Race Equality Charter

• What is the Race Equality Charter?

  The Race Equality Charter (REC) is an important national charter mark aimed at improving the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students in higher education in the United Kingdom.

  The REC framework enables universities to identify and critically reflect on the institutional barriers faced by minority ethnic staff and students. The charter acts as an avenue for the University to raise the profile of race equality and maintain dialogue about what race equality looks like in practice at St Andrews.

  By better understanding and addressing the experience of minority ethnic staff and students at St Andrews, we will be able to make meaningful and lasting interventions in areas such as staff recruitment, representation, pay gaps and progression; student admissions, representation and attainment; discrimination, bullying and harassment; and curriculum reform.

  The Race Equality Charter scheme is run by Advance HE.

• Does St Andrews have a Race Equality Charter award?

  The University of St Andrews achieved a Race Equality Charter Bronze Award in September 2024 in recognition of its work to advance race equality.

  The Race Equality Charter is underpinned by five fundamental guiding principles: 

  • Racial inequalities are a significant issue within higher education. Racial inequalities are not necessarily overt, isolated incidents. Racism is an everyday facet of UK society and racial inequalities manifest themselves in everyday situations, processes and behaviours.
  • UK higher education cannot reach its full potential unless it can benefit from the talents of the whole population and until individuals from all ethnic backgrounds can benefit equally from the opportunities it affords.
  • In developing solutions to racial inequalities, it is important that they are aimed at achieving long-term institutional culture change, avoiding a deficit model where solutions are aimed at changing the individual.
  • Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff and students are not a homogenous group. People from different ethnic backgrounds have different experiences of and outcomes from/within higher education, and that complexity needs to be considered in analysing data and developing actions.
  • All individuals have multiple identities, and the intersection of those different identities should be considered wherever possible.

  To gain charter status, we needed to acknowledge and embrace these principles, to act on them, and to develop an action plan which demonstrates clearly how we will address and overcome inequalities in our university, and drive long-term culture change. The full Race Equality Charter application and action plan will be published in due course.

• Who is leading our Race Equality Charter work?

  In February 2022, St Andrews appointed Dr Akira O’Connor, of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, to be the Chair of our 2024 Race Equality Charter bid, to lead and coordinate the institutional efforts required to fulfil the University’s ambitions to achieve Race Equality Charter status and develop an action plan.

  The responsibility for these actions will sit with senior colleagues, including the Vice-Principal, People and Diversity, who sat on the Race Equality Charter Self-Assessment Team.

• How can I support the St Andrews Race Equality Charter work?

  If you have suggestions for race equality actions or activities, please email Dr Akira O’Connor at recchair@st-andrews.ac.uk.