Oxford Brookes is pleased to have received a Gold award in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2023, in recognition of its approach to LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion.
The University uses the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI) as part of a range of measures to understand our progress on lesbian, gay, bi and trans inclusion in the workplace and to ensure that LGBTQ+ inclusion is integrated into our broader equality, diversity and inclusion strategy to improve the experience of staff and students.
A steering group drawn from across the University reviewed our policy and practice against the Index criteria to develop our submission. The criteria have been revised since Brookes’ last submission to the WEI for 2020 and, as a result, our ranking and scores are not directly comparable with previous years.
Oxford Brookes is ranked in 84th place among employers participating in the 2023 Index and enters the Stonewall Top 100 Employers list for the first time. This recognition is valuable and welcome - however, this achievement is balanced with the knowledge that we need to maintain and strengthen our efforts and collaboration to ensure good practice is embedded and built on. We are waiting for detailed feedback from Stonewall to better understand our strengths and areas which may require improvement.
Oxford Brookes is grateful for the work of our LGBTQ+ Staff Forum, Brookes Union and student societies for the range of activities and initiatives that support LGBTQ+ inclusion.