Workforce Data

Select the relevant link below to navigate to a specific desired section or continue reading the full content:

• Workforce Composition
• Recruitment
• Leavers
• Starters' and Leavers' Survey
  
• Northumbria in Comparison to Region and Sector

This narrative focuses on material year‑on‑year changes. Efforts to encourage self‑disclosure of protected characteristics through NUPF have resulted in significant increases in disclosure. Year‑on‑year reductions in ‘Not known’ are highlighted throughout. ‘Not known’ (indicating no self‑disclosure) and ‘Prefer not to say’ are reported separately.

Targeted activity through NUPF to encourage self‑disclosure has materially reduced ‘Not known’ across protected characteristics: Ethnicity (from 2.8% to 0.6%), Disability (13.6% to 3.2%), Gender identity (66.2% to 23.0%), Sexual orientation (67.9% to 23.2%), and Religion (54.3% to 24.5%). This step‑change enhances the reliability of trend analysis and enables more precise EDI action planning.

Headcount was 3,422 at 31 March 2025 compared with 3,551 on 31/03/2024 (−129; −3.6%). Academic and Research comprised 1,686 (49.3%) and Professional Support 1,736 (50.7%). Compared with 2024, Academic grew slightly (from 1,673) while Professional Support declined (from 1,878).

Age

Age Band	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
16 to 24	75	2.2	64.2	2.1
25 to 34	605	17.7	571.9	18.3
35 to 44	1098	32.1	1024.9	32.9
45 to 54	864	25.2	810.1	26
55 to 64	671	19.6	574.3	18.4
65+	109	3.2	71.8	2.3
Total	3422	100	3117.1	100

Sex

Gender	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Female	1844	53.9	1617.3	51.9
Male	1578	46.1	1499.8	48.1
Total	3422	100	3117.1	100

Female representation was 53.9% (1,844) and male 46.1% (1,578), compared with 54.8% and 45.2% in 2024. This is a modest shift (−0.9 percentage points for females) within the context of a smaller workforce.

Ethnicity

Ethnicity	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE%
BAME	527	15.4	495.7	15.9
White	2800	81.8	2539.9	81.5
Prefer not to say	73	2.1	69.2	2.2
Not Known	22	0.6	12.4	0.4
Total	3422	100	3117.1	100

BAME representation increased to 15.4% (from 14.4%), while White decreased to 81.8% (from 82.8%).

Disability

Disability	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Disabled	232	6.8	212.8	6.8
Not Disabled	3034	88.7	2770	88.9
Not known	108	3.2	90.9	2.9
Prefer not to say	48	1.4	43.4	1.4
Total	3422	100	3117.1	100

Disabled representation rose to 6.8% (from 3.8% in 2024). ‘Prefer not to say’ was 1.4%. The most material change was a drop in ‘Not known’ to 3.2% (from 13.6%), a direct benefit of improved self‑disclosure.

Nationality

Nationality	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
UK	2803	81.9	2518.8	80.8
Non UK	619	18.1	598.4	19.2
Not known	0	0	0	0
Total	3422	100	3117.1	100

The profile remained broadly stable: UK 81.6% (−1.0 pp), EU 6.4% (flat), Europe (non‑EU) 0.7% (+0.4 pp), International 11.0% (+0.3 pp), with ‘Not known’ at 0.3%. No material risks identified.

Gender Identity

Gender Identity	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Woman	1371	40.1	1247	40
Man	1082	31.6	1036.8	33.3
Non-binary	16	0.5	15	0.5
In another way	11	0.3	9.8	0.3
Prefer not to say	154	4.5	146	4.7
Not known	788	23	662.5	21.3
Total	3422	100	3117.1	100

The largest single disclosure improvement: ‘Not known’ fell to 23.0% (from 66.2%). Disclosed categories increased accordingly (women 40.1%, men 31.6%, non‑binary 0.5%, ‘in another way’ 0.3%, ‘prefer not to say’ 4.5%). The shift significantly strengthens insight into gender identity across staff groups.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual Orientation	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Another sexual orientation	20	0.6	19.3	0.6
Bisexual	88	2.6	81.6	2.6
Gay or lesbian	110	3.2	106.3	3.4
Heterosexual or straight	2086	61	1939.9	62.2
Prefer not to say	323	9.4	304	9.8
Not known	795	23.2	666	21.4
Total	3422	100	3117.1	100

