Middlesex University has joined more than 600 employers in signing up to the Race at Work Charter, an initiative designed to improve outcomes for black, Asian and minority ethnic employees (BAME) in the UK.

Launched in partnership with the UK government in 2018, the Race at Work Charter builds on the work of the 2017 McGregor-Smith Review, which found that people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds were still underemployed, underpromoted and under-represented at senior levels.

The Race at Work Charter is a public commitment to improving the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic employees in the workplace. It sets out five actions for us to take:

• Appointing an Executive Sponsor for race
• Capturing data and publicising progress
• Ensuring zero tolerance of harassment and bullying
• Making equality in the workplace the responsibility of all leaders and managers
• Taking action that supports ethnic minority career progression

Signing up means taking practical steps to ensure our workplace is tackling barriers that ethnic minority people face in recruitment and progression and that our organisation is representative of British society today.

Professor Nic Beech, Vice-Chancellor of Middlesex University, said:

“The Race at Work Charter builds on the work of the 2017 McGregor-Smith Review and establishes very important principles which underpin a whole-community approach to improving race equality.

“Our students and staff networks have shown excellent leadership and we are committed to supporting them with data reporting, leadership and work on careers.

“We don’t claim to have everything right but we are on a journey and aspire to be a learning organisation.”