Ethnicity - Staff Monitoring Report 2023/24

Ethnicity 2023/24

Proportion % by Ethnicity Group in 2023/24

The majority of staff identify as White.

Ethnicity Group = e.g. Black, Asian and minoritised ethnicities 

Scope: All Staff (please see inclusion/exclusion table) 

Snapshot date: 31st July 2024 (Academic Year 2023/24) 

Population and Disclosure Rate over 5 years

Representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff increased steadily over time.

Ethnicity disclosure rates remained consistently high throughout the period.

Snapshot date(s): 2019/20 to 2023/24 as at 31st July of each year.

Scope: All Staff – Academic Staff (Central, Regional, Research and ALs) and Professional and Support Staff – data does not include OU subsidiaries (OUSA, OUW, Mulberry Bear) or agency/temp workers.

Ethnicity subgroup and Nationality

Representation of minority ethnic staff varies across employee subgroups, with Research Staff and Support Staff showing the highest representation, while Associate Lecturers and Regional Academic Staff show the lowest representation.

Staff from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds have a more internationally diverse nationality profile, while White staff are more concentrated in the UK nationality group.

Ethnicity Subgroup = e.g. Asian, Black, Mixed, Other and White

Snapshot date(s): 2023/24 (as at 31st July 2024) 

Scope: All Staff – Academic Staff (Central, Regional, Research and ALs) and Professional and Support Staff – data does not include OU subsidiaries (OUSA, OUW, Mulberry Bear) or agency/temp workers.

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Ethnicity subgroup and ethnicity subgroup by Sex

Asian staff are the largest represented minority ethnic subgroup.

Females make up the majority within every ethnicity subgroup.

Snapshot date(s): 2023/24 (as at 31st July 2024) 

Scope: All Staff – Academic Staff (Central, Regional, Research and ALs) and Professional and Support Staff – data does not include OU subsidiaries (OUSA, OUW, Mulberry Bear) or agency/temp workers.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff at the senior level

As at 31st July 2023, Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff represented 12.2% (36 out of 295) of the senior staff population, a 0.1 percentage point decrease from 2022/23. The minority ethnic population is underrepresented within the SS bands (8.7%, 12 out of 138) and account for 15.3% of professor grades. Black colleagues are least represented at senior level, accounting for 1.0% of the senior leadership population.

Representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff at senior level increased over most of the period shown.

Representation of minority ethnic staff is higher in the PB1-PB3 grade group than in the SS0-SS5 grade group.

Snapshot date(s): 2019/20 to 2023/24 as at 31st July of each year (above chart) | below chart shows the current year 2023/24 (as at 31st July 2024) 

Scope: Staff with ‘SS’ (Senior Staff) grades or ‘PB’ (Professor) grades

Ethnicity subgroup at senior level (equity target)

As at 31st July 2023, Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff represented 12.2% (36 out of 295) of the senior staff population, a 0.1 percentage point decrease from 2022/23. The minority ethnic population is underrepresented within the SS bands (8.7%, 12 out of 138) and account for 15.3% of professor grades. Black colleagues are least represented at senior level, accounting for 1.0% of the senior leadership population.

Representation varies across minority ethnic subgroups at senior level. Most notably, the share of Black representation is significantly below target.

Asian staff shows highest representation across both senior level subgroups.

Snapshot date(s): 2023/24 (as at 31st July 2024) 

Scope: Staff with ‘SS’ (Senior Staff) or ‘PB’ (Professor) grades – data does not include OU Partner Organisations (OUSA, OUW), research students or contingent workers

Ethnicity - Recruitment

In 2023/24, a quarter of applications (25.8%) came from candidates from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, a 7.2 percentage point decrease from the previous year (33% in 2022/23). Of all minority ethnic candidates interviewed, 15.5% were successful compared to 20.4% of all white applicants. Other ethnicity group candidates were least likely to be in the application pool or to be successful at interview. The unknown / no data group represents a larger proportion of applicants in 2023/24. 

There is more information in the note about 2023/24 recruitment data.

Reporting period : 1st August 2023 to 31st July 2024 

Scope: All Staff – Academic Staff (Central, Regional, Research and ALs) and Professional and Support Staff – data does not include OU subsidiaries (OUSA, OUW, Mulberry Bear) or agency/temp workers

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