equality – Loughborough UCU

10th January 202510th January 2025

LUCU Equality Report: 2024 UCU Equality Conference and Local Developments

LUCU Equality Officer (EO), Dr Angela Martinez Dy, recently attended the 2024 UCU Equality Groups Conference at Aston University in Birmingham. This annual event comprises five conferences over three days, serving disabled members, Black members, migrant members, women members, and LGBTQ+ members.

Angela participated in the migrant and women’s conferences in person, whilst attending some of the Black members’ and LGBTQ+ conference online. All were offered in hybrid format. She did not attend the disabled members’ conference as she does not identify as a member of the group.

Overall, this valuable space enables members from these groups to openly raise and discuss important issues relevant to them and thus to the Union as a whole. We encourage LUCU members from any of these groups to consider attending. UCU National reimburses reasonable expenses for attendance.

Migrant Members’ Conference

The Migrant Members’ committee is the most recently established of the equality groups. At this conference, several crucial issues were discussed, including:

the challenges of transitioning from biometric residence permits (BRP) to e-visas

inviting speakers from the Global South to UCU Congress 2025

UCU’s ongoing lobbying against the immigration health surcharge, which the union argues constitutes double taxation alongside National Insurance contributions

HMRC’s classification of university-reimbursed visa fees as workplace benefits.

A panel featuring solicitor Kemi Obayelu, Dr Kamran Khan, and Dr Paul John Alegado provided valuable insights into migrant perception and contributions to UK society, challenging narratives that frame migrants as security threats and societal burdens.

Women’s Conference

Intersectionality formed the central theme of the women’s conference, featuring keynote speakers including UCU President Maxine Looby, Dr Jenny Douglas, Dr Amelia Baldwin, and Dr Victoria Showunmi. Vibrant discussion and debate following these presentations, exploring both the importance of intersectionality (and avoiding its dilution and depoliticisation) and ways to continue to address women’s marginality within interlocking structures of oppression.

Black Members’ Conference

The conference opened with a focused discussion on the ongoing review of racism within UCU itself, with President Maxine Looby sharing her experiences and initiatives as a Black woman resisting racism within the Executive. This was followed by an impactful workshop on challenging workplace racism, led by Nitin Rajyaguru and Saleem Rashid.

LGBTQ+ Members’ Conference

Angela attended portions of this conference remotely, noting particularly engaging presentations from Muwonge Gerald, Lexi Breen, and Harun Tulunay, who highlighted the continued risks to LGBTQ+ safety and the need to better incorporate international LGBTQ+ experiences into our understandings of inequality.

Local Developments

Following a handover from Kerry Featherstone in October 2024, Angela has stepped into her role as EO with great enthusiasm. A former leader of the BAME (now REACH) staff network, EDI Advisory Forum initiator and co-chair, and Strategic Architect of the LU Race Equity Strategy, as LUCU EO Angela is now part of the University’s EDI Board and contributing to the implementation of the newly approved EDI Core Plan. Key developments from the latest Board meeting include:

Recruitment planning for new associate directors’ EDI roles

Collaborating with Organisational Development to enhance reasonable adjustments processes

Promoting the uptake and use of equality impact assessments (EIAs) across the University

Angela has also conducted a thorough demographic analysis (descriptive statistics only) of LUCU’s membership as of Oct 2024, looking at age, race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and contract type/status data, as well as some relevant intersections. Although numbers are very small in places, patterns locally mirror expectations based on national trends. For example, local membership data suggest that higher percentages of women and BAME people hold fixed-term contracts (50% women, 11.3% BAME) as compared to permanent contracts (42% women, 5.8% BAME), and that a large majority of our members on part-time contracts are women (78%).

Following her analysis of these data and her attendance at the Equality Groups Conference, Angela will work with LUCU Branch Organiser Callum Salfield to conduct a series of online focus groups with LUCU Members to better understand their needs and priorities. The proposed groups include: Migrant, Black/BAME, Women and Gender Non-Conforming, LGBTQ+, Disabled, and Early Career members. If you have feedback on these plans or are interested in participating, please message Callum with the groups you wish to be included in, and/or keep an eye out in emails and future newsletters for upcoming polls for dates and times. Members are welcome to attend more than one if multiple categories apply.

