University of Leeds Launches Program to Advance Diversity in Higher Education Leadership
A new cross-institutional programme has launched at the University of Leeds, with the aim of helping to accelerate progress on diversifying leadership in higher education.
The Equity in Leadership Programme spans the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York. It has been co-created with participants and is being led by The White Rose University Consortium. The programme will help address the systemic barriers and cultural biases that research and evidence show still exist in higher education for colleagues from minoritised ethnic backgrounds.
The programme will take a holistic approach to enacting meaningful change, not solely through targeted support for individuals on the programme, but also through offering managers and leaders the tools and resources to understand and address inequities in the workplace.
Professor Hai-Sui Yu, Interim Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Leeds, and chair of its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee, said: “Our EDI Strategy sets out the University’s aspiration to be a place where every person feels empowered to succeed.
“I’m very pleased that we are offering new, innovative, strategic EDI interventions, in partnership with our colleagues at the universities of Sheffield and York.”
This programme demonstrates our commitment to fostering diverse talent and delivering valuable initiatives to our institutions.”
The programme was launched at the University of Leeds with a networking event attended by senior leaders, delegates, line managers and other stakeholders.
Professor Andrew Thorpe, Executive Dean of Arts, Humanities and Cultures at the University of Leeds, who took part in the event said: “It is vitally important that leadership levels within higher education genuinely reflect the rich diversity of our community.
“The launch of the programme provided a powerful opportunity to engage with and learn from a diverse group of emerging leaders, across our three institutions, and understand collectively what still needs to shift in terms of our culture and systemic practices.”
Dr Karen Hinxman, Head of the White Rose University Consortium, who has led the programme’s development, added: “I am proud to support such an important initiative. At the White Rose University Consortium, we work collaboratively across the universities of Leeds, Sheffield, and York, to enable individuals from all backgrounds to thrive within our universities. This programme demonstrates our commitment to fostering diverse talent and delivering valuable initiatives to our institutions.
“I am impressed by our outstanding participants and their diverse accomplishments. Across our institutions, we have a pipeline of brilliant colleagues, but there is much more we need to do to grow and sustain this talent.”
Commitment
Seema Verma, Head of Finance in the Faculty of Environment, a participant on the programme said: “We often lose talented colleagues from diverse backgrounds to other sectors. This partly could be due to the fact we have so few senior leaders from minoritised ethnic backgrounds in higher education, so colleagues may look to other sectors where there are more visibly successful, diverse role models.
“The Equity in Leadership programmes signals a welcome commitment to retaining and supporting the progression of under-represented groups, across our three institutions.”
The launch of the Equity in Leadership Programme represents a significant milestone in the University of Leeds’ EDI Implementation Plan.