The University joined the Advance HE's Race Equality Charter in 2016 and received the REC Bronze award in November 2019. We successfully renewed our award in February 2026.
The Race Equality Charter (REC) is a national scheme that provides a framework for higher education institutions to recognise, investigate and challenge barriers to recruitment, progression and retention of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff and students.
Key Documents
We are delighted to announce that the University has successfully renewed its Bronze Race Equality Charter (REC) Award for the next five years. This achievement reflects an institutional-wide effort, with contributions from each of the six Schools, the Colleges, Non-School Institutions, and external partners such as Cambridge City Council. The University received its first Bronze REC Award in 2019, and we are among nearly 100 U.K. higher education institutions who have signed up for the charter.
Renewal of the award highlights the progress that we have made in making our University more welcoming and inclusive, including improvements in attracting and retaining Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (B.A.M.E.) staff and students. The University was commended for its intersectional analysis of staff and student issues, “engaged strategic leadership support for race equality”, and “willingness to confront historical inequalities and embed race equality work into its research and community engagement activities” via initiatives such as the Legacies of Enslavement inquiry and the Black Advisory Hub.
Professor Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for University Community and Engagement, and one of the co-chairs for the REC Self-Assessment Team said: “Renewing the Race Equality Charter Award allowed stakeholders across the University to have open and honest discussions about the past, present, and future of race equality at Cambridge. These discussions were aimed at ensuring the University can attract and retain the best talent and informed by quantitative and qualitative data gathered since our first award in 2019. As a result, we were able to identify several pressing issues impacting our B.A.M.E. staff and students such as the lack of B.A.M.E. staff in senior positions. I look forward to working closely with our stakeholders over the coming years to address these issues.”
While this award demonstrates progress, we recognise more work remains. Our application and accompanying 2025-2030 action plan provide a framework for how we will address the barriers facing B.A.M.E. staff and students, while also referencing Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom throughout to ensure this work enables us to recruit the best talent whatever their background.
Key Priorities and Actions for Race Equality for the Next Five Years
A Race Equality Steering Group has been established to implement the action plan. Key areas of work include:
Priority 1: Embedding responsibility for race equality across the University
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Supporting local institutions to develop and uphold racially inclusive policies and practices
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Further training investigators involved in race‑related staff grievances
Priority 2: Improving B.A.M.E. representation at senior levels and in governance structures
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Identifying and addressing recruitment barriers that limit B.A.M.E. applicants for professorial roles
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Understanding barriers in recruitment for senior Academic and Professional Services roles
Priority 3: Improving staff recruitment, support, and belonging (staff pipeline and experience)
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Further reducing the University’s pay gaps
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Investigating the causes of disparities in fixed‑term and open‑ended contracts
Priority 4: Improving student admission, support, and belonging (student pipeline and experience)
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Addressing race‑related disparities in undergraduate and postgraduate admissions
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Promoting evidence‑based, research‑led understanding of the ethnicity awarding gap
News about the 2019 Race Equality Charter Submission
The work on REC and the institutional action plan to address racial inequalities at the University is coordinated by a Self-Assessment Team (SAT) chaired by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Community and Engagement Professor Kamal Munir and the University Race Equality Champions Professor Esra Özyürek and Dr Ali Meghji.
Key Documents
- 'Race Equality: A Plan for Action' (PDF) A summary of University's actions
- The University's full REC submission (PDF)
- The institutional three-year REC action plan (PDF)
Responses
Speaking about the award, Professor Eilís Ferran, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Institutional and International Relations in 2015-2021, said: “We are encouraged that the University’s work on race and racism has been acknowledged with the Race Equality Charter Bronze award. Applying for the REC award was a complex and difficult journey which invited us to identify and reflect honestly on the impact of structural and other forms of racism on staff and students.
“We know there is work to do. We have developed a three-year action plan to tackle any racialised inequalities and embed an inclusive culture. The award is a step towards ensuring that we have the right processes in place.”
The work on University’s application was driven by the commitment and expertise of a number of people, including the University Race Equality Champions in 2017-2021, Dr Mónica Moreno Figueroa and Dr Kamal Munir, who said: “We are delighted that the University of Cambridge has been awarded a bronze REC award. The past few years have seen us continue but also initiate difficult conversations across the university on topics many considered awkward and even unnecessary. Both structural and cultural change take time, and all the work done so far represents just the beginning of this arduous journey to eliminate racism.
“We are clear that this award is not a reward but the recognition that we have serious issues to attend and that we, as a community, are willing to do so. The bronze REC award strengthens our resolve to keep pushing against visible and invisible boundaries that BAME members of the university have to contend with everyday. We are optimistic about the future.”
Speaking on behalf of the Race Equality Network (formerly the BAME Staff Network), former Chair Kusam Leal expressed her optimism that the University is taking race equality seriously both by initiating the conversation about race and through its REC action plan: “The reason for this optimism is that University’s mission is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. The best way to do that is to work toward becoming an organisation that: attracts without barriers the best talent and then retains that talent by being a place where all staff and students flourish regardless of their ethnicity or race.”
If you have any questions about the University's Race Equality Charter application or related work, please email equality@admin.cam.ac.uk
