DEI in universities of applied sciences: role of training

DEI training as a tool to improve equality and equity

The equality and non-discrimination work of universities of applied sciences (UAS) is regulated and rooted in national policy, legislation, and international commitments. The most important national legal frameworks are the Equality Law (609/1986) and Equity Law (1325/2014). These laws define a national minimum for promoting equality and equity in personnel policy and operationally. A personnel policy equality plan must be prepared every two years, while an operational equality plan may be prepared for a maximum of three years. Equity planning is less regulated.

Equality and equity planning has both strengths and weaknesses (Nieminen et al. 2020). On the one hand, equity planning is a great tool because it focuses attention on existing problems and towards solutions. On the other hand, the change-making effect of equity planning does not necessarily materialize, if the plan is vague and no one follows up on implementation. Previous research has examined the equality and equity plans of UAS and found that one of the main challenges is inadequate implementation and lack of concreteness (Jousilahti et al. 2022). Other shortcomings include outdated plans, and lacking assessment of previous development initiatives (Tanhua 2020).

The accessibility plan for higher education and higher education institutions recommended 38 objectives for promoting accessibility, inclusion and diversity in higher education institutions (Kosunen 2021). These recommendations included developing the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) competences of students and staff, by e.g. including the topics of ethical leadership and the promotion of equality and accessibility in management training, onboarding of new employees, and systematically developing staff accessibility skills. Mandatory gender equality and non-discrimination training, at least for managers and HR staff, has also been recommended in the report commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Culture (Jousilahti 2022).

Also, the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) has recommended that the competence of teaching, guidance and educational staff must be developed systematically, and education and skills related to equality and non-discrimination must be included in teacher education and competence development (Ukkola & Väätäinen 2021). Similarly, Airas et al. (2019) recommended that training in cultural sensitivity and non-discrimination should be provided to academic advisors and staff.

A common goal for DEI training is to reduce individual prejudice and discriminatory structures in an organization. However, when focus is on individuals and attitudes, results show inconsistent and sometimes contradictory outcomes (Devine & Ash 2022) as there is a large difference between being aware of bias and privilege and changing one’s behaviors (Noon 2018). It has been suggested that instead of expecting personal change from a few hours of training (Dobbin & Kalev 2018) organizations should continue to educate employees about bias and organizational DEI policies and prepare for defensive reactions (Onyeador et al. 2021).

DEI training is seen to have the potential to increase knowledge and awareness through discussions, lectures and exercises (Davis, et al. 2021). One goal for the training could be simply to discuss social inequality and discriminatory structures. Social inequality is often approached through social categories made visible by intersectional approach, e.g. ethnicity, age and gender. In practice, DEI trainings often evade themes that are perceived to be uncomfortable, such as racism (Kulppi 2022), while focusing on concepts like diversity of values and thought (Hyrynsalmi 2025). Avoiding uncomfortable topics further hides existing discriminatory structures (Ahmed 2009; Grimes 2002) reducing DEI-initiatives to performative public commitments without practical actions (Dover, Kaiser & Major 2020). One way to prevent irrelevant focus and performativity is to clearly articulate the content of the DEI training and to connect it to the practices of the organization.

Limited knowledge exists on the implementation of employee DEI training in UAS in Finland. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by examining descriptions of DEI training for employees in the equity and equality plans of UAS.

Methods

The equity and equality plans of UAS (N=24) were retrieved by the authors in June 2025 from the websites of the UAS. If a plan could not be found manually or using the homepages’ search engine, external search engines were used.

We used thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke 2020) to describe our data, organize emerging themes, and compare the coding produced by both authors. We identified the focus of analysis by summarizing the themes most commonly present in the data (Appendix: Table 1). During this process we formed and examined the following questions:

• Does the UAS have an equality and equity plan? Is the plan valid?
• Which DEI goals include staff DEI training as an action?
• How is the DEI training measured (quantitative/qualitative metrics)?
• Which dimensions of diversity are emphasized or addressed in DEI training?
• How systematic is the staff DEI training?
• Who is responsible for the DEI training?

