Equality and diversity in research careers

As part of our work to support research careers, we seek to promote equality and diversity among research staff. During 2011, we funded Vitae – the national organisation for championing the personal, professional and career development of researchers - to carry out a project designed to help universities understand, prioritise and make visible equality and diversity among their researchers.

This project formed part of our implementation strategy for the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

‘Every researcher counts’

The project – titled ‘Every Researcher Counts’ - aimed to:

increase support for Principal Investigators (PIs) in integrating equality and diversity into the management of research staff
raise awareness of equality and diversity good practice in researcher development
promote the culture change that is needed to improve equality in research careers.

Project outputs

Vitae developed a suite of equality and diversity resources in close partnership with the Equality Challenge Unit, aimed at PIs, human resources specialists and research staff developers.

These are designed to be used one-to-one or in small working groups. The suite includes stakeholder briefings, half-day training sessions and case studies.

As part of the project, Vitae also undertook a programme of strategic activities to raise the profile of equality and diversity within the context of the Concordat. They used their existing communication mechanisms and regional hubs to develop a network of ‘champions’ at universities with an interest and experience in equality and diversity relating to research staff.

Vitae also held a national event, ‘Every researcher counts: equality and diversity in research careers’ on 3 June 2011 in London. The aim of the conference was to support senior staff to improve institutional approaches to equality and diversity for recruiting, managing and developing research staff.

More about ‘Every researcher counts’

Page last updated 10 November 2011