BİLGİ Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy

Ever since its foundation, İstanbul Bilgi University (BİLGİ) has embraced principles such as equality of opportunity, academic freedom, respect for diversity, and inclusion as the building blocks of its own identity. Within the framework of these principles, we deem it important that our students have an awareness regarding the existing differences on local, national and international levels with our academic and administrative staff and consider diversity as richness. We aim to make BİLGİ a place where people feel themselves free as independent of all kinds of identities and of the past.

BİLGİ has aspired to create an environment for studying, learning, and engaging in social interaction where individuals can use their skills, capabilities, and potentials to the full extent without having any fear of being subjected to prejudice, harassment, marginalization or discrimination.

As BİLGİ, we are working together with all our constituents in order to ensure that all of our activities, policies, decisions, and practices comply with the principle of equality and the universal human rights law pertaining to this issue. We believe that it is important to put into practice an activity program that considers principles such as diversity and inclusion, and changing needs.

Scope

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy applies to all the salaried or voluntary staff, existing and potential students, external auditors, consultants, and people visiting our campuses and other facilities, and all the living creatures on our campuses. Our policy includes fighting against discrimination on the basis of age, disability, health status, gender, marital status and civil partnership, sexual identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and motherhood, race or ethnic origin, social status, religion or faith or any other issue.

Purpose

Principle of equality is at the center of our University’s Strategic Goals that demonstrate our value and goals. Our goal is to create an atmosphere where people can exhibit their talents and skills to the greatest extent possible by creating an open, transparent, and inclusive campus culture where everyone can work together with dignity. In this framework, we are going to take concrete steps in order to fulfill our responsibilities and support good practices:

To carry out legal obligations transparently;
To develop goals, announce and popularize them in a way that respects differences, principle of equality, and participatory understanding across the University;
To popularize Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy among academic and administrative staff to the greatest extent possible, follow whether the policy is implemented in compliance with its goal, assess and evaluate it;
To identify the needs of disadvantaged people and work to eliminate or reduce their disadvantages;
To take measures to eliminate all sorts of discrimination;
To follow the employment and progress of all the students and staff and to take action so as to eliminate any discrimination that emerges in the light of information and data demonstrating whether principle of equality is adopted by all of our constituents or not;
To encourage good relations among people from different groups;
To strengthen intercultural interaction;
To increase awareness among the staff and students with regard to equality, diversity, and inclusion through trainings, guidance, and campaigns and encourage an understanding in this regard;
To ensure that the individuals who apply to work or receive education at BİLGİ, in addition to existing staff and students, are treated fairly and assessed only on the basis of merit;
In our relations with external suppliers, contractors, and with all the other stakeholders, to create awareness with regard to our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy and encourage them to adopt similar practices;
To ensure that our campuses and other facilities are hospitable and accessible to the greatest extent possible for everyone;
To eliminate all the obstacles that our disabled staff and students encounter in working, learning, and social environments and ensure that proper arrangements are made in a suitable and right-based manner so that they can benefit from all the opportunities completely and equally;
To ensure that curriculum and its delivery do not include any discrimination and stereotypes, and is not marginalizing;
To be in contact with our staff and students about our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy and create methods and environments in which they can express their problems and concerns;
Within the scope of University’s policy, to take the necessary measures against all sorts of discrimination, harassment, and bullying; to execute the necessary administrative and legal processes in the framework of higher education regulations and general provisions, and ensure that the enforcement required by the regulations are carried out completely;
To make arrangements that will help protect the plants and animals that are integral components of our campuses’ ecosystem.

Our Responsibilities

All the constituents of our University are responsible for implementing and popularizing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy.

Academic Board of the University is responsible for making the necessary arrangements for the implementation of our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy through Rector’s Office.

The Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission that will be established within the framework of a regulation that will be accepted within the body of Rectorate and whose members will be assigned in accordance with the principle of diversity, particularly gender equality, is responsible for realizing this policy in a way that includes all of our constitutents.

Implementation, Follow-up and Feedback Mechanisms

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy will be followed up by the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission that will be put into effect by the Academic Board and will work as part of Rectorate by following the processes outlined below:

The employment of academic and administrative staff, their training, assignment and evaluation processes along with the criteria for promotion will be reviewed annually by Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission based on the reports that will be prepared by Human Resources Unit;
The annual reports prepared by Student Affairs Office regarding our students’ registration, progress, and graduation processes will be annually reviewed by Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission;
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy will be reviewed annually with the participation of relevant units and it will be updated upon the suggestion of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission directly by the Academic Board.
Regular trainings will be held in order to ensure that Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy will be internalized and implemented as required by our staff and students.

Processes regarding how to address the complaints on the subjects of equality, diversity, and inclusion

Our University expects all of its stakeholders to treat others equally, with dignity, and respectfully. Anyone from our staff or students who has been subjected to discrimination, harassment, bullying or a similar act has the right to file a complaint without having any fear of undergoing secondary victimization. Our staff or student who will file a complaint can choose to voice his/her complaint by meeting with the person in charge of the relevant unit regarding the issue of complaint or file an official complaint with a petition.

Maximum effort will be shown so that those individuals who file a complaint through these methods or who testify on behalf of the complainer will not suffer from any victimization for doing so. Individuals who file a complaint will be informed about their rights outlined in the regulations and they will be supported in case they would like to resort to legal methods.

Other internal and external stakeholders apart from our staff and students (our alumni, public institutions, relevant civil society organizations, local governments, companies etc.) can communicate their complaints directly to the relevant unit verbally or in writing.