Public Sector Equality Duty

I am delighted to introduce the University of Aberdeen’s Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) Report 2025.

In reflecting on the Report, I’m very pleased to acknowledge the significant progress our University has made in mainstreaming Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) since the publication of our previous report in 2023. Despite the recent financial challenges across the Higher Education sector, our community has demonstrated perseverance, creativity and determination to ensure EDI remains at the core of what we do.

Through our strategic plan, Aberdeen 2040, the University remains committed to creating an inclusive working and learning environment which embraces and celebrates the diversity of our staff and students. This ethos is the foundation of our success as a University.

As you will see in the Report, we continue to embed EDI through the work of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, supported by the School EDI Committees, the School and Directorate EDI Leads and Race Equality Champions, our Mental Health First Aiders and the Equality Networks (including Menopause and Neurodiversity which have been established recently).

Prioritising an inclusive approach in this way supported the University during the Covid-19 global pandemic led us to rethink and adapt our approaches. We have recently navigated economic uncertainties, which have been challenging across the sector, and we recognise their continuing impact across our staff and student communities. Our collective efforts have successfully stabilised the University’s financial position; however, further actions are needed to streamline operations and improve efficiency. We are adapting to new ways of working to reduce workload, to focus on innovative developments in education, research and technology, and secure our financial sustainability.

This Report showcases the work undertaken across the equality areas, including those not specifically covered by legislation. 

At the time of our last Report, we were in the early stages of implementing our Antiracism Strategy and in 2024 we became the third Scottish university to achieve a Race Equality Charter Bronze award for our commitment to tackling racism and racial inequalities through bold and sustained action. Our Antiracism Strategy Action Plan will continue to be reviewed to reflect the issues raised by staff and students.

Advancing gender equality has been a priority, particularly since 2011, when we became a member of the Athena Swan Charter. Since then, all of our twelve Schools have been recognised for their work on this, with eight Schools achieving (and retaining) a Bronze award and four progressing to Silver in the last three years. As University we strive to apply for an Athena Swan Silver award by 2026.

We have continued to take action to advance equal pay for staff who identify with protected characteristics and have worked towards creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment for people who are disabled, with a focus on improving digital and physical accessibility, with this being a specific focus for the forthcoming year.

Creating a culture which fully rejects inappropriate behaviours and attitudes is at the core of Aberdeen 2040. Since our previous Report, we have implemented our Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual Harassment Strategy and developed our next three-year Strategy, improved our Online Reporting Tool and the support available to those disclosing a GBV-related incident, continued to deliver LISTEN training sessions to staff, organised campaigns against GBV, and introduced a new requirement on our offer holders and students to disclose relevant criminal charges and convictions. Our work on GBV and Sexual Harassment was recently recognised through the achievement of the EmilyTest Charter award.

Undertaking the 2024 Staff Engagement Survey supported our understanding of our progress on EDI.  The results indicated that staff recognised the University’s commitment to inclusion and feel that they can be themselves at work. There are areas for reflection and action resulting from the survey, including ensuring that we foster a culture of respect and tolerance. In October 2024, we launched our ‘Expect Respect’ (Dignity at Work and Study) toolkit which aims to help people understand our expectations of staff and students and the policies and support that are available to address unprofessional behaviour. This is currently being implemented, and its success will be monitored regularly.

We have continued to make progress towards our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and have provided our University community with access to wellbeing opportunities such as BeWell Network, BeWell weeks, shiatsu massage, pet therapy and the wellbeing lounge. In addition, activities have been delivered during Stress Awareness Month, Pride Month, World Menopause Day, Black History Month, and Disability History Month. A strategic priority has been suicide prevention and awareness, with suicide prevention sessions being delivered in recent months.

Over the last two years, we have progressed work to ensure that EDI principles are reflected in our policies and procedures. Our Recruitment and Selection Policy was reviewed in 2022 and details the University’s commitment to encouraging the recruitment of staff with disabilities (through the Guaranteed Interview Scheme) and applications from underrepresented groups. In 2023, after a fundamental review, we launched a revised Academic Promotion Policy and Procedure which includes the introduction of mandatory criteria on Citizenship to capture activities including EDI.  Other changes have supported the embedding of EDI in the new process, such as EDI training for panel members and social bias observers being present at the promotion committee meetings.

Further details about these, and other, initiatives in this vitally important area can be seen in the Report which I commend to you. As we look to the future, we remain committed to our foundational purpose to ‘be open to all’. We will continue to build on our achievements, guided by our core values and a shared vision of achieving a culture that celebrates, recognises and supports our diverse community.

Professor George Boyne
Principal and Vice-Chancellor
University of Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen commits to taking bold, ambitious and effective action to support its work on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and to create a safe, respectful culture in which its community can work and study. This includes proactively challenging inappropriate behaviour and systemic inequalities. In 2021, the University set its Equality Outcomes (EOs) for the period 2021-2025 building on Equality Outcomes set since the advent of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in 2013.

