{"id":1153,"date":"2021-10-13T14:55:17","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T14:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/behaviouralinsights\/?p=1153"},"modified":"2021-10-14T12:23:41","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T12:23:41","slug":"championing-diversity-and-inclusion-in-kings-business-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/behaviouralinsights\/2021\/10\/13\/championing-diversity-and-inclusion-in-kings-business-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Championing Diversity and Inclusion in King\u2019s Business School"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr Ilia Protopapa, Lecturer in Marketing and Inclusive Education Partner at King\u2019s Business School. <\/em>Tyler John, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Project Officer at King\u2019s College London, and <\/em>Antonis Kazouris, Employee Insights Consultant.<\/em><\/p>\n

All students should be given the opportunity to access, succeed and progress in HE. A key part of this relates to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) actions, removing barriers to learning which should be central priorities for any educational institution. This is linked to the BAME attainment gap<\/a> which highlights that there is a disparity in the number of students from ethnic minority backgrounds receiving higher classification degrees. Evidence<\/a> suggests[i]<\/a> that experience and engagement at university significantly affects the performance of students\u2019 from underrepresented ethnicity backgrounds. As an institution King\u2019s aspires to have open doors to anyone capable to reflect the diversity of London. This is why King\u2019s Business School is committed to developing and promoting a diverse and inclusive environment for all our students, aligned with the King\u2019s Strategic Vision 2029<\/a>[ii]<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Listening to our students\u2019 voices<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Involving our students in the design of diversity and inclusion initiatives is an essential part of our strategy. This is why we work closely with our Inclusive Education Students Partners. Recently, we asked questions as part of the King\u2019s College Institutional \u201cChecking-in\u201d Survey conducted by the WhatWorks department<\/a> to assess students\u2019 perceptions of diversity, inclusion and respect that were introduced. The King\u2019s Institutional Survey aimed to assess students\u2019 experiences during the first academic term of 2020\/21. The survey had multiple waves throughout the year to get a more detailed understanding as well as be able to compare student responses.\u00a0 The first questions on diversity, inclusion and respect were launched in December 2020 and the first set of data was collected and analysed.<\/p>\n

What did our students say? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

The survey was launched across all King\u2019s College London\u2019s faculties. Students responded to a series of questions about diversity using a 1-5 scale (\u201cstrongly disagree\u201d \u2013 \u201cstrongly agree\u201d). 70 King\u2019s Business School (KBS) students from ethnic-minority backgrounds took part in the survey (26 undergraduate and 44 postgraduate students). Overall, the majority of undergraduate and postgraduate KBS respondents from ethnic-minority backgrounds reported that they feel accepted, valued and respected. KBS is a relatively small faculty within the institution, and although numbers are too small to make generalisations we take this as a positive indicator, especially as they reflect responses from the all-faculty cohort (Figure One). Most business students stated that people\u2019s differences are recognised and respected and that they feel supported to bring the best of themselves to their studies. 15 out of 18 ethnic-minority undergraduate students in first year reported that that they can be themselves without worrying about how they will be accepted. Some ethnic minority undergraduate students in second year strongly feel that they are valued, and that people\u2019s differences are respected and recognised in the institution. Third year ethnic-minority undergraduate students generally feel well supported to bring the best of themselves in their studies. Lastly, responses from our ethnic minority postgraduate students (KBS) indicated that they mostly feel respected (39 out of 44 students) and valued (35 out of 44 students).<\/p>\n

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Figure 1. Average responses for all respondents, KBS respondents and KBS (BME) respondents to the diversity questions from the Institutional Survey<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n

Putting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the heart of the Business School <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Events of the last year, including a global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, have reminded us of the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion. Every day, we continue to see the disastrous consequences of the socioeconomic disparities that exist across the world; disparities that widen and grow the more they are ignored. In aiming to be a world-leading business school, we must provide our students with a nourishing and accepting learning environment \u2013 to do this, equality, diversity, and inclusion must be at the heart of everything we do. King\u2019s should be a place where everyone can bring their full selves to their work or their studies, and should be encouraged to and feel confident doing so[iii]<\/a> [iv]<\/a>. Research suggests[v]<\/a> that when students feel their identities are accepted and that there are appropriate support mechanisms in place for them, they exhibit \u2018greater intellectual and cultural engagement\u2019, \u2018better understanding of their field\u2019, and a better \u2018overall university experience\u2019.<\/p>\n

Over the next year, King\u2019s Business School will be working to establish committed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) governance within its structure. Including an EDI committee and an action plan, to help us embed EDI thinking and behaviours into our everyday practice.<\/p>\n

Here are a few suggestions of what can we do to ensure that King\u2019s is a place where everyone can thrive:<\/p>\n