IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsoctx/v11y2021i2p49-d556923.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Equity/Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Universities: The Case of Disabled People

Author

Listed:
  • Gregor Wolbring

    (Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N4N1, Canada)

  • Aspen Lillywhite

    (Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N4N1, Canada)

Abstract

The origin of equity/equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives at universities are rooted in the 2005 Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network) charter from Advance HE in the UK, which has the purpose of initiating actions that generate gender equality in UK universities. Since then, Advance HE also set up a “race charter” to deal with equality issues that are experienced by ethnic staff and students within higher education. Today “equality, diversity and inclusion” and “equity, diversity and inclusion” (from now on both called EDI) are used as phrases by universities in many countries to highlight ongoing efforts to rectify the problems that are linked to EDI of students, non-academic staff, and academic staff, whereby the focus broadened from gender to include other underrepresented groups, including disabled students, disabled non-academic staff, and disabled academic staff. How EDI efforts are operationalized impacts the success and utility of EDI efforts for disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff, and impacts the social situation of disabled people in general. As such, we analysed in a first step using a scoping review approach, how disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff are engaged with in the EDI focused academic literature. Little engagement (16 sources, some only abstracts, some abstracts, and full text) with disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff was found. This bodes ill for the utility of existing EDI efforts for disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff, but also suggests an opening for many fields to critically analyse EDI efforts in relation to disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff, the intersectionality of disabled people with other EDI groups and the impact of the EDI efforts on the social situation of disabled people beyond educational settings. The problematic findings are discussed through the lens of ability studies and EDI premises, as evident in EDI policy documents, EDI academic, and non-academic literature covering non-disability groups, and policy documents, such as the 2017 “UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers” and the 1999 “UNESCO World Conference on Sciences” recommendations that engage with the situation of researchers and research in universities.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregor Wolbring & Aspen Lillywhite, 2021. "Equity/Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Universities: The Case of Disabled People," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-34, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:11:y:2021:i:2:p:49-:d:556923
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/11/2/49/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/11/2/49/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charikleia Tzanakou & Ruth Pearce, 2019. "Moderate feminism within or against the neoliberal university? The example of Athena SWAN," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1191-1211, August.
    2. V Bala Chaudhary & Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, 2020. "Ten simple rules for building an antiracist lab," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-9, October.
    3. Gregor Wolbring & Rachel Mackay & Theresa Rybchinski & Jacqueline Noga, 2013. "Disabled People and the Post-2015 Development Goal Agenda through a Disability Studies Lens," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(10), pages 1-31, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gregor Wolbring & Maria Escobedo, 2023. "Academic Coverage of Social Stressors Experienced by Disabled People: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-31, September.
    2. Brielle Lillywhite & Gregor Wolbring, 2022. "Emergency and Disaster Management, Preparedness, and Planning (EDMPP) and the ‘Social’: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-50, October.
    3. Gregor Wolbring & Simerta Gill, 2023. "Potential Impact of Environmental Activism: A Survey and a Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-46, February.
    4. Chiara Salvatore & Gregor Wolbring, 2021. "Children and Youth Environmental Action: The Case of Children and Youth with Disabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, September.
    5. Gregor Wolbring, 2022. "Auditing the ‘Social’ of Quantum Technologies: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-38, March.
    6. Brielle Lillywhite & Gregor Wolbring, 2022. "Risk Narrative of Emergency and Disaster Management, Preparedness, and Planning (EDMPP): The Importance of the ‘Social’," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-36, December.
    7. Sally Lindsay & Kristina Fuentes, 2022. "It Is Time to Address Ableism in Academia: A Systematic Review of the Experiences and Impact of Ableism among Faculty and Staff," Disabilities, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-26, April.
