Inclusivity Statement

Department of Economics Inclusivity Statement

The Department of Economics is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and ensuring that everyone in our community thrives in the environment we have created. We take our responsibility to guarantee that every voice is respected very seriously, and strive to ensure that our staff and students feel encouraged and supported to fulfil their potential. 
 

OUR COMMITMENT AND AMBITIONS

We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture which promotes equality and values diversity, and to maintaining a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all staff and students are respected. This includes:

• Treating each other with kindness and respect
  We expect everyone in our community to treat each other with respect, courtesy and consideration, and do not tolerate any form of unlawful discrimination, bullying, harassment or victimisation.
   
• Acting in the interest of everyone
  We recognise that a diverse staff and student community strengthens our work, research and enhances our teaching, and that we must embed our expectations for standards of equality and inclusion in all our activities to provide an inclusive, fair and open environment for everyone.
   
• Providing a safe space for all voices to be heard
  We want everyone to feel involved in the future of the Department, and we recognise that this is a continually evolving and developing process. We aim to be open to feedback, and to provide a safe space for everyone’s voices to be heard and opportunities for their concerns to be raised and addressed. We recognise that academia traditionally is hierarchical. Because of this, we realise that we need to work actively to foster an environment where students can voice their concerns and where students can feel safe.
   
• Protected characteristics
  We seek to ensure that no member of our community is discriminated against on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, or sexual orientation (often referred to as the ‘protected characteristics’).

ACTIONS

• Carers and family support
  We recognise that caring is an important role and seek to support staff and students who have caring or parenting responsibilities. Department members are offered guidance by our HR team, so that they are fully informed on the options open to them and the support that is available – both in the Department and from the wider University. Information on Department and University support and guidance on family leave is available here.
   
• Department Code of Conduct
  Our Department Code of Conduct sets out standards of behaviour and good practice expected from all Department members.
   
• Progress Pride Department Logo
  In 2022 we designed a new Department Logo incorporating the Progress Pride flag, which has since been adopted as the main Department logo on a permanent basis. Our intention is to represent marginalised groups in the broadest sense possible, and show the Department’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, rather than for the Department to display support or other flags for individual groups or causes. Read more about this decision here.
   
• Inclusive Practice Workshops
  We have organised inclusive practice workshops for academic, research and professional services staff and DPhil students to encourage understanding of and engagement in our goal to cultivate an environment that is inclusive for all staff and students. We run these workshops on an annual basis and gather feedback on how the department could work harder to improve inclusion. For information about future dates contact our EDI Officer.
   
• Tackling Bullying and Harassment
  We are tackling bullying and harassment by ensuring staff and students know what support is available to them and how to report an incident of bullying and harassment. This includes the option of speaking to one of our two Department Harassment Advisors, who have been trained to provide confidential guidance and advice.
   
• Focus on equal opportunities
  We closely monitor both the equality of our admissions process and the diversity of our seminar speakers. The departmental seminar speaker guidance asks organisers to commit to inviting a diverse range of speakers, and we monitor the gender breakdown of seminar speakers on an annual basis.
   
• Diversity in staff recruitment
  Diversity continues be at the heart of our recruitment of academic, research and professional services staff. Working with colleges, reforms of the Associate Professor recruitment process in recent years have been designed to increase the diversity of the candidate pool. These reforms include an active search committee and a strategy to encourage recent PhDs to apply. As hoped, both the applicant pool and the long- and short-lists were far more diverse with respect to gender and ethnicity than in previous years. Furthermore, this year we have evaluated our induction and mentor support to ensure staff have the best start to progress in their careers at the Department.
   
• ‘What Economists Really Do’ public engagement series
  Our What Economist Really Do series of talks aims discuss some of the biggest challenges facing society today, demonstrating how economists are working with governments and businesses around the world to improve policy and make the economy work better for everyone. In the 2022/23 series we examined issues related to equality, diversity and inclusion in economics, including the cost-of-living crisis, race related research and violence against women at work.
   
• Department SharePoint site
  Our Department SharePoint site provides fast access for members of the Department (including graduate students) to find information related to Human Resources Policies, where to find support, and answer any other questions they may have.
   
• University resources
  The Equality and Diversity Unit supports the University’s commitment to fostering an inclusive culture which promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students are respected. https://edu.admin.ox.ac.uk/support-available-to-staff

THE CHALLENGES AHEAD

We are aware that shortcomings exist – in our department and across the discipline – and acknowledge the challenges that marginalised members of the Department may be experiencing presently, and we strive for a fair and equal future.