Throughout the education sector in the UK, equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) has become a well-known phrase. But at the University of East London (UEL), it’s much more than a section in the staff handbook or a policy on the website – it’s the very essence of the university’s identity and the foundation of its strategy, Vision 2028. EDI shapes everything from recruitment and career development to daily life and student outcomes.
Approximately 50% of professors at UEL identify as Black or from other global ethnic majority backgrounds – a figure that stands out from the national picture, where fewer than 1% of Black academics reach professorial level. For the university, this isn’t about ticking boxes but aligning staff representation with the lived reality of students – nearly 60% of whom come from global ethnic majority backgrounds.