In 2023, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) launched a report which outlined the persistent inequalities in the tertiary education system and developed a set of National Equality Outcomes (NEOs) which aim to address inequalities across the protected characteristics and place an emphasis on improving outcomes for individuals by using a data-driven approach.

The University welcomed the new NEOs and carried out a mapping exercise to understand how the University’s Equality Outcomes (reported in the last PSED Interim Report 2023) related to the new NEOs. We also assessed which of the NEOs were relevant to the University- for example if the inequalities identified via the NEOs were reflected within our data and whether there were any associated inequalities for which we did not have an equality outcome.

A mapping exercise was undertaken to plot the NEOs against our existing PSED Equality Outcomes (EOs) and other University strategic objectives where relevant including the University Strategic Plan, Aberdeen 2040.

The mapping included reviewing data sources, baseline data and institutional KPIs, where known and/or applicable. The mapping exercise showed the gaps in the University’s existing PSED EOs, gaps in data needed to assess our EOs, and made recommendations to address these.

The mapping exercise, presented to the University EDI Committee (UEDIC on 18^th of April 2023), showed that the NEOs broadly aligned with the University’s previously established EOs. The following revisions were made (see also Table 1):

• Outcomes 4 and 7 were reworded to align with NEOs
• Outcome 8 is a new outcome setting out our approach to EDI Governance
• Outcome 9 is a new outcome setting out our aspiration to increase diversity of representation within University Court and decision-making committees.

Data driven success measures informed by the NEOs have been embedded in the University EDI Action Plans (where these were not already present). Further work is underway to address identified data gaps. The University ‘Revised’ EOs were approved by UEDIC in June 2023 and published on the University webpage. The revised EOs were subsequently reconsidered in October 2024 when UEDIC reflected that those outcomes were still relevant to address the University’s evidence-based EDI priorities as well as the persistent inequalities outlined in the SFC/EHRC report. Though UEDIC agreed that the University should adopt those Outcomes for the period 2025-2029, we will continue reviewing them on a regular basis to ensure they reflect the national targets and aspirations. This report provides information on the progress made by the University towards its legal requirements and reflects, where possible, the University ‘Revised’ Equality Outcomes agreed in 2023 (see also Appendix C). The Report covers progress made in the last two years; activities prior to 2023 can be found in our PSED Interim Report 2023.

 Table 1: University’s Equality Outcomes (EOs) 2021-2025 prior to and after the revision in 2023.

Information on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Aberdeen can be found here.

The University of Aberdeen has developed a report outlining how it meets the legal requirement to mainstream equality into all of its functions.

More information can be found in the following documents:

• Eliminating harassment, discrimination and victimisation
• Advancing equality of opportunity between persons
• Fostering good relations between persons

More information about our Court Diversity and compliance with the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 can be found here.

View our Public Sector Equality Duty Action Plan 2025-2029 here.

The University reviewed its Equality Outcomes in April 2023 after the launch of a report, by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Scottish Funding Council, which outlined the persistent inequalities in the tertiary education system and developed a set of National Equality Outcomes (NEOs). Information on the University Revised Equality Outcomes and progress made so far towards each of these outcomes can be found here here. The University Public Sector Equality Duty Report 2021-2025 with progress made until February 2025 can be found here.

The University collects and analyses equality profile data on staff and students which we use to inform policy and decision-making.

Find out more about our current statistics.

The University of Aberdeen publishes its Gender Pay Gap reports, which inform our policies and practices to eradicating any pay gaps.

• Gender Pay Gap Report 2023
• Gender Pay Gap Report 2022

As part of the Public Sector Equality Duty, the University has a duty to publish its gender pay gap information (every 2 years) and an Equal Pay statement (every four years).

• Equal Pay Report 2019
• Equal Pay Report 2021

2023

The University’s interim report on the progress made in mainstreaming equality, diversity and inclusion between 2021 and 2023 can be found here: Mainstreaming and Equality Outcomes Interim Report 2023

2021

The University's report on the progress made in mainstreaming equality, diversity and inclusion between 2019 and 2021 as well as a report on the University's Equality Outcomes can be found here: Mainstreaming and Equality Outcomes Report 2021. Download the full 2021 report

2019

The University's interim report on the progress made in mainstreaming equality, diversity and inclusion between 2017 and 2019 as well as a report on the University's Equality Outcomes can be found here: Mainstreaming Report 2019.

2017

The University detailed how it would continue to strive to achieve excellent practice in equality and inclusion in April's Mainstreaming and Equality Outcomes report.

2015

The Scheme demonstrates the University's continued commitment to fully embedding Equality and Diversity principles across the whole University. An interim report on progress with the Scheme was published in April 2015.

2013

The University was delighted to launch its Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Equality Scheme in April 2013.