Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to increasing the diversity of the people, scholarship and teaching across the Division, and ensuring that each member is, and feels, valued, listened to and respected, able to be themselves, and to participate fully in the life of the Division and the Collegiate University.

EDI projects

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The Social Sciences Division EDI team has produced three short films to foster empathy and understanding of the lived experiences of members of our community from diverse backgrounds:

  • Race, Faith & Language at Oxford: Three Perspectives
  • Gender Identity & Sexuality at Oxford: Five Voices
  • Neurodivergent at Oxford

The films were conceived and created by minoritised students and early career staff.

Watch the films now

This project aims to facilitate collaboration and mutual intellectual enrichment between individual researchers in EDI areas across the Division, and to showcase the depth and breadth of our divisional research strengths in this area.

In 2023 we established the SSD EDI Research Network and began to run a series of networking events, seminars, and Spotlight showcases, to share our research with a wider audience, and to lay the foundation for further collaboration and interdisciplinary interaction.

If you are interested in joining this Network, or in finding out more, please contact diversity@socsci.ox.ac.uk.

Discover our Research Spotlight and Network events archive

Based on an induction workshop for PGT students initiated at the Department of International Development, the Social Sciences Division has also produced a film (supported by Diversity Fund funding) and guidance to support other departments to run such a workshop. The workshop is designed to create an environment of intellectual curiosity, critical enquiry, and cooperative learning, and to enable students from diverse backgrounds with a range of different opinions and perspectives to engage and debate constructively with each other.

Half of departments across SSD, alongside colleagues who support medical professionals in MSD, have now run some variant of the workshop. If you would be interested in running a workshop in your department and would like to know more please contact diversity@socsci.ox.ac.uk.

Watch the film and explore further resources (Oxford University members only)

Our group of Associates developed and exchanged ideas in the area of the diversification and decolonisation of curricula/disciplines, and gathered input from those engaged or interested in this area across the Division, wider University, and other Higher Education institutions.

They worked together to identify good ideas and practices, which were shared through a Division-wide seminar in June 2023.

Discover the resources (Oxford University members only)

Our EDI Associates, drawn from Departments, Schools and Faculties across the Division, all share a passionate commitment to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion, and bring a wealth of skills and breadth of experience to our EDI projects.

The team of Academic staff, Professional Services staff and DPhil students make up a community of individuals, who together collaborate on projects to enhance our collective knowledge and resources, and shape the future of EDI within the Division.

EDI around the division

Departments, Schools and Faculties across the Division are taking steps to tackle racism, advance equality, and create a more inclusive and equitable culture.

Most have an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee or equivalent, and all are represented on the divisional Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Panel.

Athena Swan Awards

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The Athena Swan Charter is a framework which is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education and research. Advance HE members can apply for institutional and departmental Athena Swan awards recognising their gender equality efforts.

Eleven Social Sciences Departments, Schools and Faculties now hold Athena Swan bronze awards, and two (the School of Geography and the Environment and the Department of Economics) hold Athena Swan silver awards. 

Our leadership and contacts

Please contact us if you have any queries about equality, diversity and inclusion in the Division.

Staff across the Division with an interest in EDI issues are also encouraged to join the Division's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Teams group – please click on the link or email us to join.

EDI within the Division is headed by Professor Nandini Gooptu, Associate Head of Division (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion). She provides strategic leadership and academic oversight of equality and diversity policy, promoting an inclusive organisational culture across the Division.

"My goal is to bring about institutional and systemic change that will promote an inclusive and hospitable environment in which all staff and students feel able to achieve their full potential and enjoy a sense of belonging and ownership within the Collegiate University.

I hope to build on current EDI initiatives in the University, work closely with colleagues in the Division and in all our departments, and draw on the inspiring work of many staff and students who have been striving to achieve equality and diversity in a variety of ways." Professor Nandini Gooptu