Equality and Diversity for Students
Here at City, University of London we welcome students of all different genders, ethnicities, abilities, sexual orientations, faiths, ages and backgrounds, all equally, and all without discrimination. We hope for our University community to be as diverse, vibrant and accessible as possible, and so we are continually working to ensure that all students feel welcome, safe and able to achieve your absolute best while studying with us.
We have dedicated staff working on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across the University includinga small team based within Human Resources who work on EDI for staff, and a dedicated staff member in Student and Academic Services who works on EDI for students.
If you would like to speak to someone at the University about EDI, or about anything related to the information on this page, you can get in touch with us at edi-students@city.ac.uk.
Definitions of ‘equality, diversity and inclusion’
Equality: ensuring individuals or groups of individuals are treated fairly and equally in relation to their needs.
Diversity: acknowledging the range of difference within our community between individuals, cultural, social and intellectual contributions and seek to utilise the talents and experiences that each once can bring to City.
Inclusion: City working with its staff and students to design and operate flexible services, practices and procedures that take appropriate account of the needs of staff, students and visitors enabling everyone to be themselves, express themselves and realise their full potential.
Our EDI strategy
The definitions above have been taken from City’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2020 – 2026, which was signed off in Summer 2020. The three key themes central to the Strategy are:
Theme 1: Embedding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion into our core ethos.
Theme 2: Enhancing the staff and student experience through fostering an environment of access and inclusion and improving the diversity of our organisation.
Theme 3: Supporting individual identity and a continual journey of learning, through increased awareness and a supportive culture.
You can read the full strategy here.
Our EDI Commitments
As a public sector body in the United Kingdom, City must meet its legal obligations as set out in the Equality Act 2010. This means that City must actively and consistently work to:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it
- Foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
This means actively introducing, maintaining and continually improving measures to provide equality of opportunity for all of our students, staff and visitors, and to prevent or resolve any forms of harassment, discrimination, victimisation or other intolerance amongst our students and staff.
The Protected Characteristics identified in the Equality Act 2010 are as follows:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender Reassignment
- Marriage or Civil Partnership
- Pregnancy or Maternity
- Race
- Religion or Belief
- Sex
- Sexual Orientation
If you have not had an experience which matches up with our commitments to EDI while studying at City, or if you have experienced any of the inappropriate behaviours outlined here (including harassment, discrimination, victimisation or other forms of intolerance), you can seek help and support or make a formal report to the University, using one of the following:
Student Welfare and Support
For full information on the range of student support available, see the Help and Support section of the Student Hub.
City also has a dedicated Harassment Adviser scheme which is in place to support students who have experienced harassment or bullying and would like to understand the available options. Find out more.