Careers ServiceEquality, Diversity and Inclusion

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. It is important to understand how this law protects people against discrimination at work.

The best employers champion diversity in the workplace. Many graduate recruiters go beyond formal legal requirements. They set themselves challenging recruitment targets to build a diverse workforce. To research an employer:

  • check the organisation's website for information on equal opportunities policies, employee support networks, or diversity champions
  • look for events on topics relating to diversity and inclusion advertised on the careers events calendar
  • find out if the relevant professional bodies offer initiatives or events
  • look out for the Disability Confident logo

Equal opportunities monitoring forms

When you apply for a job, you may be asked to complete an equal opportunities monitoring form which is separate to the rest of your application.

Don't worry, this form is not seen by those involved in the recruitment process and will NOT have an impact on your application. HR departments use this information to gather data about how diverse the applicant pool is and can help them change recruitment processes to encourage more applicants from under-represented groups.

Further information

Useful links:

Useful links

  • TARGETjobs provides further information relating to a range of Equality and diversity issues. It includes guidance for Asylum Seekers and Refugees
  • Breaking Barriers is a specialist refugee employment charity. We are here to provide one-to-one advice and guidance, education, and training to support refugees to find secure, long-term employment. With us, it’s about more than financial independence – we help our clients find purpose and identity through work.
  • The Scottish Refugee Council has a telephone advice service for anyone in Scotland who is still in the asylum system or have received some form of leave to remain
  • The Bridges Programme may be able to organise unpaid voluntary placements for asylum seekers. This would be an alternative route to securing work experience while at university.

Use this Citizen’s Advice Scotland resource, disclosure and declaring a criminal record, to check the basic rules about when you have to declare your criminal records and which checks can be made by an employer.

Our faculty careers consultants work in partnership with the Disability and Wellbeing Service and other relevant agencies, to help assist students and graduates with their career planning.

Students with a disability* are strongly encouraged to make an individual appointment with a careers consultant as soon as possible on joining their course here at Strathclyde. While graduation may be a number of years away it is never too soon to start to make career plans e.g. for term-time or vacation employment; to do some job sampling; to discuss subject choice issues or how best to present to employers. The Careers Service will always endeavour to meet the needs of our students and graduates, and if you have a specific question you can e-mail us (yourcareer@strath.ac.uk).

MyPlus Students’ Club provides students with disabilities with the advice and support they need to navigate the recruitment process and achieve their career potential. Register for free with MyPlus Students’ Club for advice on openness, requesting adjustments and access to many more resources

Postgraduate study

Applying for postgraduate study or research? Guidance for disabled students applying for postgraduate study, designed to help students with a disability apply for a postgraduate course in the UK, has been published by the Disabled Students’ Commission and includes a helpful checklist.

Study abroad

This mobility with a disability guide contains detailed information on:

  • travelling with disabilities post-Brexit
  • funding and scholarships for students with disabilities
  • disability support services in 5 European Countries
  • top destinations for students with disabilities

Useful links

  • Access to Work is a publicly funded employment support programme. It aims to help more disabled people start or remain at work. It can provide practical and financial support if you have a disability. It can also help you if you have a long-term physical or mental health condition
  • AccessAble provides extra disability information at the University of Strathclyde
  • AGCAS Disability Task Group Blog provides information, resources, and training for disabled students and graduates
  • Autism Employability Skills is a free online course designed for autistic university students and graduates. It will help develop your employability skills. It may also be useful for any autistic person looking to develop these capacities. The course content has been developed by a team of experts, including autistic graduates, autistic workplace mentors, non-autistic university careers consultants, and non-autistic researchers
  • Blind in Business is a national charity that helps blind and partially sighted people into work. They offer free one to one virtual appointments to discuss the support you may need and create a tailored plan of action, helping you become recruitment ready. Email: joe@blindinbusiness.org.uk
  • British Dyslexia Association guidance on reasonable adjustments in the workplace
  • British Stammering Association (STAMMA) provides resources to ensure your stammer doesn't hold you back from the job or career you want
  • Centre for Mental Health is an independent, not for profit thinktank. They seek to eradicate mental health inequalities. They also fight injustice by changing policy and practice
  • Dyslexia Scotland produces leaflets on a range of topics, including employment and the workplace. They also host events that you may find helpful
  • Dyspraxia Foundation provides practical advice and tips to help manage Dyspraxia and Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD) in everyday life including at university and in employment
  • Epilepsy Action  provides information about looking for and staying in work if you have epilepsy. There is also information about your rights if things at work become difficult because of your epilepsy.
  • Exceptional Individuals is a social enterprise. It partners dyslexic and neurodiverse job seekers with employers across the UK. They run a wide range of free events for neurodiverse students
  • Hear me out: accessing the legal profession as a deaf, young professional
  • ME Association provides guides on a range of topics including education and employment
  • MIND provides information (that applies to England and Wales only) on disability discrimination at work because of mental health. Find out about the laws that protect you from discrimination, plus where to go for support and advice.
  • My Plus Students' Club will provide you with advice on topics such as the benefits of being open, accounting for differences in your CV, asking for adjustments in the recruitment process, and how to position your disability as a positive. Industry updates include case studies in which disabled graduates share their experience of the workplace
  • MS Society provides information and resources to help you manage your MS at work.
  • National Autistic Society provides support for autistic people and their families and includes advice and guidance on employment
  • Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD) provides employment and careers support through DeafAdvance, a national service in BSL removing barriers to training and employment, helping deaf people secure meaningful work and progress. Educating and supporting employers and challenging discrimination.
  • Royal National Institute for Blind people (RNIB) provides information and resources on employment and equality. They can help you whether you're looking for employment or need support to stay in your job
  • Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) provides support for people who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus. Learn more about getting help to find a job and getting help from your employer if you’re in work.
  • See Me is Scotland's national programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination. The resources include factsheets and an online newsletter
  • Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) provides tip and practical tools to support your wellbeing at work
  • Use My Ability provides workshops aimed at helping disabled students boost employability skills. These workshops are informed by research with employers, academic staff careers staff, and disabled students. They are available to anyone

*Disability and long-term health conditions include, but are not limited to: visual and hearing impairments, mobility impairments, autism, diabetes, epilepsy, dyslexia, dyspraxia, mental health conditions, speech impairments, and major illnesses such as cancer and MS.