‘Not known’ fell markedly from 67.9% to 23.2%. ‘Heterosexual/straight’ increased to 61.0% (from 28.6%), with increases also in gay/lesbian (3.2%), bisexual (2.6%) and ‘another orientation’ (0.6%). Changes reflect enhanced disclosure rather than demographic shifts.

Religion

Religion	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Another religion or belief	34	1	29.8	1
No religion	1276	37.3	1187.3	38.1
Buddhist	27	0.8	26.4	0.8
Christian	778	22.7	724.3	23.2
Hindu	54	1.6	53	1.7
Muslim	116	3.4	107.6	3.5
Sikh	5	0.1	5	0.2
Prefer not to say	294	8.6	277.4	8.9
Not known	838	24.5	706.3	22.7
Total	3422	100	3111.7	100

‘Not known’ reduced from 54.3% to 24.5%. The largest disclosed groups were ‘No religion’ (37.3%) and ‘Christian’ (22.7%), with smaller proportions identifying as Muslim (3.4%), Hindu (1.6%), Buddhist (0.8%) and Sikh (0.1%). ‘Prefer not to say’ accounted for 8.6%.

Recruitment

Starters

There were 250 starters (down from 297 in 2024): 139 Academic and Research; 111 Professional Support. Among Academic starters, 58.3% were female. Among Professional Support starters, 53.2% were female. Professional Support starters were 24.3% BAME, with ‘Not known’ at 6.3% for ethnicity and 12.6% for disability. These patterns are consistent with improved data capture at onboarding.

Recruitment (Academic)

Gender

Gender	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Female	81	58.3	74.7	57.9
Male	58	41.7	54.3	42.1
Total	139	100	129.1	100

Ethnicity

Ethnicity	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
BAME	57	41	53.9	41.8
White	77	55.4	71.4	55.3
Not known	2	1.4	0.7	0.5
Prefer not to say	3	2.2	3	2.3
Total	139	100	129.1	100

Disability

Disability	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Disabled	17	12.2	15.2	11.8
Not disabled	111	79.9	104.3	80.9
Not known	6	4.3	5.3	4.1
Prefer not to say	5	3.6	4.2	3.3
Total	139	100	129.1	100

Recruitment (Professional Support)

Gender

Gender	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Female	59	53.2	47.5	52.3
Male	52	46.8	43.4	47.7
Total	111	100	90.9	100

Ethnicity

Ethnicity	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
BAME	27	24.3	21.2	23.3
White	77	69.4	67.2	73.9
Not known	7	6.3	2.5	2.7
Prefer not to say	0	0	0	0
Total	111	100	90.9	100

Disability

Disability	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Disabled	9	8.1	6.8	7.5
Not disabled	87	78.4	73.6	81
Not known	14	12.6	9.5	10.4
Prefer not to say	1	0.9	1	1.1
Total	111	100	90.9	100

Leavers

There were 587 leavers (up from 483 in 2024): 215 Academic and Research; 372 Professional Support. Across all leavers where sex was recorded, 60.5% were female. We will continue to monitor leaver trends by staff group and protected characteristics as disclosure rates improve.

Leavers (Academic)

Gender

Gender	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Female	113	52.6	97.5	51.9
Male	101	47	89.5	47.6
Other	1	0.5	1	0.5
Total	215	100	188	100

Ethnicity

Ethnicity	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
BAME	58	27	54.5	29
White	150	69.8	127.3	67.7
Not known	2	0.9	1.2	0.6
Prefer not to say	5	2.3	5	2.7
Total	215	100	188	100

Disability

Disability	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Disabled	9	4.2	7.9	4.2
Not disabled	197	91.6	174.1	92.6
Not known	8	3.7	5	2.7
Prefer not to say	1	0.5	1	0.5
Total	215	100	188	100