Finally, we would like members to note that last year, our committee raised a motion calling for UCU to change the “Equality Officer” title to “Equity Officer” in line with changing terminology at Loughborough. It became clear that that the process to amend the terminology was too complex and time-consuming to be worthwhile, so we decided instead to focus on progressing work directly addressing the many equity and equality related issues instead.

Please message Angela to discuss this update or any equality or equity related issues.

20th September 202320th September 2023

A Fond Farewell and a Warm Welcome

Since the make-up of our 2023/24 committee was confirmed at our AGM, we have found ourselves bidding a fond farewell to a remarkable advocate while simultaneously welcoming two new faces to the team.

Firstly, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Ellen Nicholls, our tireless Equality Officer. Ellen’s unwavering dedication, passion and hard work have been instrumental in advancing the cause of equality within our university. As Ellen embarks on new adventures at Nottingham Trent, we wish her all success and happiness.

But while sad to lose Ellen, we are delighted to welcome Kerry Featherstone, our new Equality Officer, and Anthony Kevins, our newest committee member. Kerry brings fresh perspectives and a wealth of experience to his role, and we are pleased to see him leading this important work for us. Kerry will be sitting on the EDI Ops Committee (on behalf of all campus unions) for this academic year. Likewise, we are delighted to have Anthony with us.

Kerry and Anthony have written brief introductions below:

Kerry Featherstone, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, LUCU Equality Officer

I am a lecturer in Creative Writing. I’ve been teaching at Loughborough since the early 2000s, and full time since 2009. My teaching involves giving students creative skills as well as industry knowledge: I am the Programme Lead for the MA in Creative Writing and Writing Industries. My research ranges from representations of Afghanistan to creative responses to English landscapes. I have also translated texts from English to French. I’m on the EDI committee for SSH and served for fifteen years on the board of Apples and Snakes, a poetry organisation that aims to amplify unheard voices. I have ADHD, so am writing this at the last minute.

Anthony Kevins, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, LUCU Committee Member

I’ve been at Loughborough University since September 2019, when I took up a lectureship in Politics and International Studies, and I’ve also worked in Canada, Denmark, and the Netherlands. I’m a political scientist by training, and most of my research relies on statistical analysis of survey data, often with a focus on social policy, inequality, and democratic influence. As a co-opted ordinary committee member, I’m looking forward to helping the branch committee get things done and work toward improving the working conditions of all Loughborough employees, members and non-members alike.

13th June 202313th June 2023

LUCU News: June 2023

Please read below for updates on LU General Assembly, MAB Support, Dispute Issues (Four Fights), our new Branch Equality Officer, our Congress Motion, Social Sciences Senate Elections & a BAME Staff Research Study.

General Assembly

Following our members’ requests for a General Assembly, we submitted a formal request to the Vice-Chancellor. A special meeting of General Assembly will take place at 3.30pm on Friday 16 June in the Edward Herbert Building 110A. The meeting is in-person only for staff based at Lboro campus. Only colleagues from London will be able to access the meeting online. Room LDN.3.23 has been booked by the University for colleagues in London.

This General Assembly was called for by our members and we urge you to attend. This is your opportunity to voice your views on the university’s response to the Marking and Assessment Boycott.

General Assembly is a collective staff forum established under the University’s Royal Charter. Its role is set out in Statute XV. All University staff are members of the General Assembly, so please encourage non-UCU members to attend as well. Link to announcement on LU website.

Reminders: MAB support

We remind members that we have a weekly drop-in meeting every Wednesday – 2-3 pm – to support those who are participating in MAB and to answer any questions you may have. Please email the branch if you need the link to join.

The LUCU branch WhatsApp group is also a good source of support. If you haven’t already joined and would like to, you can do so by emailing the branch for a link. You can also speak to your department rep or email ucu@lboro.ac.uk should you need support.

To help the LUCU Committee build a picture of marking activity across campus, we would be grateful if you would email us with any information you have of unqualified markers appointed to cover marking at UG and PGT levels not completed as a result of the MAB, any instances where marks have not been properly moderated by a person qualified to do so, and any mitigations put in place that in your academic opinion are inappropriate. Please email ucu@lboro.ac.uk providing details of: School, module, and reasons for believing either that the marker is unqualified, the moderation is lacking or undertaken by an unqualified marker, or the mitigation is inappropriate.

