An introduction to RIDE HIGHER, a national disability framework for HEIs

Dr Melanie Best

Tuesday 18th June, 12:45-13:30

It was noted in 2021 that the proportion of staff with disabilities employed in Higher Education (HE) had increased from 3.2% in 2010/11 to 5.5% in 2019/20 (Advance HE, 2021). However, given that 21% of working age adults have a disability, disabled staff appear to be vastly under-represented in HE (Department for Work & Pensions, 2022). This is particularly the case for academics, with declaration rates consistently higher among professional and support staff (Advance HE, 2021). There is an interesting contrast with students, with 15.7% declaring a disability in 2020/21 (HESA, 2021). Disabled staff can be viewed the ‘unexpected workers’ of HE, the assumed recipients of professionals, rather than the professionals themselves (Waterfield et al., 2018), and yet their absence risks untapped potential that the sector can ill afford. With declaring a disability likened to ‘coming out’ and line management support inconsistent, individuals with disabilities who are in work can report ‘glass partitions’ and ceilings that limit horizontal and vertical movement (Roulstone & Williams, 2014). Only 4% of HE disabled staff felt they received positive support and provision of reasonable adjustment to enable their career progression, their perceived ‘vulnerability’ and ‘dependency’ at odds with the cultural norms of leaders (Emira et al., 2018). Further challenges experienced by disabled staff within HE include taking time off for disability-related appointments, which can count against them (Clifford et al., 2015) and the ‘long-hours culture’, discourse of neo-liberalism and ‘regimes of performance’ that leaves them trying to ‘keep-up’ (Sarju, 2021). For some disabled staff a ‘realistic pessimism’ exists, which, alongside their under-representation, risks limited role models (Clifford et al., 2015), for an increasingly heterogenous student population. RIDE HIGHER was created by disabled academics and professionals within the Higher Education sector, in partnership with the National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NADSN) and in response to the challenges for disabled staff. Its mission is to change the HE landscape and champion disabled employees, such that they are seen, valued and thrive. With a disability charter, (akin to Athena SWAN for gender equality and the Race Equality Charter) conspicuous by its absence, and plans for Advance HE to focus on a holistic EDI charter, RIDE HIGHER was created to ensure that disabled employees were championed, rather than forgotten about in HE. However it offers a different approach to the aforementioned charters, when it comes to promoting this inclusion. It is intentionally non-punitive and calls for Universities to share their best practices in respect of disability inclusion, so that others can listen and learn, and the sector can start to become a great place for disabled people to work. Though Universities are at different points on their disability inclusion journeys, RIDE HIGHER opens up the possibility of getting support to establish priorities and take action. Taking one issue at a time, without any cost to sign up or pressure to achieve accreditations, Universities choose what, when and how they take action, with the benefit of blueprints to follow and support from the RIDE HIGHER network. With the RIDE HIGHER pilot due to commence in July 2024, it hopes to complement The Student Commitment, and support the work being done to make HEIs more inclusive of their disabled communities.