Equality and Diversity

"I have two primary reasons for believing in the importance of equality and diversity.  First, because it is simply the right thing to do.  Secondly, in any business, people are at the heart of its success.  The more engaged our people, the more success we have.

The best experience comes from working with a range of people who bring different experiences and perceptions to their work to drive the corporate agenda forward.  For me, therefore, it is vital that we value people and value difference and this is high on my agenda."

Professor Michael Gunn, Vice Chancellor and CEO

The Equality Forum is a space for staff to share information and discuss issues about equality, diversity and inclusion. It's an active forum intended to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and stimulate discussion and debate.

Visit http://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/equalityforum/ and have your say!

We promote and celebrate many aspects of diversity throughout the year.  As well as our own events, we highlight national and international celebrations.

To find out more visit Diversity Events.

Holy Days and Festivals Calendar: To find out more about religious holy days and festivals visit the BBC Multifaith Calendar.

All year round, events are organised across the University to celebrate and promote our diversity.  The University is also involved in many events organised by our local partners.  A big thank you to all those who have a role in organising and supporting these.

• Celebrating Diversity Newsletter January 2012 (PDF, file size: 661.25KB)

• Celebrating Diversity Newsletter Jan 2012 (DOCX, file size: 384.4KB)

If you have been involved in an event or activity which celebrates diversity or raises awareness or are planning to, please let us know so it can be included in our next newsletter.

Celebrating Staff Success 2011 - Our thanks to everyone around the University who helps to celebrate our diversity and make the University a friendly and welcoming place to study and work.  There were two awards this year for Equality and Diversity at the Celebrating Staff Success event, a team award and an individual award.

This year the Team Award went to the Disability and Equality Group in Sciences.  Group members Rob Boast, Audra Jones and Andy Willits can be seen here collecting their award from University Governor Cordella Bart-Stewart.

The Individual Award went to Karl Gimblett from IS who has been instrumental in updating assistive software provision, and working to improve technology available to disabled staff and students.

All involved work beyond their role remits and are great champions of equality - congratulations!

The equality bill  received royal assent on 8 April 2010, becoming the Equality Act 2010.  This Act draws together 30 years of discrimination legislation. Under the Equality Act the University as a public body is bound by the Public Sector General and Specific Duties.  We all have rights and responsibilities under this legislation.

For more information visit Equality Act 2010.

The University has monitored a range of equality characteristics for both staff and students for many years.  This data has been used to monitor our performance and highlight any areas where we need to improve.

For an overview of the qualitative and quantitative equality data we currently collect, visit Equality Data.

Equality is about treating people with respect and dignity, and providing everyone with opportunities to fulfil their potential.

Diversity brings a huge range of benefits for the University.  The more diverse our staff and students populations are, the more we will all benefit due to the  rich mix of backgrounds, heritages, ages, experiences and skills that spark innovation and create a fruitful and vibrant community.

• Equality and Diversity Manager - Clare Ridgley
• Equality and Diversity Officer - Alison Hunt
• Equality and Diversity Officer - Hifsa Haroon Iqbal 
• Senior Clerical Assistant - Clare Harp

E: diversity@staffs.ac.uk     T: +44 (0)1782 295842

Our office is A12a, Cadman, College Road Campus, Stoke-on-Trent. 

Postal Address - Equality and Diversity Team, Staffordshire University, College Road, Stoke-on-Trent. ST4 2DE.