With this final report, the Advisory Committee concludes six years of advising government and the sector on promoting diversity and inclusion in higher education and research. The report outlines the activities carried out, the outcomes achieved, and considerations for the future.
Promoting diversity, inclusion and equality is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and thus continues to develop and evolve in line with the times and prevailing circumstances. This endeavour rests on prioritising diversity and inclusion in core processes: the curriculum, the organisation of the research landscape, and the learning and working environments of all those involved. The trend appears to be towards embedding diversity policy within existing systems and programmes. The advisory committee recognises the rationale behind this, but also emphasises that promoting diversity, inclusion, and equality requires separate, ongoing, specialised attention within quality cycles that enable institutions to monitor and improve the effectiveness of their diversity policies continuously. Examples include a system-wide agreement on monitoring using diversity data (DiMIS), the introduction of assessments for study programmes with an inclusive curriculum as a quality criterion, gender equality policies based on intersectionality, and combating institutional discrimination and racism that affect students and staff and influence their development.