Equality and Diversity in Education Essay

It can be argued that higher education is suffering from inequalities such as a lack of gender equality. The balance of equality, diversity, and inclusion for all staff and students needs to be enhanced to ensure that everyone, students and staff, within higher education has a fair and equal experience as well as a wide range of balanced opportunities. The University of Manchester and the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) look to combat these issues by considering the United Nations sustainable development goals 5 (gender equality) and 10 (reducing inequality) to unite all members of the University, consequently providing a better platform for equality, diversity, and inclusion.

SDG number 5, achieve gender equality and empower all women, focuses on trying to obliterate all forms of discrimination against women and girls all over the planet (Goal 5 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs, no date). Allowing them to have access to equal opportunities to the rest of the global population and live in an environment where there is a great level of inclusion and equality. Thus, making sure that women can experience equal career opportunities regardless of gender can be an effective approach to achieving a higher level of inclusion and is a strong sub-objective to achieve in the long run too. Many Universities throughout are looking to support this and this can be seen as 'More women than men study at universities; there is a 12% gap in favor of women (up to 15% in Scotland, the part of in which the University of Edinburgh is based)' (Aitken et al., 2017, p.23). This can ensure that more job opportunities will begin to open up for women and girls because attending University can provide the foundation for forming a successful career path. So, if more women are attending higher education, then the case can be made that the first step to greater inclusion of women within the labor market has been taken. Further to this, the University of Manchester specifically, has seen to tackle this issue as shown in their very own SDG report under goal 5 where it is discussed that women and girls are greatly encouraged to pursue STEM-based careers and this has been done by introducing their 'girls' night out', being held twice a year, where women from the university can come together and celebrate women in STEM. (Skyrme 20202021). This event can lead to a greater number of women working in what can be argued to be more male-dominated industries however, it is possible that twice a year is not enough to bring women and girls throughout the University together, and perhaps more events like this should be organized. The University itself takes pride in the fact that '57% of graduates are female and 32% of senior academic staff are female' (Skyrme 20202021, p.7), and although these may seem as though they are strong figures, it can still be challenged that 32% is not being a high enough goal to have reached consequently more may need to be done to achieve a higher level of diversity, equality, and inclusion among female students and especially staff.

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As well as SDG number 5, The University of Manchester is also looking to greatly tackle SDG 10, to reduce inequality within and among countries, so that there is a greater level of diversity, equality, and inclusion not just within the aspects of gender. A key sub-issue that surrounds inequality within multiple nations across the planet is income inequality and (Hulme, no date) discusses how the sole introduction of SDG 10 has caused a paradigm shift in the discussions of tackling inequality. Due to the high levels of inequality, income gaps are formed between nations and people causing greater differences to develop between people, potentially leading to more institutional racism as people may treat others differently because of reasons such as associating race with income. However, (Hulme, date) explains that the introduction of SDG 10, 'It is a modest, reformist target that seeks to ensure that those with the lowest incomes are not 'left behind' as economic growth moves forward.' Moving humanity towards a greater share of wealth and reduced inequality. The University of Manchester has also been taking action in helping to make direct changes by researching ideas such as, 'Direct cash Transfers' (Skyrme 2019 p.10). Researchers at their Global Development Institute have stated that something like this is both, 'financially feasible and politically sustainable. Cash transfers directly reduce income inequality and enable families to escape extreme poverty.' (Skyrme 2019 p.12). This suggests that not only do small changes make a difference but they do work however, these sorts of implementations, though effective, may not be ideal for a large long-term change, and perhaps more needs to be done. Further linking to Income inequality, it could be assumed that due to lower incomes families may struggle for their kids to attend levels of higher education which is why The University of Manchester has also kicked off their, 'Access and Participation Plan' (Skyrme 2019 p.12) which is mentioned in one of their SDG reports. The report affirms that 'A high proportion of our students come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds' with '(22.8% in 201617), which is above the English Russell group average (20.4%), while the percentage of our students who have a disability (15%) is above the national average (11%).' (Skyrme 2019 p.12). This can show us that The University of Manchester is well equipped with accommodating students from all backgrounds thus providing everyone with the equal opportunity they deserve. Further to this, all the ideas presented by The University of Manchester can also indicate that they are taking the necessary steps in the right direction to greatly reduce inequality in and outside of the University.

Looking to achieve and enhance SDGs 5 and 10 is quite important to The University of Manchester but they could also consider, and perhaps already have, targeting other SDGs to boost the achievement of SDGs 5 and 10. For example, looking at SDG 16, 'Peace, justice and strong institutions' (Goal 16 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs, no date) can help to reduce pressing issues such as inequality thus assisting the achievement of SDG 10. The University of Manchester has tackled SDG 16 by implementing their 'Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI)' (Skyrme 2019 p.18). The report shows us that the HCRI has started initiatives that will assist the UN in making better use of the data they came out with after several peacekeeping missions (Skyrme 2019 p.18). This can illustrate to us that the University is taking severe action to promote peace and prosperity, therefore, creating a safer environment for everyone. This will help to reduce inequality and inclusion especially as newer generations will learn that no one should have to suffer from atrocities such as war no matter where you are from or what your background is. As well as SDG 16 other goals can be used to achieve a greater level of equality, diversity, and, inclusion. Goals such as SDG 4, 'Quality Education' (Goal 4 |Department of Economic and Social Affairs, no date), may also help improve the achievement of SDGs 5 and 10 similar to how SDG 16 has. Manchester University's Institute of Education is trying to promote schools to better identify and assess the mental health needs of all students (Skyrme 20202021 p.6). This is being done to help all students across Manchester feel more included and to be treated equally regardless of what issues they may be tackling. It can also be argued that Mental Health is a pressing issue that can bring together all people, students, or staff, so looking to improve education around mental health is potentially a very effective way to reduce inequality and gender equality as everyone's issues should be accounted for without having their background or gender affecting how they are treated. Although some SDGs other than 5 and 10 benefit gender equality and the reduction of inequality, there possibly isn't enough being done outside of goals 5 and 10 to better equality, diversity, and inclusion. So, more could potentially be done within other SDGs to assist goals 5 and 10.

Gender Equality and reducing inequality are two pressing issues in today's society and it can be seen that something is being done about it, especially at the UN and the initiatives set up by The University of Manchester. However, that doesn't change the fact that there are still lingering problems among institutions, households, and general social interactions and more perhaps needs to be done to put this to bed for good so that future generations do not have to suffer from the problems caused by discrimination. But that doesn't change the fact that Manchester University has accomplished a lot to truly enhance equality, diversity, and inclusion among all students and staff at the university and the wider community.

References

1. Aitken et al., (2017) EqualBITE: Gender equality in higher education. [Online] Available at https: library.open.orgviewerwebviewer.html?file=bitstreamhandle20.500.12657378079789463511438_webready_content_text.pdf?sequence=1