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Our commitment

We want all of our staff and students to feel that Liverpool is an inclusive and welcoming environment that actively celebrates and encourages diversity. We are therefore committed to ensuring that everyone is treated equally and fairly in an open, transparent and respectful environment.

We see EDI as the responsibility of all staff and have taken steps to ensure that everyone is able to contribute to this and benefit from it:

  • All staff are required to complete EDI training, whatever their role, with enhanced training modules for those with greater levels of responsibility
  • A full set of policies sets out behavioural expectations and provides mechanisms to investigate grievances, complaints or reports of unacceptable behaviour
  • We recognise EDI champions by recognising the time spent on these activities and including EDI Awards in our Annual Staff Awards
  • We are committed to Advance HE's Athena Swan scheme for gender equality and Race Equality Charter as mechanisms through which we continuously improve our performance on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
  • Our Family-Friendly policies seek to ensure that everyone can thrive at work, whatever their personal circumstances
  • We actively support leadership development through the Academy for a diverse group of future leaders.

Our values and ethics

Civic in the truest sense, we welcome people, whoever they are and wherever they’re from. This is more than mere inclusion – it’s a 140-year old commitment to fair access that still burns brightly today.

This makes us a home for all kinds of ambitions, and all kinds of achievements.

It also gives us a uniquely open, diverse and lively environment, where students of every background can gain a broader world view as well as deeper knowledge and insight. Where staff can achieve their full potential, while they experience and celebrate diverse cultures, knowledge and identities and are encouraged to make a positive contribution to the city, region and beyond.

We are guided by strong ethical principles and ensure that our values are embedded in our plans and actions. Find out more about our values and how they shape our long-term strategic plans.

Our commitment to students

We have taken steps to embed equality, diversity and inclusion principles throughout the student experience:

  • We believe that everyone deserves an excellent education and seek to make our programmes open to all who are able to benefit
  • We understand that some students face greater barriers to success than others and are taking steps to address these, enabling all students to succeed regardless of origin, background, age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity and paternity
  • We respect the opinions of all groups of students, expose them to a broad range of opinions and ideas, and teach the values of tolerance and respect
  • We encourage all students, whatever their background, to become engaged in wider University life, and actively foster and promote cross-cultural exchange to enrich the experience of our students.

Our commitment to staff

As part of our commitment to employee engagement we consulted with staff to develop a set of University of Liverpool Values and Ethics Principles.

The Principles:

  • Define how we should operate in all areas including decision making, working in partnership with our students and collaborators, local and global impact, and staff offers
  • Outline the aims, beliefs and responsibilities that define the way we work and are at the heart of everything we do
  • Help us understand what we can expect from each other as we go about our work
  • Create a culture of openness, transparency and respect, where staff work together for the future success of the University.

The Principles are regularly reviewed and refreshed to ensure they reflect the changing environment in which we work.