Update on dispute issues: Workload; Casualisation; Equality

Workload: We now have a place on both the Project Enable and Project Expectation steering groups, enabling us to be at the centre of discussions on working practices in the interests of improving our members’ workloads.

Casualisation: We raised the need for revision of the LU Casual Staff Charter, created by the Task & Finish working group following our 2018 action. Concerns over inconsistent implementation across Schools and sections was also raised with senior management, and agreement for a revision of the principles and a review of existing contracts across campus was reached. Work on this is already well under way and we will provide an update on the outcomes in our next newsletter.

Equality: Agreement has been reached for union representation on the new EDI Operations board. Our place on this board will rotate with Unite and Unison and we will work collaboratively towards equity for our members. We are also delighted to have appointed Ellen Nicholls as our Equality Rep – welcome Ellen!

Introducing our new branch Equality Officer

Ellen Nicholls was recently appointed by the Committee to serve out the rest of the 22/23 term as our branch Equality Officer.

Ellen Nicholls, Careers Network. I am the Academic Success Co-Ordinator for the Student Success Academy (Careers Network) and I have worked at the University since 2021. Following the completion of my PhD research in 2019, I began working in widening participation, harnessing my passion for social justice by working to ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed while studying at university. My work here at Loughborough centres on providing 1:1 academic success coaching and designing learning initiatives that help to reduce awarding gaps for Black, Asian, and low-household income students, in accordance with access and participation plan targets. As the equality officer for LUCU, it is my ambition to extend this EDI work to our staff, working towards gender and ethnicity pay equity for our members at the University.

2023 Glasgow Congress: LUCU Motion ‘UCU to move from Equality to Equity’

Our branch submitted and spoke to a motion to urge UCU to move toward the principles of Equity and implement use of the term Equity over Equality. As you can see here, an amendment to the motion was put forward, and following debate Congress voted to remit the motion with an agreement to take it to the LGBTQ+ Conference in Birmingham in November this year. Two members of the LUCU Committee will attend the conference and any other members who wish to join them are very welcome. To register your interest, please email ucu@lboro.ac.uk and we will inform you when registration is live.

You can find the full results of voting on motions here.

Social Sciences Senate Elections

There are currently two vacancies on Senate, from 1st August 2023, for members of academic staff in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). Voting is open to all academic staff in SSH and you should have received an email with a link to vote: we encourage you to use this.

The LUCU Committee is promoting the candidacy of three of our members who are in the running for these positions. Please consider voting for Dr Giulia Piccolino, Dr Sarah Parker and Dr Paul Maddrell (in any order you choose) for your first three preference votes. Their candidate statements are available on the link to vote. If you have not yet voted, please check your email and look for “Subject: Ballot Notice: Senate Election for Academic Members of Staff in SSH”. The ballot is now open and will close on Thursday 22 June.

Call for Participants: Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic Staff Research Study

Are you a BAME (Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic) staff member who would like to get involved in a research study?

One of our PhD researchers here at Loughborough University is conducting a study which seeks to examine BAME employees’ lived experiences of racial diversity management policies and practices. This research will seek to understand the impact diversity management practices have on BAME employees as well as the contexts that account for employees’ experiences of such policies/practices.

To find out more about how to get involved, please click here.

LUCU Committee

14th April 2023

April News

We hope that you’re reading this having returned from an enjoyable Easter break.

IMPORTANT: remember to vote in the formal consultation on the dispute proposals.

We appreciate that if you’re returning from time away from work over Easter, you’re likely to be wading through a big backlog of emails. However, please make it a priority to act on the email which you should have received late on Tuesday 4 April from Jo Grady. Your vote must be cast by 10 am on 17 April. Allow yourself enough time for this task as UCU has supplied a considerable amount of material to enable you to make an informed decision.

Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB)

Should the consultation results take us into a MAB, a branch General Meeting will be called to discuss our approach and to answer members’ questions. You can read UCU’s MAB FAQs here and specific advice for academic-related and professional services staff here.

In the meantime, we urge you to register for UCU MAB training on 17 April, beginning at 5pm. For more information and details of how to register, please click here.

