Annual Report on Gender Equality
Foreword by the Principal
The Arts Institute at Bournemouth is committed to the provision of an educational environment which is free from all forms of discrimination, and actively promotes equality of opportunity. We explicitly acknowledge the importance of diversity in our Strategic Plan, and seek to ensure that the needs and interests of all students, staff and other stakeholders are met through our policies, procedures and services, as well as through educational provision.
As Principal and Chief Executive Officer, and Chair of the Institute’s Academic Board, I am pleased to present this annual report on the progress made by the Institute in implementing its Gender Equality Scheme, produced in response to the general statutory duty to promote equality of opportunity between men and women, and the specific duties of public authorities, as outlined in the Equality Act 2006. Our policies and procedures make clear that any act of illegal sex discrimination will not be tolerated.
The significant achievements of the last year demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that equality is at the heart of our work. Leadership and commitment at all levels of the institution are central to the success of the Scheme and we will work proactively to reinforce the benefits of a diverse student–staff population. In turn this will enhance our learning environment, the academic courses we offer and hence the overall student learning experience, as well as providing a dynamic and integrated community in which all staff and students are able to fulfil their own potential.
Professor Stuart Bartholomew
Principal and Chief Executive Officer
April 2008
Gender Equality Scheme Annual Report2008
1.Introduction
1.1The Arts Institute at Bournemouth published its Gender Equality Scheme in April 2007. The Scheme is an annex to the Institute’s Equality and Inclusivity Policy, and articulates the ways in which the Institute seeks to promote gender equality, and to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment in respect of gender.
1.2In future years, it is likely that the Institute will prepare one annual report on its equality and inclusivity activity, which shows the progress it has made in delivering on the equality agenda. However, in this first year of operation, it has been decided to report on gender equality separately.
2.Management structures
2.1During the course of the last year, the Institute has undertaken a review of its student support services, which led to a restructuring of this area of its provision. A consequence of this restructure was that the compound post of Equalities Coordinator, which covered both general advice to Institute managers on equalities issues and student disability advice, was reconfigured, and two new posts were created;Senior Officer (Equalities) and Senior Disability Officer. The Senior Officer (Equalities) is now responsible for the aspects of the former role of Equalities Coordinator which relate to the broader equalities agenda, specifically emerging legislation and good practice, and advice to the Institute’s management team on the implications of these developments. This post reports to the newly established post of Institute Secretary, and the Secretary is responsible for leading on areas of compliance, including equalities. A new Senior Disability Officer has also been appointed to work directly on student disability issues based in the Learning Support section of Student Services.
2.2The Equality and Inclusivity Committee remains a key committee within the Institute which considers developments in equalities legislation and monitors the Institute’s response, including monitoring progress against relevant action plans. The Director of Academic Services remains Chair of this Committee, the constitution of which has been revised to reflect the new staffing structure in both Student Services, and equalities guidance. Likewise the Race and Disability Equality sub-groups which give detailed scrutiny to progress remain unaffected but a new Gender Equality sub-group has been formed to specifically examine issues relating to gender equality. The first task for the new Gender Sub-Group was to consider and comment on this Annual Report. Following a standard three year period of office, a number of members of the Equality and Inclusivity Committee have stood down, and new staff nominations have been made to the Committee. This is particularly welcome as it provides the opportunity to publicise the work of the Committee more widely across the Institute and gives opportunity to more staff members to offer their views on equality issues. The constitution and framework of the Equalities and Inclusivity Committee and its sub-groups is available on the Arts Institute Website and on the Intranet.
2.3The recently revised equalities structure also includes the new Staff and Student Equalities Forum. This group has been put in place to provide further means of consultation with staff and students. The new Equalities Forum meets once termly and attendance is open to any student or staff member.
2.4The Equality and Inclusivity Committee continues to report to Academic Board, which is the most senior academic committee.
3.Progress against action plan (by theme)
3.1Leadership
3.1.1The Institute’s core values include the promotion of diversity and individuality, which are critical in the establishment of a creative environment which builds on the strengths of all cultures, backgrounds and experiences. There is a significant management commitment to the value of a diverse staff and student body, evidenced by the reporting structures and committee framework mentioned above in section 2.3.
3.1.2The Institute’s Strategic Plan sets out the commitment to equality, which is a focus of the Human Resources Strategy 2006-11.
3.1.3The Equality Scheme action plan foresaw developments in a number of central Institute policies and strategies during 2007. These policies are reviewed every three years, and relevant changes will be made as each is reviewed. However the Widening Participation Strategy and Learning Strategy have both been the subject of review in the last year, and both make explicit reference to equality issues.
3.2Equality Impact Assessments
The Equality Impact Assessment mechanism is discussed under section 8.
