Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for Students

EDI stands for equity (or equality), diversity, and inclusion. These terms are related but have specific meanings. City St George’s definitions of equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion are defined below.

Equality vs Equity

The terms equality and equity are related but have differences in meaning.

Equality means treating everyone the same and providing everyone with the same resources or opportunities, regardless of their individual needs or circumstances. The idea is that everyone gets an equal share of whatever is available, regardless of their starting point or needs.

Equity focuses on fairness and justice. It acknowledges that people have different needs, challenges, and starting points, and aims to distribute resources and opportunities to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to succeed.  The goal is to give people what they need to succeed, which may not necessarily mean giving everyone the same thing.

In practice, this could mean the difference between all students being given the same amount of time in an examination (equality) vs a student with a specific learning difference being offered extra time to support their specific needs (equity). At City St George’s, we strive for equity.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity: acknowledging the range of difference within our community between individuals, cultural, social and intellectual contributions and seek to utilise the talents and experiences that each once can bring to City St George’s.

Inclusion: City St George’s working with its staff and students to design and operate flexible services, practices and procedures that take appropriate account of the needs of staff, students and visitors enabling everyone to be themselves, express themselves and realise their full potential.

City St George’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy 2020–2026 was signed off in Summer 2020. The three key themes central to the strategy are:

Theme 1: Embedding Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion into our core ethos.

Theme 2: Enhancing the staff and student experience through fostering an environment of access and inclusion and improving the diversity of our organisation.

Theme 3: Supporting individual identity and a continual journey of learning, through increased awareness and a supportive culture.

Read the full strategy

As a public sector body in the United Kingdom, City St George’s must meet its legal obligations as set out in the Equality Act 2010. This means that the University must actively and consistently work to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010
• Advance equality of opportunity
• Foster good relations between different groups.

This means actively introducing, maintaining and continually improving measures to provide equality of opportunity for all our students, staff, and visitors, and to prevent or resolve any forms of harassment, discrimination, victimisation, or other intolerance amongst our students and staff.

The Protected Characteristics identified in the Equality Act 2010 are as follows:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender Reassignment
• Marriage or Civil Partnership
• Pregnancy or Maternity
• Race
• Religion or Belief
• Sex
• Sexual Orientation.

If your experience at City St George’s does not align with our commitments to EDI, or if you have encountered any inappropriate behaviours such as including harassment, discrimination, victimisation, or other forms of intolerance, you can access support or submit a formal report to the University through one of the following options:

• Health and Wellbeing Support
• Bullying and Harassment Support
• Contact a Dignity and Respect Advisor
• Report a concern or incident.

City St George’s has a diverse student population of over 27,000 students from 160 countries. The University has a high proportion of students who are underrepresented in Higher Education in the UK. Here is an overview of students that form our community:

• Care leavers, estranged students, and young adult carers
• Commuters
• Disabled students
• International students
• LGBTQIA+
• Low socio-economic background
• Mature and part-time
• Refugee and asylum-seeking students
• Students of colour
• Student parents or guardians
• Students with a religion or belief.

For more information on our staff and student data, please explore the Equality data and objectives webpage.

More information on EDI data and reporting can be found in the links below:

• EDI Annual Report
• Public Sector Equality (PSED)
• Student Policies.

City St George's has an interim policy in place to specifically support transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming (TIGNC) members of our University community, and an LGBTQIA+ Community Inclusion Committee (LCIC) that regularly meets to discuss any challenges facing the LGBTQIA+ community and updates to policy.

Background on the Policy

The Transgender, Intersex and Gender Non-Conforming People Policy (interim) affirms City St George's commitment to support students who identify as a part of the TIGNC community.  The policy maps out key principles for supporting TIGNC individuals (the introduction of gender-neutral language, avoiding misgendering, availability of facilities, etc.), and provides a named contact for TIGNC students and staff at City St George's.  It was first established in 2017.

Support for students in the TIGNC community

City St George's provides the following to try and support students who may be transitioning while studying at the University, or to support those who have a trans history, intersex identity or gender non-conforming identity:

An action plan between a relevant staff member and the student so that staff can be as useful as possible

Mx is available as a title on the Student Records system

Gender-neutral accessible toilets are currently available on all campuses. More details can be found on the Student Facilities page.

If you have any specific questions relating to the TIGNC People Policy or require any particular guidance on student support as a TIGNC individual, please contact Support@City (for Clerkenwell and Moorgate students), or email studentlifecentre@sgul.ac.uk (for Tooting students).

City St George’s Students’ Union helps create a community where students feel included, delivers change to improve the everyday lives of students and provides high quality, accessible support.

The Students’ Union offers a variety of student societies you can join to meet new, likeminded people with similar interests, faiths, beliefs and political outlooks. Learn more about the Students’ Union and browse the list of societies below:

• City St George’s Students’ Union
• Societies.

Diversify Your Mind (DYM) is an online space where students can have honest, thought-provoking discussions on important issues, from racism and injustice to representation and belonging. Each event focuses on a different topic, inspired by the lived experiences of students and explored through books, films, podcasts, and real-world events.

No prior knowledge is required to join, and DYM is open to all students regardless of their background. Attendance contributes towards the City St George’s Employability Award, by engaging with the DYM event series you will develop skills that align with the Graduate Attributes.

To join the mailing list, please contact edi@citystgeorges.ac.uk to receive updates on upcoming events and speaker opportunities.