Reports, Policies & Legal
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
<p dir="ltr">With a diverse student population, everyone is welcome at Arts University Plymouth; we have students of all ages, from a variety of different ethnic and social backgrounds and a number have disabilities, each with different learning styles and needs.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">The university strives to be a transparent and accessible institution that upholds and celebrates the values of equality and diversity, recognising the benefits that a diverse staff and student population brings.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">In accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty we operate a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iRHFxYbLomOYzsidL9uYHjMD4mkAQxE_8N7bhTI4-6w/edit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Single Equality Scheme</a>, supplemented by our <a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy</a>, giving additional guidance on how we promote equality and diversity; with the aim to provide a positive work and study environment where everyone has the opportunity to realise their full potential in an environment where staff and students working together tackle and eliminate all forms of discrimination, harassment and victimisation. In addition, the university has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) <a href="https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/working-definition-antisemitism" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">working definition for antisemitism</a>.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Everyone is treated fairly and can play a role in shaping the development of our equality and diversity practice in the future.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">If you have a disability we have a team of staff who can give you additional support, and we’ll try to make reasonable adjustments to provide you with any specific equipment, technology or additional support you may need to help with your work or studies.<br /></p>
<p>Arts University Plymouth’s <a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Equality Scheme Implementation Plan</a> sets out the objectives the university will be working towards over the next two to three years based on the three aims of the Equality Duty. These objectives will be focused on in the short-term and will be reviewed for achievement by the Senior Leadership Team in April each year.<br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">Arts University Plymouth respects each person who studies or works at the university and treats each and everyone as an individual. Under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations, we are legally required to publish anonymised information about our student and staff populations’ protected characteristics, in order to help our community understand the profile of the people accessing and working at the university. </p>
<p dir="ltr">We, therefore, report annually on age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership (in respect of unlawful discrimination - in terms of our employees), pregnancy and maternity, race (including ethnic or national origins), religion and/or belief, and sexual orientation. Wherever possible, we compare our data with local, regional and national records from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Neighbourhood Statistics, Local Authority reports and the national census 2011. </p>
<p dir="ltr">For more information, please download our <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eDejUdM_w0zhIeBIYSa41qELO5WJDeNDDaiTHMb5WRk/edit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Student & Staff Data</a> document.<br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">As part of the legal obligations for an employer with over 250 employees, we must produce a report using specific metrics for snapshot data from 31 March each year. We have one year to report on the gender pay gap within our organisation at this date and we must publish the figures to the government and our own website by 30 March 2026.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The metrics that we must provide are mean and median pay gap, and the proportion of female and male staff at each quartile band.</p>
<p dir="ltr">At Arts University Plymouth we strive towards social and gender equality while maintaining a high standard of education, and ensuring that staff receive fair recompense for the level of work that they complete.<br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">As an initial indication into the gender pay gap, we have calculated the Mean and Median from an all staff list, regardless of what type of contract staff are on, as this provides an overview of the gap at the University. If the figure is positive it indicates that the gender pay gap is male favoured, if it is negative it indicates that the gender pay gap is female favoured.<br /><br />However, it is not effective enough to use on its own to understand the reasons for the pay gap.<br /></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Our single figure mean gender pay gap is 13.8% (+2% from March 2024)</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Our single figure median gender pay gap is 16.8% (+1.5% from March 2024)</p></li></ul>
<p dir="ltr">Our gender pay gap has increased due to reduction in staff numbers, particularly at higher pay grades. Lower paid roles, which are predominantly female, have remained untouched, resulting in a larger wage disparity.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We compare unfavourably to the latest reported figures (ONS 2024¹) for the:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Education sector overall (3.8% median, 7.0% mean, trending downwards), and </p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Higher Education average (9.3% median, 10.5% mean, also trending downwards)</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Nationally (13.1% median, 13.8% mean) the median gender pay gap is still decreasing, while the mean is increasing once more. </p></li></ul>
<p dir="ltr">The ONS data shows that<strong> South West</strong> Educational establishments (including compulsory education) report higher Single Figure Pay Gaps (SW Education 18.9% median, 13.9% mean), which would suggest that geographically we are more aligned to the benchmark.</p>
<p dir="ltr">At Arts University Plymouth we do not pay bonuses, and so have no return for the mean and median bonus pay gaps.<br /><br /></p>
<p><strong>Proportion of Males and Females in Quartile bands</strong></p>
<p>The table below shows the percentage of female and male staff from each quartile.</p>
| Female % | Male % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Quartile 1 | 73% | 27% | Lowest paid |
| Quartile 2 | 69% | 31% | |
| Quartile 3 | 57% | 43% | |
| Quartile 4 | 52% | 48% | Highest paid |
| Total | 62% | 38% |
<p dir="ltr">We have a clear split in our population of female staff between Q1-2 and Q3-4. We have a larger overall proportion of female staff at all quartiles. Our female staff population proportion shrank in Q3 and Q4 last year, while Q1 and Q2 remained mostly unchanged.</p>
<p dir="ltr">While a 50% split between genders would be the ideal end result of our actions to reduce the gender pay gap this may be unrealistic. Ensuring a constant percentage split between genders at all 4 quartiles would help reduce our gender pay gap.<br /><br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">Detailed information is available in the current <a href="https://aup.lon1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/files/Footer/AUP-External-Gender-Pay-Gap-Report-2025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gender Pay Report</a>.</p>
<p>You can access our previous <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PHfI2BhnZ7-haLe9CoXl8KwCzhyvRvfmEe-5HN9cnyI/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gender Pay Report here</a>.<br /></p>
<p>As a requirement under Office for Students (OfS) <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/regulatory-framework-for-higher-education-in-england/part-v-guidance-on-the-general-ongoing-conditions-of-registration/condition-f1-transparency-information/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Condition F1</a> we publicise our annual Transparency information. This uses the specifications and methodology from the OfS to prepare the data.</p>
<p>Transparency information shows the qualifications received by UK-domiciled students, split by sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic background.</p>
<p>The Transparency Return can be viewed in full as a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pFeW7E-c22hbIDFMpQ09pSR6DMn07Y7MJ9CnSNJki7Q/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">google doc here</a>, or below as a PDF, and contains:</p>
<p>Table 1a: Percentage of classified first degrees at grade 2:1 or above by characteristic for 2023-24 and 2024-25 qualifiers.</p>
<p>Table 1b: Detailed information on attainment for 2023-24 qualifiers</p>
<p><a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/transparency-information/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">For more information see the OfS page on transparency</a>.</p>
<p>The university has a zero-tolerance policy to harassment and bullying in relation to any of the Equality Act’s protected characteristics covering students, staff and anyone else involved with the university.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The university respects the right of staff to opt-out from answering particular equality and diversity monitoring questions. However, the university encourages staff to provide all data to ensure we can fully support an inclusive and diverse workforce.</p>
<p dir="ltr">For further information, or for details on how our statistics are collated, please contact:<br /></p><ul><li>Jeff Wright — Head of Compliance & Quality Systems</li><li>Email: <a href="mailto:jwright@aup.ac.uk">jwright@aup.ac.uk</a> </li><li>Tel: <a href="tel:+4401752203434">01752 203434</a></li></ul>