The European Commission’s European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) compiled a set of ten indicators, and using them, measured how 37 European countries perform on the field of equality and inclusion. The findings were published in the report “Towards Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education in Europe”. This report concluded that inclusivity in higher education leaves much to be desired.

The “Towards Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education in Europe” report can be found here.

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) also had inclusivity-related issues on its agenda: it published a report on racial and ethnic inequalities in the chemical sciences. The “Missing Elements” report’s key findings introduce the lack of diversity in senior academic roles in the UK, as well as the disadvantages minority and ethnic principal investigators face, such as the lower amount of average funding received.

RSC organised a live launch event for the release of the report, where RSC CEO Dr Helen Pain, Professor Robert Mokaya, Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu, Kevin Coutinho and Professor Marina Resmini discussed the findings, and called for addressing and acknowledging the issue. In order to do so, with the launch of the report, the RSC committed to a five-point programme aimed at reducing inequalities. The commitments include financially supporting systemic change, industry partnerships and increasing representation.

The “Missing elements” report as well as the five commitments can be read here.