Public Sector Equality Duty

The Public Sector Equality Duty requires universities and other public authorities to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it
• foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it.

The protected characteristics referred to in the duty are:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

Student and workforce analysis reports

To help us meet the Public Sector Equality Duty we have a specific duty (set by the Equality Act (Specific Duty) Regulations 2011) to:

• publish in an accessible way by 31 January each year, information that demonstrates compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Read the current workforce analysis report for more information.

Read the current student data analysis report for more information.

Contact the Equality Office: +44 0(1707) 289362 or email equality@herts.ac.uk if you require these reports in an alternative format.

We also have a specific duty to:

• prepare and publish, in an accessible way, one or more specific and measurable objectives which we think will help us meet the aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Our objectives

In 2012 we set agreed measurable, strategic equality objectives for 2012-16:

• Objective 1 - Provide effective equality advice, guidance and support to all staff and students.
• Objective 2 - Enhance engagement and communication with staff and students on equality matters.
• Objective 3 - Work towards reducing the differential in degree attainment between White and Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) students by 10 percentage points by 2014/15.
• Objective 4 - Enhance employment opportunities and identify and address barriers to the recruitment and career progression of staff.
• Objective 5 - Collect and analyse monitoring information effectively to advance equality of opportunity for diverse groups.

These objectives are current and work is ongoing across the University to meet them. These objectives are subject to revision dependent on areas identified by future analyses and shifting priorities.