Results

We found that out of 24 UAS, 13 had a valid equality and equity plan, one had only an equity plan, six had an outdated plan, two had a plan by the student union, and for two UAS no plan could be publicly found. The overall quality and comprehensiveness of the plans varied. Based on the plans, it could at times be difficult to understand what the UAS was concretely doing to promote DEI.

Of the UAS with some equality and equity plan (n=22), the majority (n=15) had set goals with DEI training as an action. Most commonly training aimed to raise DEI awareness and skills. Overall, we identified six goals that were pursued by employee DEI training as an action:

• Raised DEI awareness or skills (n=14)
• Culture valuing diversity (n=3)
• Non-discrimination and /or anti-harassment (n=4)
• Removing barriers and systemic inequity (n=1)
• Integration of immigrant and international students (n=1)
• Gender equality (n=1)

Of the equality and equity plans that had DEI training as an action (n=15), most (n=10) did not specify how the training would be implemented or measured. The plans that included measurement (n=5) had only quantitative metrics, i.e. measuring the number of organised training and participants involved. None of the UAS had plans with qualitative metrics, such as trainees’ self-assessment, evaluation of the training’s effectiveness, or a clearer articulation of the aspects of social inequality and discriminatory structures the organization aims to address through staff education. However, it is possible that self-assessment may have been collected through feedback in the DEI training.

Roughly half (n=7) of the equality and equity plans that had DEI training as an action did not specify which topics will be focused on in the training. The ones that did (n=8), emphasized varying topics, e.g. antiracism (XAMK), multiculturalism (JAMK), language and culture (Karelia), neurodiversity (SeAMK), dismantling segregation (SeAMK), unconscious biases (Turku), and anti-harassment (Laurea). The abbreviation DEI was seldomly used.

Only two of the equality and equity plans stated that employee DEI training was part of permanent HR processes and/or onboarding of new employees. Some UAS had developed their own training materials, and these were mentioned in some plans. Of external materials, e-learning of Eduhouse and National Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (SAMOK) and the antiracism training of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) were mentioned. In some cases, DEI awareness was pursued not by training, but also campaigns (e.g. Haaga-Helia, XAMK, Karelia), theme days and coaching (e.g. Metropolia).

Finally, we found that HR was primarily responsible for DEI training, but management and leadership were also commonly mentioned. Other actors appointed responsible for the training were staff of communication, equity/sustainability, teaching/competence development, community and partnerships, and occupational safety and health. Only one (XAMK) mentioned a detailed contact person.

Discussion and conclusion

Our study found that the equality and equity plans of UAS differ in their general structure and in terms of the descriptions of employee DEI training. Most UAS aim to improve equality and equity with employee DEI training. Typically training aimed to raise DEI awareness and skills. Descriptions of employee DEI training in the equality and equity plans were not very concrete, and rarely specified which dimensions of diversity were addressed. The measurement of DEI training was lacking and limited to quantitative metrics.

We recognize limitations in our study. The scope of our study was to examine goals in the equality and equity plans that were pursued with employee DEI training, yet most plans had many other goals and actions in addition to DEI training. Moreover, we analysed only current or most recent equality and equity plans, and we recognize that some UAS may have invested in employee DEI training in previous plans.

To conclude, employee training is used to pursue various DEI goals. To connect these goals to the implementation and evaluation of DEI training, UAS should measure both quantitative metrics and qualitative objectives i.e. wanted change in employees’ skills and experience of workplace culture. Clear articulation of the content of DEI training to discriminatory structures (e.g. ableism, racism) would ensure that the focus of training is on societally significant albeit uncomfortable topics. National quality and uniform standard of equality and equity planning and DEI training would benefit from the sharing of good practices and DEI training material between UAS.

Acknowledgements
Shadia Rask is supported by a grant from Alfred Kordelin Foundation to study the status of DEI work in Finland.
Heli Tikkanen is a PhD researcher in University of Helsinki.

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