Our commitment to diversity and inclusion
At Essex our people are at the centre of everything we do and we aspire to build a culture in which every member of the University feels valued and can flourish.
In order to achieve this we are committed to establishing:
- a truly inclusive working environment, not only through policies and processes, but also by the way our people behave
- a physical environment that promotes a healthy working lifestyle
- a culture that recognises the connection between rest, creativity and wellbeing
- a flexible working culture which leads to self-managed time and a collaborative working culture in which our people support, and have mutual respect for, each other.
Equality Impact Assessment for remote working and learning
Requiring staff and students to work and study in different ways and from a location that is different to their usual place of work/study presents both opportunities and challenges. It introduces a level of increased flexibility for both staff and students but requires adopting a different approach to working and studying.
We have undertaken a detailed Equality Impact Assessment of our current circumstances, and consideration has been given to both the potential positive and negative impacts of these changes.
Access and disability
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and have agreed to take action to meet the commitments regarding the employment, retention, training and career development of disabled staff. Our
Our access and disability support information contains details about:
- getting to and around the University's campuses
- health and safety advice and support
- diversity and inclusion policies
- our partnership with DisabledGo in order to improve access-related information
Engagement with external equality charters
Through our participation in the
In May 2017 we joined the Equality Challenge Unit’s Race Equality Charter which provides us with a framework through which we can work to identify and self-reflect on the barriers standing in the way of minority ethnic staff and students.
Employee networks
We have a range of equality, diversity and inclusion-related staff networks including:
Our networks provide opportunities to meet members of our community you may not otherwise come across in your work, discuss issues that affect you or that you’re interested in and gain support from others who may be facing challenges similar to the ones you are facing.
Key dates
Dates
- January 16 - World Religion Day
- January 27 - Holocaust Memorial Day
- February - LGBT History month
- February 1 - Chinese New Year
- March 8 - International Women’s Day
- March 31 - Trans Day of Visibility
- April 2 - World Autism Awareness Day
- April 7 - World Health Day
- May 9-15 - Mental Health Awareness Week
- May 17 - International Day against homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia
- June
- LGBTQI+ Pride Month
- Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month
- 1 – Global Day of Parents
- 3 – Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev (Sikhism)
- 5 – Pentecost (Christian)
- 5 – Shavuot (Judaism)
- 6-12 – June Carers Week
- 18 – Autistic Pride Day
- 21 – Midsummer Solstice (Paganism)
- 22 – National Windrush Day
- 20-26 – UK Learning Disability Week
- 23 – International Women in Engineering Day
- 27-3 July – Deaf Blind Awareness Week
- July:
- International Women with Alopecia Month
- 7-12 - Hajj/Pilgrimage (Islam)
- 10 - Eid al Adha (Islam)
- 13 – Dhamma Day (Buddhism)
- 14 – International Non Binary People’s Day
- 22 – Al-Hijra/Islamic New Year (Islam)
- August
- 1 – Lammas/Lughnasadh (Paganism)
- 6 – Tisha B’Av (Judaism)
- 11 – Raksha Bandhan (Hinduism)
- 9 – International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
- 18 – Krishna Janmashtami – Hindu
- 23 – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
- September
- 6 – Colour Blind Awareness Day
- 10 – World Suicide Prevention Day
- 18 – International Equal Pay Day
- 23 – Celebrate Bisexuality Day
- October
- Black History Month
- Menopause Awareness Month
- Down Syndrome Awareness Month
- Global Diversity Awareness Month
- 1 – International Day of Older Persons
- 3-9 – Dyslexia Awareness Week
- 4-5 – Yom Kippur
- 6 – World Cerebral Palsy Day
- 10 – World Homeless Day
- 10 – World Mental Health Day
- 10-11 – Sukkot (Judaism)
- 11 – National Coming Out Day
- 13 – World Sight Day
- 18 – World Menopause Day
- 19 – International Pronouns Day
- 24 – Diwali (Hindu)
- 26 – Intersex Awareness Day
- 31 – All Hallows’ Eve (Christian)
- November
- Men’s Health Awareness Month
- 1 – All Saints Day (Christian)
- 2 – All Souls’ Day (Christian)
- 2 – El Dia de los Muertos (Latin America)
- 13 – UK Interfaith Week begins
- 13 – Transgender Awareness Week begins
- 18 – UK Disability History Month begins (18 Nov – 18 Dec)
- 19 – International Men’s Day
- 20 – Transgender Day of Remembrance
- 25 – International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women
- 27 – Advent Sunday (Christian)
- December
- 1 – World AIDS Day
- 2 – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
- 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities
- 10 – Human Rights Day
- 18 – International Migrants Day
- 19 – Chanukah begins (Judaism)
- 24 – Christmas Eve (Christian)
- 25 – Christmas (Christian)
- 26 – Kwanzaa begins
To suggest additional EDI related dates, please contact diversity@essex.ac.uk
Report and Support service
If you feel that you are being subjected to harassment or bullying in any form, there is help available to you at the University through our Report and Support service. We have appointed and trained a network of Harassment Support Workers who will listen to you and offer advice and support.
