Diversity and inclusion strategy

The development of Aston's diversity and inclusion strategy ensures that our commitment to embracing diversity, and creating a truly inclusive environment is communicated effectively to all stakeholders and beneficiaries.

If the Inclusive Aston webpage has been helpful to you with respect to funding applications, accreditation or any other activity, please get in touch.

To help every individual member of our community to understand that role they can play in creating a truly inclusive environment we have developed a set of Inclusion Principles.

International Women's Week

Aston University has a proud tradition of promoting the achievements of its female staff and 2024 will be no exception. Events will be happening across the week for all Aston staff and students. See the International Women’s Week programme.

Reporting and policies

We aim to support the wellbeing of all students and staff through our policies, procedures and support services. It is important to us that staff and students feel safe and able to communicate any concerns, and are easily able to find appropriate support and guidance when needed.

Resources

We are very proud to have such a diverse community of students and staff here at Aston, and celebrate our many religious beliefs, cultures, and differences.

Caring

At Aston we appreciate that many of our staff and students have caring responsibilities. We also recognise that the circumstances and demands will vary for each individual carer. We are committed to providing appropriate support in each individual case.

Disability

We are committed to promoting equality and valuing diversity amongst our staff and students. We encourage applications from people with disabilities and additional needs. We are proud to be recognised by the government’s Disability Confident Scheme.

Faith

We are committed to promoting an environment that is welcoming to people of all backgrounds, of all faiths, and none

Gender

At Aston, whilst we recognise that there are fewer women than men in senior positions, we strive for equality at all levels of the University. Our engagement with Advance HE's Athena SWAN gender equality charter provides a valuable framework for the identification of effective actions to address this, and we are working to provide application support across the whole of the gender spectrum.

LGBTQ+

We will review our recruitment and selection practices to ensure that the process is fair, transparent and without bias. We have now rolled out anonymous shortlisting for all professional roles, and are piloting inclusive recruitment practices for academic roles

Race

We are committed to improving the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students at Aston. We are engaging with Advance HE's race equality charter to determine the best interventions to effect change

The Aston University Race Equality Charter full application and action plan will be made available on our website over the coming weeks.

Campaigns

At Aston University we want to showcase our staff and students and celebrate equality and diversity across the organisation. We run digital campaigns for Black History Month and International Women’s Day. We are keen to hear from students and staff about ideas for new campaigns, and from those who are interested in getting involved.

Please email our diversity team, we would love to hear from you.