Oxford
Oxford highly likely to be acting unlawfully in requiring diversity support statements in job applications: they ignore AFFS’ warning: AFFS demands an external review of why they made that decision
(27.02.25) AFFS wrote informally to Oxford University in January, highlighting free speech legal and governance issues with its requiring commitments to contested agendas and ideological positions in job advertisements and applications. The opportunity to review and correct their policies was rebuffed with a reply which managed to appear simultaneously disingenuous, complacent and potentially negligent.
This indicates a possible systemic problem with its governance and compliance, in that it appears to have knowingly disregarded clear evidence of unlawfulness, we have to assume because it is so committed to enforcing EDI agendas that it cannot conceive that this can be not just inappropriate, but actually unlawful – even though those agendas include values and agendas dissent from which is, amongst other things, protected under the Equality Act. The University appears to be deliberately prioritising commitment to EDI over free speech rights.