3.3Marketing and Publicity
3.3.1The Arts Institute at Bournemouth routinely uses positive images of each gender within the Directory and other appropriate publicity distributed both internally and externally. Statements on our commitment to an inclusive community are also included in appropriate marketing literature. At present there is more detail on the provision for disabled stakeholders in the Institute’s marketing literaturethan on that for the other equality strands such as gender. The Institute recognises the importance of promoting its gender equality provision and to this end, a review of statementson equality and inclusivity in marketing material is to take place in the near future.
3.3.2The Arts Institute is regularly featured in the local press for its achievements and activity as well as to advertise forthcoming events. However, there has been limited external or internal publicity or exposure for the Institute’s work on gender equality. In part this is a consequence of the restructuring and the need for new post holders to develop an understanding of the Institute and its operations. The Institute also adopts a policy of seeking to promote activity on a selective basis, to maximise impact, and this area of the Gender Equality Scheme may require review to ensure that it is realistic about future plans. The introduction of a new clause in ThirdParty Provider contracts to ensure compliance with our Gender Equality Scheme will aid the external promotion of the Arts Institute as an organisation which takes its equality duties seriously.
3.4Monitoring and feedback
3.4.1Registry routinely monitors student data by minority group. Participation, retention and progression statistics are routinely made available, and reported through the Annual Overview Report on the academic work of the Institute (published December). At present MIS is compiling a comprehensive report on student application, enrolment, retention, progression and achievement according to equality target groups including gender, and a thorough analysis of this information will take place as soon as this is complete. Other monitoring and feedback mechanisms are discussed in more detail in sections 5, 6 and 7 below.
3.4.2The Institute is aware that the original Gender EqualityScheme does not contain sets of clear numerical data targets. Monitoring is an aspect of the equalities provision which is relatively successful however setting targets in respect of data collected is an area where the Institute could improve its provision and one which is under consideration.
3.5Human resources
3.5.1Equal opportunities monitoring forms are consistent across the institution, which permits the comparison of data across sections, courses, Schools and Directorates. With the introduction of the new MIS system, data sets relating to each equality target group will be much more easily attainable and comparable.
3.5.2Data on applicant and employment profile during the last year will be reported as part of the annual data report which will be published later this year.
3.5.3The Equality and Inclusivity leaflet has now been reviewed to ensure that it is up to date, and reflects the current position and practice. Two separate leaflets, one for students and one for staff were proposed and approved at the E&I Committee meeting in February 2008. Both leaflets are in production and should be available to stakeholders before the end of this academic year. The leaflets are routinely made available to staff and students via the website in Word format and are set out as part of the HR application packs for potential employees. Visiting Tutors are issued with a leaflet when they reach the attendance threshold which exceeds three times in three months. In this instance, the VTs receive a contract, schedule and induction to the Institute as a hard copy which includes the staff E&I leaflet.
3.5.4Equality training is routinely given at new staff inductions and annually at Staff Development days. In addition the Arts Institute requires all new staff to undertake an e-diversity training programme which must be completed in the first three months of employment. A management training programme on equality and diversity is a potential area where the Arts Institute could enhance its provision.
3.5.5The Equal Pay Audit is on track for its deadline of April 2010. The HR team recently conducted a brief review and intend to perform a full audit when the Management Information System is fully functioning from May 2008. Initial findings suggest that there is no significant gender pay gap.
3.6Learning and teaching
3.6.1All courses have staff trained in equality and diversity principles and who are familiar with our E&I policy. Training is inculcated both through the above-mentioned routine e-diversity course, and through completion of the in-house PGCE.
3.6.2The new Learning Strategy was approved by Academic Board in March 2008. The Equality and Inclusivity Committee requested that this include direct reference to inclusive teaching methods, and the value of including diversity as part of the curriculum and this was duly incorporated within the final version.
3.6.3The recently published Ethnicity, Gender and Degree Attainment project by the HigherEducationAcademy (January 2008) was received and noted at the Equality and Inclusivity in February 2008. It was agreed by the committee that the Institute would form a working group to investigate more thoroughly the findings of the report, and this work in progress is expected to highlight areas where the Arts Institute can improve its efforts to further instill the culture of diversity and individuality within the curriculum. Similarly, the conclusions of the Equality Impact Assessment process are likely to highlight other areas for consideration where the Arts Institute can advance equality awareness and understanding.
3.6.4Preliminary findings from an internal investigation based on the conclusions and recommendations of the Ethnicity, Gender and Degree Attainment project suggest that performance in this area could be improved by offering academic staff more support and guidance on inclusive teaching methods and by re-analysing assessment methods. The initial report on Ethnicity, Gender and Degree Attainment at the Arts Institute will focus on attaining data from staff to identify any gender differentials. Depending on the findings of the initial investigation, a full investigation will follow.
