Our Community

We aim to ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive in the stimulating intellectual community we have created. We take very seriously our responsibility to guarantee that every voice is respected, and our staff and students feel encouraged and supported to fulfil their potential. 

WE HAVE ESTABLISHED SOME POSITIVE INITIATIVES THAT ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE, WITH MANY MORE TO FOLLOW. HERE ARE SOME OF THE CHANGES WE HAVE MADE:

 

  • We have designed a new Department Logo incorporating the Progress Pride flag to demonstrate the Department’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Read more about this decision here.
     
  • We ran inclusive practice workshops for academic, research and professional services staff and DPhil students to encourage understanding of and engagement in our goal to cultivate an environment that is inclusive for all staff and students. We plan to run these workshops on an annual basis and gather feedback on how the department could work harder to improve inclusion.
     
  • We are tackling bullying and harassment by ensuring staff and students know what support is available to them and how to report an incident of bullying and harassment. This includes the option of speaking to Department Harassment Advisor, who have been trained to provide confidential guidance and advice.
     
  • Staff diversity continues be at the heart of our recruitment of academic, research and professional services staff. Working with colleges, reforms of the Associate Professor recruitment process in recent years have been designed to increase the diversity of the candidate pool. These reforms include an active search committee and a strategy to encourage recent PhDs to apply. As hoped, both the applicant pool and the long- and short-lists were far more diverse with respect to gender and ethnicity than in previous years. Furthermore, this year we have evaluated our induction and mentor support to ensure staff have the best start to progress in their careers at the Department.
     
  • Our What Economist Really Do series is back to engage new audiences in economics research. Starting on 17 October 2024, a new series of talks will examine the interrelation of economics and key areas of diversity and inclusion.