We’ve refreshed our strategy because we’re operating in a dynamic environment and it’s important that we respond to new evidence, opportunities and challenges. We also want to build on what’s worked and innovate in new areas.
Read our refreshed EDI strategyFor each strategic priority, we’ve identified focus areas, prioritised initiatives and developed performance metrics to measure our progress. These are:
We know that cancer doesn’t affect everyone equally. It’s our duty to address cancer inequalities through our work by publishing the best evidence and through the research that we fund.
We’ve already removed several barriers to progression for our researchers, increasing the diversity of applicants. We’re committed to attracting and retaining diverse talent in cancer research, shaping an inclusive research culture, and funding high‑quality studies that reflect—and, where appropriate, involve—a diverse population.
We’ve made strong progress in diversifying our workforce. Our inclusive recruitment approach led to a 23% increase in staff from ethnic minority backgrounds, and our heads progression programme has helped achieve at least 50% women in director and executive director roles. Our graduate and intern programmes now include 50% graduates from ethnic minority backgrounds, and the stories and images we share better reflect the diversity of the people we serve.
We know that inclusive environments and diverse perspectives lead to stronger decisions, so we involve our staff, supporters, research community, volunteers and people affected by cancer in how we make them. We’ve also reviewed our recruitment approach to ensure we bring in the best leaders and advisors with broad skills and perspectives that reflect the communities we serve.
Each year, we reach around 38 million people with our patient information and more than 60,000 face to face with our health information. We’re committed to making this content accessible and easy to understand for people from all backgrounds, and we’ve begun removing barriers by introducing accessible formats across our reports, webpages and videos. We’re also improving the accessibility of our web content for disabled people, and while there’s more to do, we’re making steady progress.
We’ll use research and evidence, and continuously improve, adopt best practices and learn from others.
We’ll use our influence to promote equality and inclusion in cancer research and care
We’ll champion dignity and respect in every interaction.
We’ll seek to tackle cancer inequalities and be anti-racist as it relates to cancer.
We’ll partner and collaborate with organisations to accelerate progress towards our objectives and mission.
Our research strategy, introduced the same year, strengthens this commitment by prioritising the reduction of cancer inequalities. The refreshed EDI strategy underpins both of these core strategies and is complemented by our cancer and health inequalities strategy and our EDI in research strategy. Together, they ensure that EDI is embedded across all of Cancer Research UK.
The strategy sets out how we’ll tackle the unfair and avoidable differences in cancer outcomes across the UK. It focuses on understanding the causes of these inequalities, influencing policy, and working with communities to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
To beat cancer for everyone, we need exceptional researchers who can unlock new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease. That means backing a broad range of innovative ideas so more people benefit from our discoveries, and attracting talented researchers from diverse backgrounds into cancer research.
The Age Positive Network | Promotes the benefits of a multi-generational workforce to all staff. |
The Health and Disability Network | Represents the voice of, and provides a supportive environment for staff affected by health and disability issues. |
The Fertility and Baby Loss Network | Offers improved support to many of our staff affected by infertility or baby loss. |
The Parents and Carers Network | Provides support, advice and guidance for staff with caring responsibilities and those around them, to enable parents and carers to flourish in all areas of their lives. |
The Gender Equality Network | Aims to provide a collaborative, educational, and supportive community for those passionate about improving gender equality at Cancer Research UK. |
The Race Equality and Equity Network | Advocates for race equality and equity through active involvement and consultation on Cancer Research UK's strategy, policies, and guidance on race equality. |
The Grief and Bereavement Wellbeing Network | Supports employees through peer-support, policy guidance and training materials during the most difficult moments in life. |
The Pride Network | Strives to create an inclusive and diverse working environment that encourages a culture of respect and equality for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity. |
The Multi-Faith Network | Celebrates and advocates for faith, and to raise awareness about faith within Cancer Research UK. |
Be part of an inclusive charity and join a team of 4,000 people from a diverse range of backgrounds.
We want to maximise the positive impact our life-saving research has on people and the planet, while minimising the negative impact.
For more information about EDI at Cancer Research UK, alternative document formats of our reports or answers to any questions you may have, get in touch with us.
