athena Swan award in 2023. The Athena SWAN Charter covers women, trans and non-binary people, and men where appropriate who are in academic and professional staff roles in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, maths, medicine) and AHSSBL (arts, humanities, social sciences, business, law). The charter covers these staff groups in relation to representation, progression of students into academia, journey through career milestones and working environment for all staff.
The panel found the application "demonstrates a clear commitment to gender equality and intersectionality within the IGH; across teach and research, as well as in the experiences of its staff and students."
The IGH EDI executive group reports regularly to the IGH Senior Management Team, and liaises with, but is independent of, the central UCL EDI group.