    8. Simerta Gill & Gregor Wolbring, 2022. "Auditing the ‘Social’ Using Conventions, Declarations, and Goal Setting Documents: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-100, October.
    9. Gregor Wolbring & Aspen Lillywhite, 2023. "Burnout through the Lenses of Equity/Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Disabled People: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-31, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lusha Huang & Newman Lau, 2020. "Enhancing the Smart Tourism Experience for People with Visual Impairments by Gamified Application Approach through Needs Analysis in Hong Kong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-27, August.
    2. Thais França & Filipa Godinho & Beatriz Padilla & Mara Vicente & Lígia Amâncio & Ana Fernandes, 2023. "“Having a family is the new normal”: Parenting in neoliberal academia during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 35-51, January.
    3. Gregor Wolbring & Fatima Jamal Al-Deen, 2021. "Social Role Narrative of Disabled Artists and Both Their Work in General and in Relation to Science and Technology," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, August.
    4. Mike Thelwall, 2020. "Female citation impact superiority 1996–2018 in six out of seven English‐speaking nations," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 71(8), pages 979-990, August.
    5. Gregor Wolbring & Lucy Diep, 2016. "The Discussions around Precision Genetic Engineering: Role of and Impact on Disabled People," Laws, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-23, September.
    6. Emily Yarrow & Karen Johnston, 2023. "Athena SWAN: “Institutional peacocking” in the neoliberal university," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 757-772, May.
    7. Aryn Lisitza & Gregor Wolbring, 2016. "Sustainability within the Academic EcoHealth Literature: Existing Engagement and Future Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-22, February.
    8. Caitríona Ní Laoire & Carol Linehan & Uduak Archibong & Ilenia Picardi & Maria Udén, 2021. "Context matters: Problematizing the policy‐practice interface in the enactment of gender equality action plans in universities," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 575-593, March.
    9. Meredith Nash & Ruby Grant & Robyn Moore & Tania Winzenberg, 2021. "Male allyship in institutional STEMM gender equity initiatives," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-16, March.
    10. Marco Antonio Cruz-Morato & Josefa García-Mestanza & Carmen Dueñas-Zambrana, 2021. "Special Employment Centres, Time Factor and Sustainable Human Resources Management in Spanish Hotel Industry: Can Corporate Social Marketing Improve the Labour Situation of People with Disabilities?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-24, September.
    11. Suchinta Arif & Melanie Duc Bo Massey & Natalie Klinard & Julie Charbonneau & Loay Jabre & Ana Barbosa Martins & Danielle Gaitor & Rhiannon Kirton & Catalina Albury & Karma Nanglu, 2021. "Ten simple rules for supporting historically underrepresented students in science," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(9), pages 1-16, September.
    12. Sara Clavero & Yvonne Galligan, 2021. "Delivering gender justice in academia through gender equality plans? Normative and practical challenges," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 1115-1132, May.
    13. Virgilio Gilart-Iglesias & Higinio Mora & Raquel Pérez-delHoyo & Clara García-Mayor, 2015. "A Computational Method based on Radio Frequency Technologies for the Analysis of Accessibility of Disabled People in Sustainable Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-29, November.
    14. Thereza Raquel Sales de Aguiar & Shamima Haque & Keith A. Bender, 2022. "Athena SWAN gender equality plans and the gendered impact of COVID‐19," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 591-608, March.
    15. Aspen Lillywhite & Gregor Wolbring, 2020. "Coverage of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning within Academic Literature, Canadian Newspapers, and Twitter Tweets: The Case of Disabled People," Societies, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-27, February.
    16. Kirsten Locke & Rebecca W. B. Lund & Susan Wright, 2021. "Rethinking gender equity in the contaminated university: A methodology for listening for music in the ruins," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 1079-1097, May.
    17. Karen Cuthbert & Joseph J Hall & Sally Hines & Kim Allen & Sharon Elley, 2022. "Hearing, Policing, and Using Gender Diversity: The Role of Institutional Gatekeepers in Researching Youth and Gender," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(3), pages 763-786, September.
    18. Eve Z. Bratman & William P. DeLince, 2022. "Dismantling white supremacy in environmental studies and sciences: an argument for anti-racist and decolonizing pedagogies," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 12(2), pages 193-203, June.
    19. Udeni Salmon, 2023. "“How did they protect you?” The lived experience of race and gender in the post‐colonial English university," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 510-528, March.
    20. Soline Blanchard, 2022. "Feminism through the market? A study of gender‐equality consultants in France," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 443-465, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:11:y:2021:i:2:p:49-:d:556923. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.