{"id":72,"date":"2017-11-22T12:33:57","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T12:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uogequality.wordpress.com\/?p=19"},"modified":"2024-05-15T08:03:57","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T08:03:57","slug":"equality-diversity-the-universitys-journey-towards-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/equity\/2017\/11\/22\/equality-diversity-the-universitys-journey-towards-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Equality, Diversity, the University\u2019s journey towards inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to this, my first blog to share the University\u2019s journey towards inclusion. I make specific reference to it being my first blog because that\u2019s important; it provides the context and, as I am sure you know, providing the context for a situation aids in understanding. (I am also hopeful that it will make you more sympathetic!).<\/p>\n

Before I get into the focus of the post though, I wanted to explain why I\u2019m blogging now. Yes I had heard of the power of social media, its ability to amplify information, to communicate instantly and enable others to engage with what you post. Quite frankly it had terrified me! I did see the importance of communicating the fantastic work that is going on across the university to advance equality,\u00a0recognising that not sharing prevented others being engaged. After all how could they be involved if they didn\u2019t know what was going on! All of these factors were very commendable, but still not enough to persuade me to venture into the world of social media.<\/p>\n

So, why now?<\/h2>\n

Quite simply, it was the arrival of a student intern. A young woman who approached me over the summer expressing an interest in following a career in equality and diversity. To be fair, I had been thinking about an intern for quite a while, but never made the time to do anything about it. From meeting her I discovered she was a Level 5 History student who therefore wouldn\u2019t automatically have work experience or a placement as part of her course. I listened to what she wanted to get from working alongside me. I felt confident that I would be able to share my wealth of knowledge and experience with her, creating opportunities for her that would resonate with jobs that she might look to apply for.<\/p>\n

What I underestimated though was the learning that she would bring to me. Yes, she introduced me to the knowledge that I would need to be able to blog or Tweet, but actually she has taught me so much more, mostly about myself. Completely unaware, she has helped me overcome my limiting self-belief that \u201cI can\u2019t use social media\u201d. So to those of you who have been pondering on whether or not you could offer one of our students a similar opportunity, I say, stop thinking and, in the immortal words of Nike, “Just do it”.<\/p>\n

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Diversity Champions<\/h2>\n

So now that I have said all that, what did I want to say about the university\u2019s journey towards inclusion? Well firstly I want to point out that our achievements to date wouldn\u2019t have been possible without\u00a0a range of colleagues. Whilst not formally recognised as diversity champions or allies, they have proactively led on a range of activities to advance equality and celebrate diversity. These include:<\/p>\n