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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Resources

This is a working list of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) resources that will continue to evolve, and we certainly don’t presume to cover all complex aspects of EDI. We always welcome comments, corrections and suggestions of further improvements that we can make. We hope this list will be a practically useful resource for prospective applicants, current students, other CDTs or DTPs and anyone else involved in Natural Sciences/Geosciences. It includes funding sources, networks, charities and University resources some of which we are not associated with. If you have a suggestion to add to the list, please contact eo_cdt@leeds.ac.uk.   

Know your rights! See information on the Equality Act 2010 from the UK Government, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Citizens Advice Bureau and the Office for Students.

Rainbow paint splatter with the text resources and links in black on top.

CDT/University EDI Resources: 

Geoscience/Natural Science/STEM EDI resources: 

Funding, Networks & Resources for minoritised groups: 

Racial and Ethnic minorities 

  • Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE) – a collaboration between five universities in Yorkshire, 12 UKRI funded Doctoral Training partnerships and Centres for Doctoral Training plus a number of external partners dedicated to equity at doctoral level.   
  • The Geospatial Scholarship Fund 
  • Race Equality Charter 
  • Black Geographers Network 
  • Black in Geoscience 
  • Royal Geographical Society – Black Geographers 
  • Black British in STEM 
  • The Stuart Hall Foundation 
  • The Geological Society – Race and ethnicity Resources 
  • Minorities in STEM – Connecting, Showcasing and Supporting Ethnic Diversity in STEM 
  • African Caribbean Society (Leeds University Union society) 
  • African Caribbean Society (Edinburgh University Union society) 
  • Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers – provides support and promotes higher achievements in Education and Engineering particularly among students and professionals from ethnic minority backgrounds. 
  • BEMIS – is the national Ethnic Minorities led umbrella body supporting the development of the Ethnic Minorities Voluntary Sector in Scotland and the communities that this sector represents. 
  • Runnymede Trust – Authoritative, evidence-based interventions to overcome racial inequality.   
  • Voice4ChangeEngland – Our vision is to build a stronger and more inclusive civil society to meet the needs of Black and Minoritised and other disadvantaged communities.   
  • Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) – We are examining how changing patterns of ethnicity and inequalities relate to the ways in which ethnic identities are perceived, acted upon and experienced. 
  • Race Equality Charter – Advance HE’s Race Equality Charter provides a framework through which institutions work to identify and self-reflect on institutional and cultural barriers standing in the way of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff and students.  
  • Race on the Agenda (ROTA) – Race on the agenda (rota) is one of britain’s leading anti-racist change drivers. Working with communities impacted by systemic racism, rota helps create the policies and practices to tackle inequality. 
  • Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust – We are developing resources to plan community or school activities for the annual Stephen Lawrence Day on or around 22 April. Materials include posters, social action toolkit, assembly scripts, reading lists and more.  
  • Polar Impact – An inclusive network of racial & ethnic minorities and allies in the polar research community. 
  • Black First Gen Collective – We invite scholars, practitioners and stakeholders who are invested in the success of Black first-generation undergraduate and graduate or professional school students to join the movement.   
  • Black Women PhDs – our vision is to motivate and encourage Black Girls and Women to obtain doctoral degrees and enter and succeed in spaces that may not have been created for them. We assist Black Women by providing the tools, resources, and exposure to opportunities with our informal digital network. 
  • Geo Latinas – Our mission is to embrace, empower, and inspire Latinas to pursue and thrive in careers in Earth and Planetary Sciences.   

Under-resourced/disadvantaged background

  • The Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust bursaries 

Disability 

  • If you are disabled, you may be entitled to extra support during your DTP PhD via the UK Govt. Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) 
  • The DSA does not need to be paid back, and covers costs of ‘the study-related costs you have because of a mental health problem, long term illness or any other disability’ up to £25,575 a year (2022 to 2023 rate). 
  • If you think you may be eligible for this, please read the guidance provided by the UK Government  
  • We can help you put in a claim to the DSA following the UKRI DSA Framework 
  • The Student Enablement Fund bursary 
  • University of Leeds – Disability, Accessibility and Mental Health staff network (open to PhD students) 
  • DisabledInSTEM 
  • The International Association for Geoscience Diversity (IAGD) 
  • STEMM Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) – collaboration of professional bodies and learned societies aiming to strengthen the inclusion of people with disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM). 
  • Disabled in Higher Ed – our goal is to leverage social media to promote discussions, inclusion, and belonging of disability in higher education spaces 
  • Accessibility in Polar Research – A group of disabled researchers promoting accessibility in the polar field through awareness and resource creation 
  • Twitter: DisInHigherEd, Disabled Academic Collective, Disabled in STEM 

Neurodiversity

Women 

LGBTQIA+

Career break/Caring responsibilities

First Generation PhD  

  • I’m First – an initiative of UStrive, is an online community celebrating first-generation college students. 

State Educated  

  • 93 % Club – We are the 93% of people who went to state schools in the UK. Despite our number, we occupy a much smaller percentage of top roles: 34% of FTSE 350 CEOs, 35% of senior judges, 43% of the House of Lords, 56% of journalists, and so the list goes on… 

The SENSE CDT assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this page. We do not have affiliations with all the resources listed and the information is provided on an “as is” basis.