Race and racism
Discrimination or harassment on the grounds of ethnicity, including race, colour and nationality is unacceptable
Being anti-racist
The University of Plymouth is a diverse, international University and we want all students and staff to feel welcomed and supported. We are committed to being anti-racist in our practices and policies and we want to create an inclusive culture where individuals are able to thrive, irrespective of their race or ethnicity. To help us along this journey we work with our staff, student societies and Advance HE’s Race Equality Charter to ensure our campus works for everyone.
Race Equality Charter
Race inequality is an issue across the Higher Education sector and the University of Plymouth is taking steps to address this in student attainment, staff promotions and decolonising our curriculum by submitting to Advance HE's Race Equality Charter (REC) by 2023.
This ambitious target will be met by the University's REC Self-Assessment Team, led by Dr Mahrukh Mirza and Laura Avery alongside colleagues from all Faculties, departments, University subsidiary companies and UPSU.
Mentoring, career development and bursaries
We recognise that in order to address attainment and employability gaps across Higher Education, we need to put in extra initiatives to ensure equality of opportunity for all our graduates. The University of Plymouth has a wide-range of mentoring, career development and bursaries available to our BAME/BIPOC students.
Find out more about the support available
Decolonisation and challenging Eurocentrism
Our curriculum should reflect the diversity of lived experiences and not rely on white or Eurocentric ideas and philosophy. As part of the University’s work to address the ethnicity attainment gap we are working on curriculum decolonisation across the University through our dedicated Educational Development Team and our submission to the Race Equality Charter.
Anti-Racist Toolkit
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team and the Forum for Race Equality and Diversity Awareness (FREDA) have put together a range of resources to help everyone learn how to be anti-racist in their work and daily life.
This toolkit comprises of a range of resources inform and entertain you, including films, documentaries, podcasts, books (both fiction and non-fiction), articles, websites and more.
Speak Up
The University of Plymouth is proud to be a safe, welcoming and diverse community – our staff, students and anyone interacting with us should feel comfortable being who they are.
We believe that bullying, harassment and discrimination are never okay. Any allegations of this nature (which includes sexual violence, abuse or hate) are taken incredibly seriously.
Staff, students, contractors and members of the public can report incidents they have experienced or witnessed using our Speak Up tool and these can be reported anonymously if you wish.
Stay safe overseas
Travelling overseas with a protected characteristic can sometimes be challenging and add additional barriers to the safety and enjoyment of your trip. Working with Health and Safety, our Staff Networks and UPSU we have a dedicated travel advice page to help you when planning a trip.