3.7Institute Compliance
3.7.1The Institute continues to work to promote gender equality, and to eliminate unlawful gender discrimination and harassment. Committees and groups routinely monitor data which is appropriately segmented to ensure that they can respond to any specific needs for staff and students and there is considerable evidence that this is effective, but that there is no room for complacency.
3.7.2Further consultation with the Staff and Student Equality Forum and future efforts by the Gender Equality Sub-Group would enable the Institute to make a more confident positive statement of Inclusivity.In addition, accurate numerical data is unavailable at this stage, but will be collated in the near future.
4.Involvement
4.1The Institute is aware of the legal requirement that minority groups be involved in the development of provision. It was partly for this purpose that the Staff and Student Equalities Forum was established to provide an opportunity for the Institute to consult on issues as required, and also to enable staff and students to give feedback and offer suggestions on how provision could be improved. The Forum does not have formal decision-making powers or responsibilities, but any issues which arise are fed into the system at the appropriate point. This may be referring them to the Director of Academic Services, Head of Human Resources or Head of Student Services or for consideration by the newly formed Gender Sub-Group.
4.2The Forum does not have a formal constitution, as attendance is open to any student or staff member. The Institute is considering how best to broaden and extend attendance amongst both staff and students. In the case of staff members, individual contact is likely to be used. Additional qualitative methods of gaining feedback are currently under consideration.
5.Information Gathering from the Student Body
5.1The Institute gathers information from both staff and students in a variety of ways. These include the segmentation of responses to the staff survey and the internal and external student satisfaction surveys, as well as the Staff and Student Equality Forum.
5.2Student Services carries out two student perception surveys to obtain feedback from students in confidence. The responses enable staff to maintain high standards and further improve the student experience at the Arts Institute. The first survey, on initial advice, induction and enrolment, takes place every two years.The second occurs annually and looks at the experience of the whole year. Results from this survey are routinely collated and broken down according to equality target groups. The most recent student perception survey was completed in March 2008 and the results are collated, broken down according to equality target groups, analysed and any significant findings will be incorporated into the reviewed equality schemes, policies and action plans.
5.3The information secured through the internal Student Perception Survey (SPS) is particularly pertinent as the same questions are asked of the full student body, with an overall response rate somewhere above 70%. This provides information about a student’s overall learning experience at the Institute, and hence has a particular resonance with academic staff and senior managers. Unfortunately last year’s survey results were not compiled according to gender differentials but the results from 2006 were very encouraging with no difference between the responses from male and female students. This year the SPS results will again be collated and broken down according to equality target groups including gender.
5.4The 2007 National Student Survey results by gender were also reassuringly consistent, and there is no cause for concern.
5.5The Institute is undertaking a review of pre-enrolment information during 2007/08(which is being led by the Director of Academic Services), and gender variables will indeed be taken into account. Similarly, the Head of Library and Information Services and the Head of Student Services are undertaking some research into student expectations, such that the Institute can be clear about the nature of service which new students expect, and they will be invited to discuss with students to identify ways in which the Institute can improve its processes for admission, enrolment and induction.
5.6The Gender Equality Sub-Group has begun discussions on the possible acquisition of data relating to gender identity and sexualorientation among students. This is a contentious area of debate and will be approached with caution.Nevertheless the Institute is determined to eradicate illegal discrimination and therefore is considering the best method to obtain feedback. Although, the required information is unavailable at present,it is to be noted that the Institute is striving to achieve equality of opportunity for all and will take suitable measures to realise its goals.
6.Information Gathering from the Staff Body
6.1In December the Annual Course Reviews and Annual Service Reviews were published. Each directorate is required to produce a brief account of the equality profile of staff members. Interestingly, some sections (School of Media) reported a predominantly male staff body while others (Institute Services and Academic Services) are predominantly female. In all three of the above mentioned cases, Directors are all aware of the gender bias among staff, despite improvements in the last year, and are taking steps to ensure that applications are encouraged from the under-represented group.
6.2HR routinely collate proportional data on staff which is reported in the Annual Data Report which is due for publication later this year.
6.3The Institute’s staff perception survey takes place annually but its disappointing response rate (around 30%) may suggest that it is not the most reliable form of feedback.For the main part, the results were encouraging as respondents believed that one of the overall areas of high importance and high satisfaction was the Institute’s provision for equality and equal opportunities. However, the Institute was disappointed to find that certain respondents said they had experienced or witnessed some form of discrimination in the workplace and is considering how best to tackle this issue. Future processes will reinforce that