From left to right: Cecile Chevalier, Helen McGlead, , Chris Derbyshire and Hannah Wallace.

From left to right: Neil Singh, Isobel Pearce, Samira Vance and David Ruebain.

Race Equality Charter Members and Key stakeholders

This time of year, includes several important moments connected to race, culture and community, including Windrush Day and South Asian Heritage Month.

Windrush Day, marked annually on 22 June, recognises the contributions of the Windrush generation and Caribbean communities to life in the UK. South Asian Heritage Month, which begins in July, celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of South Asian communities in the UK and beyond. These moments provide an opportunity not only to celebrate communities and histories, but also to reflect on the importance of ongoing work around race equity, belonging and inclusion across higher education and at Sussex.

These themes are brought together at Sussex through the University’s Race Equality Charter (REC) work.  In 2023, Sussex received a Bronze Race Equality Charter Award from Advance HE. The REC is a national framework that supports universities to identify and address racial inequalities affecting staff and students, including areas such as representation, progression, culture, student outcomes and experiences of belonging. The University’s first Bronze award served to acknowledge our recognition of systemic and structural issues at Sussex and the development of a credible plan to begin addressing these in a meaningful and sustained way. (link to REC pages and action plan?)

As part of this ongoing work, the University recently held a Race Equality Charter Mid Term Review, bringing  together REC Steering Group members and other key stakeholders, including representation from the Students’ Union Race Equity Advocates  and the University’s Gypsy, Roma and Traveller, to review our progress , reflect on challenges and discuss future priorities. The Vice-Chancellor joined the discussion briefly and commented on the challenges and the importance of the work.

Participants reflected on progress made across areas including staff and student experience, inclusive recruitment and progression, mentoring, leadership, awarding gaps, culture and belonging. Breakout discussions focused on staff, students, and culture and community, with participants discussing what is working well, what still needs to improve, and how race equity work can continue to develop over the next few years.

A strong theme throughout the discussions was the importance of shared responsibility and ensuring race equity work is embedded across the wider institution, rather than sitting with only a small number of individuals or committees. Discussions also highlighted the importance of continuing to strengthen trust, transparency, staff and student voice, and opportunities for meaningful dialogue and reflection.

The REC work also connects to the wider aims of our Sussex 2035 Strategy, particularly around inclusion, openness, belonging and creating an environment where staff and students from different backgrounds can contribute and flourish.

The REC Steering Group will continue to meet regularly to oversee progress and support the next phase of the University’s race equality work. While important progress has been made, the Mid Term Review reinforced that creating a more equitable and inclusive university requires ongoing reflection, collaboration and shared responsibility across the institution.

For more information on Race Equality work at the University of Sussex, you can access our Race Equality Application and Action plan. You can also read our Anti-Racist Pledge.

Ethnic Minority Staff Network

The University’s Ethnic Minority Staff Network is for all staff who define themselves as belonging to a minority ethnic group.

The network re-launched in early in 2022 and meets termly. If you would like to be a part of the network, please email EMSN-staff@sussex.ac.uk to sign up.

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