Joint statement with management and LSU

Building a strong relationship with Loughborough Students’ Union (LSU) has been high on our agenda for some time, and we are delighted that a recent innovation has been the scheduling of tripartite meetings between ourselves, student leaders and members of the University’s senior management. Though our perspectives on the disputes sometimes differ, the meetings have been highly constructive and have allowed us to stake out some common ground. Please see here for our first joint statement. We will continue to meet while the industrial action lasts – though our aim is for this positive collaboration to extend beyond the current moment and engage other of our priorities as a branch.

Hardship fund donation by Leicester Workers Support Group

The branch is very grateful to Leicester Workers Support Group for its generous donation of £100 to our hardship fund.

WhatsApp groups

We would like to remind members that we have two WhatsApp groups available for your use. The first group is for all members, regardless of which campus you work on. The second group is specifically for London campus members. These groups were set up to allow members to communicate during strike action when the use of work email is discouraged. The WhatsApp groups have developed into a fantastic branch building forum, enabling members to stay informed and up to date on the latest dispute news and – more broadly – to connect with each other and engage in discussions on union issues.

Our branch is committed to extending engagement with our membership, so that we can more effectively represent your interests. We encourage all members (both those in Loughborough and in London) to join and participate in our main WhatsApp group. We believe that, together, we can create positive change and better working conditions for all.

We should emphasise that, while we welcome questions and feedback via WhatsApp, it is essential to email the branch directly if you have a message for the committee. This ensures that nothing is missed and we can address any concerns as quickly and effectively as possible.

In summary: stay connected, stay informed and let your voice be heard. Join the Lboro UCU WhatsApp and, if a London member, the LUCU London WhatsApp using the links in the email of this newsletter that has been sent to members, or email the branch for the link to join.

Branch Equality roles

During our recent general meeting, a motion was presented to create new Equality Officer roles for various areas of equality work, including BAME, LGBTQ+, Women, and Disability. After considering the feedback received, the committee has decided it is currently most practical to maintain the arrangement of one branch Equality Officer. However, with an important modification: we hope that the Equality Officer will be supported by several Equality Reps who will work on their chosen area(s) of equality interest. The Equality Rep roles will be created as volunteers come forward.

Equality Reps will be encouraged to join the committee in non-officer positions and will be welcome to attend all committee meetings.

If you are interested in becoming an Equality Rep for the branch, we encourage you to get in touch with us. Your involvement will help us to better address the needs of our members and ensure that we are effectively promoting equality in all areas.

Advance notice of AGM and branch elections

We are pleased to announce that this year’s LUCU AGM is scheduled for 28 June. Official notice of this meeting will be sent out in May, and, with it, a call for nominations for branch officers and committee members. We encourage all members who are interested in joining the committee to put your names forward.

It is important that we increase our numbers on the committee, in order both to better represent our membership and to share the load of union work. All committee members have time assigned to them in their workload allocation so that they can undertake this role during normal working hours. By joining the committee, you will play a vital role in shaping the union and supporting our members.

If you are interested in joining the committee and would like to find out more about our work before the nominations open in May, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. We would love to see some new faces on the committee for the upcoming year, and we hope that you will consider taking an active role in our union. Let us work together to strengthen our collective voice and achieve positive change for our members.

Motions sent to Congress and SHESC

The branch has recently approved two motions to be forwarded to national bodies. The first of these, regarding student engagement in our campaigning and disputes, has been sent to the Special Higher Education Sector Conference scheduled for later in April. This motion urges national UCU to form a working group to extend student engagement during industrial disputes, so as to increase pressure on university managements.

In addition, the branch has passed a motion for UCU Congress in May. This calls on UCU to move away from using the term and principles of Equality, and instead adopt the concept of Equity. The reason for this change is that Equity, as a concept, recognises that not all individuals start from the same place, and some may require greater support to reach fair outcomes. We believe that adopting the term Equity will both serve our members better and contribute to a more just society.

Both motions are available to read here.

University of Leeds petition

We express our condemnation of the recent decision by management at the University of Leeds to implement 100% pay deductions for staff who did not deliver teaching missed on strike days. This approach goes beyond the usual deductions applied across the sector for strike action and is punitive and provocative.

We urge our members to join us in signing the petition to revoke the 100% pay deduction threat for action short of a strike (ASOS) at Leeds. It is crucial that we stand together in solidarity with other branches and push back against this unjust treatment of our colleagues. Let us send a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated and that we demand fair and respectful treatment of all staff.