MyPlus Students Club

MyPlus Students’ Club MyPlus Students' Club is an award-winning website that provides disabled students with the advice, resources and support you need to land your dream job with disability-confident organisations. 

Register for free  to also access the contact details of disability experts at over 50 employers, and gain priority access to their jobs, placements, internships and events.

Useful links

  • TARGETjobs issues advice on a range of key equality and diversity issues
  • Equate Scotland is the national expert in gender equality throughout the STEM sectors. Make valuable links with the industry via their student network. It's the UK’s only student network for women STEM students. They also manage the only UK-wide “women into STEM” job advertising platform
  • Women in STEM helps employers attract female applicants to their graduate scheme, internship, and placement opportunities. They run events throughout the year
  • WISE enables people in industry and education to increase the participation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
  • Where Women Work showcases the impressive achievements of women. It shines a spotlight on the organisations supporting them. Jobs board advertises internships, apprenticeships, graduate roles, experienced hires, women returners, executives - full-time, part-time, flexible or contract
  • AAI Employability run a "Back to work" programme. It supports minority ethnic women to return to the workforce after a career break
  • Interviews for the Women in Data campaign show women working in data, tech, and related fields in Scotland

 

The Careers and Employability Service is part of the University’s Student Experience directorate. We achieved a Silver LGBT Charter award in early 2020.

Useful links

  • TARGETjobs advice on a range of key equality and diversity issues
  • LGBT Youth Scotland is Scotland’s national charity for LGBTI young people. They work with 13–25 year olds across the country. Their goal is to make Scotland the best place to grow up for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people
  • Stonewall Scotland supports individuals and organisations to make a difference for LGBTI people. Their Top 100 Employers list identifies the best employers for LGBT people. It's published every year
  • InterEngineering is a free and inclusive organisation. It's for anyone who believes that LGBT diversity and inclusion within engineering are important
  • PinkNews Futures is a bi-annual (digital) student and graduate careers conference. It provides support and valuable resources to LGBT+ youth. It connects them with inclusive employers from across the UK. They also host an online Jobs Board

Useful links

As a carer, you will have many skills and valuable knowledge that can be relevant to employers.

At the University of Strathclyde we are dedicated to supporting student carers to helping you succeed. Learn more about the support and resources we provide for student carers, including a Careers Module for Student Carers.

Practical resources

  • Equality and Human Rights Commission provides guidance for workers on a range of equality and diversity issues
  • Discrimination - your rights at work is a Government website with information on types of discrimination and advice on what you can do
  • ACAS advice on equality and discrimination aims to create fair workplaces by promoting equality and diversity
  • Citizens Advice Scotland provides information on discrimination at work. This enables you to check if you're being discriminated against in the workplace and find out how to solve your problem

Access to Work is a grant that supports people with a health condition or disability to overcome barriers at work (this could include paid work experience for a fixed term eg summer internship or a placement).

Learn more about Access to Work

The Student Adjustments Planner could provide a useful tool to support you in the workplace. This includes part-time work, volunteering, placements, internships, or graduate employment. It will enable you to to identify any extra support or arrangements you might need.

MyPlus Students Club series of Disability Careers Guides will provide you with all the advice you need on topics such as the benefits of being open, accounting for differences on your CV, asking for adjustments in the recruitment process and how to position your disability as a positive.

British Dyslexia Association guidance on reasonable adjustments in the workplace

Civil Service Reasonable adjustments for online tests - a candidate guide
This guide is for people with disabilities who are asked to complete a online test from Civil Service Jobs and may be unsure if they need help to access it.

Getting a graduate job with dyslexia - advice from TARGETjobs

Prospects - Example of how to disclose a disability in a cover letter

It is quite common to be asked to complete a medical questionnaire when applying for a job or when you're offered a job. This blog post from the AGCAS Disability Task Group explains why and provides useful tips on how to deal with medical questionnaires.

Employability Skills for Autistic Students and Graduates

This free online course, Employability Skills for Autistic Students and Graduates, is ideal for you if you're an autistic university student or graduate interested in developing your employability skills. However, it may also be useful for any autistic person looking to develop these capacities.

The course is estimated to take between 2-4 hours in total but you can take as long as you need to complete it.

The videos and activities in this course have all been developed and produced by a team of experts, including autistic graduates, autistic workplace mentors, non-autistic university careers consultants, and non-autistic researchers.

What you’ll learn:

  • skills to help you find a suitable job
  • skills to help you decode job adverts and interview questions
  • guidance on sharing or disclosing your autism diagnosis
  • information about reasonable adjustments
  • development of an action plan to maximise employment success

This course was funded by The Churchill Fellowship and York St John University. It is supported by the autism organisations Matthew's Hub, Autism Forward, and Living Autism as well as the Association for Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS).

IMAGE Project Employability Toolkit

The IMAGE Project Employability Toolkit - resources to improve the employability of autistic graduates. What's involved:

  • the steps and challenges involved in choosing a career, applying for a job, and settling into the workplace
  • “How to…” articles and case studies from across Europe
  • interactive profile builder that turns strengths, challenges and preferences into templates to print or email

Inclusive employers and opportunities

Check out our list of inclusive opportunities and employers who actively champion diversity in the workplace