Leavers (Professional Support)

Gender

Gender	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Female	225	60.5	117.9	57.2
Male	147	39.5	133	42.8
Total	372	100	310.9	100

Ethnicity

Ethnicity	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
BAME	68	18.3	54.3	17.5
White	293	78.8	247.1	79.5
Not known	5	1.3	4.5	1.5
Prefer not to say	6	1.6	4.9	1.5
Total	372	100	310.9	100

Disability

Disability	Headcount	Headcount %	FTE	FTE %
Disabled	17	4.6	14.5	4.7
Not disabled	318	85.5	263.3	84.7
Not known	33	8.9	29.6	9.5
Prefer not to say	4	1.1	3.5	1.1
Total	372	100	310.9	100

Starters' and Leavers' Survey

The starters and leavers surveys were redeveloped in November 2024 to improve insights and trend analysis. This report covers the five-month period from the launch of these new survey designs to 31st March 2025. Population refers to the number of salaried employees who joined or left the University between 1st November 2024 and 31st March 2025.

Survey	Population	Responses	Response Rate
Starters	86	39	45.3%
Leavers	165	31	18.8%

For the starters’ survey, positive responses (agree or strongly agree) included:

Statement	Agreement
My line manager provided support to help me integrate	100%
My line manager was welcoming	100%
My colleagues provided adequate support to help me integrate	97.4%
I received adequate information to do my work	88.9%
On my first day I had everything that I needed to start working	79.4%

For the leavers’ survey, positive responses (agree or strongly agree) included:

Statement	Agreement
I had good working relationships with my colleagues	96.3%
I was treated with fairness and respect	86.2%
I felt a sense of belonging	82.1%
The culture at Northumbria is positive	80%
I felt supported to develop my career here	57.5%

No significant differences were identifiable between male and female respondents, or between respondents of different ethnicities.

Starters' Survey

Employee Type

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gender

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethnicity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leavers' Survey

Employee Type

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gender

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethnicity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Northumbria in Comparison to Region and Sector

This section uses the most recently available Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data with a census date of 31 July 2024 (academic year 2023/24) to benchmark Northumbria University against the region and the wider sector.

Northumbria’s internal figures used for comparison are as of 31 March 2025. Because the census points differ and HESA definitions may vary slightly from internal reporting, these benchmarks should be considered indicative rather than exact.  The regional Universities referred to are Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland and Teesside.

Workforce Size

Newcastle University is the largest employer with 6,590 staff, followed by Durham University (6,000). Northumbria’s headcount at 31 March 2025 is 3,422, ahead of Sunderland (2,655) and Teesside (2,245). 

Academic and Professional Support

Academic staff as a proportion of total staff in North East universities ranges from 57.8% at Sunderland to 48.2% at Durham and 46.0% at Newcastle. Northumbria’s Academic and Research staff account for 49.3% of the workforce (with Professional Support at 50.7%).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sex

Female representation in the region is 56.2% overall: Newcastle 55.6%, Durham 54.5%, Northumbria 53.9%, Sunderland 60.3%, and Teesside 59.9%. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethnicity

The proportion of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff in North East universities is 12.1% overall, below the UK sector average of 16.8%. By university: Newcastle 10.2% BAME, Durham 11.8%, Sunderland 14.1%, Teesside 14.9%. Northumbria’s profile is 15.4% BAME, greater than other North East universities, though slightly below the UK sector average.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disability

Across North East universities, 7.1% of staff are recorded as Disabled, compared with 7.8% across the UK sector. As of 31 April 2025 6.8% of Northumbria staff were Disabled, higher than Newcastle at 4.9% and close to the sector average, though below Durham, 10.3%, Sunderland, 12.1%, and Teesside, 7.3%.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Notes on Disclosure

Northumbria has continued to actively encourage self-disclosure of protected characteristics through NUPF, which helps to reduce ‘Not known’ responses internally. Where HESA figures for Northumbria appear lower, particularly for disability, this reflects the different census date and the impact of improved internal disclosure post-July 2024.

Return to main EDI Report page.