October Connect Benefit Series - Delivering on EDI: the critical governance role

Using the data collected by HESA/Jisc on the composition of governing bodies in the UK higher education sector, this report will provide analysis and insight into the diversity of governing bodies in the sector. It will put a spotlight on the current diversity of boards, and provide the data to bring to light areas of underrepresentation. This will be an important milestone for the sector to understand the data behind board diversity, in order to put in place measures and develop a culture to increase board diversity.

Simonetta Manfredi, Professor in Equality and Diversity Management and Director of the Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice, Oxford Brookes University, reflects on the findings of the 'Diversity of governors in higher education report'.

Designed to help boards grapple with this vital question, Advance HE’s Victoria Holbrook Assistant Director, Governance, and Gary Loke, Director of Knowledge, Innovation and Delivery will be hosting a Chatham House session exploring how Chairs can support their boards – through the assurance role - to effectively challenge EDI progress in their institutions.

We will be also be joined by Elisabeth Passey, Convener of Court, University of Glasgow and John Bateman, OBE, Chair, University of Worcester.

A recording of Gary Loke's presentation from this round table session can be can be viewed here and a full written summary can be found at the link below. 

Advance HE is dedicated to supporting the development of our members based on sector needs, and provides funding to help enable this. For the 2020-21 member benefit year, funding will be available to our global membership base in the form of our Collaborative Development Fund.

We will shortly be launching our governance project ‘The HE Board Diversity Practice Project - Delivering on Higher Education and Research Institutes Board diversity – collating, understanding and sharing members’ practice to deliver on board diversity’

The principal aim of the project is to collate and understand the range of practice and lessons learned from members’ attempts to diversify their boards in order to provide an evidence base and potential solutions. This project is being run in collaboration with the international executive search firm Perrett Laver, whose involvement has enabled us to widen the scope of the research and maximise its benefit to Advance HE members and the sector.

The opportunity to register your interest in applying for the Collaborative Development Fund has now passed. 

Advance HE's Advance HE’s Victoria Holbrook Assistant Director, Governance has written a blog discussing the ongoing challenge of diversity and inclusion for higher education institutions. 

Advance HE (and before it the Equality Challenge Unit) has published annual statistical reports on HE staff and students since 2005. The student reports detail differences in participation in HE, attainment, continuation and graduate destinations by students’ age, disability status, ethnicity and gender.