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We know that we can only achieve our vision of being a world-class, forward-looking, confident and ambitious university by recruiting, supporting and developing staff from the widest variety of backgrounds.
And we have a proud history of diversity and inclusion. The University of Reading was the first English university to appoint a female professor (Edith Morley, 1908) and one of our former Vice-Chancellors (Lord Wolfenden) played a key role in decriminalising homosexuality in England and Wales.
Disability and Neurodiversity Review 2022
Race Equality Review 2021
Our priorities for progress
For our staff, there are many diversity and inclusion initiatives and activities underway in areas where we wish to make progress. We've also identified three areas as a priority for continued improvement:
- Gender. We want to enable more women to progress and participate in leadership roles.
- Ethnicity. We want to ensure that we have a diverse range of people employed across all roles, including leadership roles.
- Sexual orientation. It's important that everyone feels comfortable in being themselves at work and are confident to be open about their sexuality if they wish to do so.
Identifying priority areas is not at the exclusion of other protected characteristics; for example, we also have ongoing activities associated with disability and religious faith and belief.
For our students, we have also identified priority areas:
- Race. We want teaching, learning, assessment and student support to engage students of all races and ethnicities, and help them excel.
- Gender. Student activities should engage all genders; curriculum and practice should be proactively inclusive.
- Disability. We should proactively cater for the needs and approaches of our students with disabilities.
You can also see how we're doing by reading our annual diversity and inclusion report.
Community Action Partnership
With a strategy that places an ‘Engaged University’ at the heart of the University’s strategy, the University has established a Community Action Partnership to explore dynamic, exciting and innovative ways to connect to, support and value local communities in Berkshire. The Community Action Partnership is an internal, collaborative forum made up of University and Reading University Students’ Union staff and students to coordinate and share their work around community engagement and identify ways to work in partnership with individuals, community groups and organisations in Reading. In 2021 we carried out a listening exercise to identify how we can share our knowledge and resources to support external communities affected by the pandemic, meeting with over 40 community organisations including grassroots groups, charities and local agencies, such as Alliance for the Cohesion of Racial Equality (ACRE), charities such as Get Berkshire Active and local agencies including Reading Borough Council.
The Community Action Partnership is supported by a team of Student Community Champions who meet and engage with community groups in Berkshire and actively widen participation and inclusion. If you would like to find out more about the Community Action Partnership please contact Sally Lloyd-Evans or Molli Cleaver at community@reading.ac.uk.
Campus and community
Each term we offer an exciting variety of public events including lectures, music concerts, exhibitions and arts events. We also screen a range of independent films at the Reading Film Theatre.
You can visit the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) at London Road campus and enjoy our museums and collections on Whiteknights campus, including the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology and the Cole Museum of Zoology.
Improve your health and wellbeing at our SportsPark, or enjoy walking or cycling in our 123 hectares of award-winning parkland. Find secret treasures in the Harris Gardens including historical trees and a jungle garden.
Students and the local community
All students, whether living in University or privately rented accommodation, are part of the local community. The University takes pride in the value that our students bring to Reading but also recognises the challenge of integrating students with the wider population. We work closely with local authorities, including Reading Borough Council, Wokingham Borough Council and local police teams, to put in place a range of measures to help students settle into local neighbourhoods.
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