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Enabling equitable cultures: student recruitment and marketing

Academic researchers Equity, diversity and inclusion

This page contains a collection of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) resources with relevance to student recruitment and marketing in HE geography. These resources were collated as part of the project 'Enabling equitable cultures of knowledge and practice in physical geography and environmental sciences', funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

This page is dynamic; if you know of other relevant resources or wish to submit your own case study, we’d like to hear from you at rhed@rgs.org.

The Society does not accept responsibility for the content of the external sites. Inclusion on this list does not equate to an endorsement of any content or organisation. Please contact the external site for questions regarding individual resources.

Reports and guidance

Delivering a fresh approach to access and participation

Universities UK (UK)

The challenges to education brought about by the pandemic provide an opportunity to take a fresh look at how universities in England can best deliver on access and participation and accelerate education recovery. A collection of case studies showcasing how universities can best deliver on access and participation and accelerate education recovery is included in this briefing.

Support young people to change the world (Limit Less)

Institute of Physics (UK)

The Institute of Physics (IOP) has launched the Limit Less campaign to increase the number of young people from underrepresented groups in our society who do physics from age 16. The campaign is not directly aimed at young people themselves. Instead, it is aimed at those whom younger people listen to, and who help shape their opinions and decisions. Working with IOP members and a broad range of organisations, including charities and community groups, the project aims to counter the negative perceptions of physics and the attitudes that drive away some young people.

Carter, S. C., Griffith, E. M., Jorgensen, T. A., Coifman, K. G., & Griffith, W. A. (2021). Highlighting altruism in geoscience careers aligns with diverse US student ideals better than emphasizing working outdoors. Communications Earth & Environment, 2(1), 1-7. Access the article.
Bondi, L. (1996) Geography degrees and gender: interpreting the patterns. Area, 28, pp. 221-224.
Chapman, K. (1995) Geography degrees and gender: patterns and possible explanations. Area, 27, pp. 62-73.
Fisher, J. and Boulton, S. (2019) Girls into geoscience: where are we now? Geoscientist, 29, pp. 16–19.
Handley, H.K., Hillman, J., Finch, M., Ubide, T., Kachovich, S., McLaren, S., Petts, A., Purandare, J., Foote, A., Tiddy, C. (2020) In Australasia, gender is still on the agenda in geosciences. Advances in Geosciences, 53, pp. 205–226. Access the article.
Holmes, M.A. (2015) Who receives a geoscience degree? In Women in the Geosciences: Practical, Positive Practices Toward Parity, Holmes MA, OConnell S, Dutt K (eds). Special Publications 70, American Geophysical Union/Wiley: Washington, DC; 13–16. Access the article.
McKendrick, J.H. (1996) A discipline of equal opportunity? Gender and participation in postgraduate geography. Area, 28, pp. 318–330.
Sexton JM, Pugh KJ, Bergstrom CM, Riggs EM. (2018) Reasons under-graduate students majored in geology across six universities: the importance of gender and department. Journal of Geoscience Education, 66, pp. 319–336. Access the article.

Other resources from the Society

Geography of Geography

The Society, along with the wider geographical community, has known for a long time that geography attracts a disproportionately low number of young people from disadvantaged and Black and ethnic minority backgrounds to study the subject. The Society therefore commissioned a significant piece of independent research using the Department for Education’s National Pupil Database and linked HESA data (information on students at university) to answer our questions. Given the source of the schools data, the results are for England only for the period from 2009/10 to 2017/18.

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Scholarship opportunities for black/minority ethnic candidates

Each year, a number of UK higher education institutions offer scholarships for geographical study for black/minority ethnic candidates. This page is periodically updated to reflect current opportunities.

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