LUCU Committee

11th October 202211th October 2022

LUCU News: October 2022

In this newsletter, we report on local negotiations, UCU Rising, and upcoming training/conference opportunities.

Local Negotiations

Cost of Living Support

We are continuing discussions with management, including our Vice Chancellor, regarding support for staff during the cost-of-living crisis. We are pleased to report that senior leaders recognise the need to act on this important matter. We are discussing a range of measures to support members in this difficult financial climate – e.g. one-off payments, supermarket discount cards, discounted gym memberships. Further information on this is expected shortly.

Project Expectation

This project is related to the new University strategy and aims to ensure the accountability of managers at all levels. LUCU has long argued that there are areas in the University where management practice could be better. Branch officers will be participating in the development and furtherance of this project: our aim is to improve members’ conditions through working with management to devise leadership development processes and best management practice recommendations.

Living Wage

We have been working closely with the local Unison and Unite committees on a living wage campaign, and we can report that management has reiterated its commitment to paying staff the living wage and to becoming an accredited living wage employer. The Vice-Chancellor indicated his support for this in our October quarterly meeting with him, and so we expect further information on this in the coming months.

UCU Rising

Just in case you haven’t voted yet, we again encourage you to return your ballots asap. Also, a reminder that we have another GM on Wednesday, October 12 at 12 noon (you should have received a Teams invite). This meeting will offer another opportunity to discuss the issues on the ballot: USS, pay, workload, casualisation.

Conferences/Training Opportunities

Annual Equality Groups Conference, 8-10 December 2022

This year the equality groups conference will be focused on building a shared intersectional equality agenda that pushes back against far-right narratives looking to divide workers, with the aim of building solidarity among members. There will be the five separate conferences for black, disabled, LGBT+, migrant and women members to discuss issues relevant to their group, move motions and elect members to the national standing committees. It will take place at Conference Centre Hotel, Aston Street, Aston University Campus, Birmingham, B4 7ET. 

Participants to the Black, Disabled, LGBT+, Migrant and Women’s conferences are self-nominating and delegates must self-identify with the relevant equality group. All members of UCU who self-identify with a relevant equality group(s) are invited to attend.  

Registration deadline is Tuesday 8 November. This is set so UCU can accommodate all accommodation requests. For more information about this conference and for registration details please click here: 

 Climate and Ecological Emergency Annual Meeting, Thursday 10 November 2022

The UCU Annual Meeting for Climate and Ecological Emergency will be held on Thursday 10 November 2022 online via Zoom from 11.00 am to 4.00pm. The annual meeting will advise and make recommendations to the climate and ecological emergency committee and National Executive Committee on matters relating to climate and ecological emergency and environmental sustainability.  The meeting will hear reports on the work of UCU in relation to the climate and ecological emergency, discuss motions submitted by branches and local associations. There will also be plenty of opportunity to network with colleagues.  

Members with an interest in furthering the union’s work on climate and ecological emergency may register to attend the meeting. Registration deadline is Friday 4 November, 12 noon.  For more information about this conference and for registration details please click here. 

LUCU Committee

10th May 2022

LUCU News – May 2022

EGM Report

Members’ views were canvassed regarding a further 10 days of strike action and a marking boycott as voted for at the recent HE sector conferences on USS & 4 Fights. An emergency motion was tabled that instructs branch officers to communicate to UCU HEC the following:

LUCU does not agree with the timing of a marking boycott in May/June;
LUCU will hold our strike days in reserve at this time;
LUCU believes that national actions require a majority to be participating, and we are in favour of aggregated ballots.

The motion was passed with a majority of 84%. We have shared the motion with Paul Bridge, Head of UCU HE. The EGM revealed strong support for the strategy proposed by Jo Grady to delay action in order to build broader support throughout the sector (you can find her position paper here), but which was not supported at the sector conferences. At the meeting on May 10th for branches that have a mandate for action, our delegates will report members’ views as expressed in the motion and recommend that HEC give further consideration to Grady’s recommendations.

Throughout the dispute, the LUCU committee has kept the channels of communication open with management. We reported to members on a joint LUCU-Lboro statement that syncs with the recent statement between Glasgow UCU & management (click here for the Lboro statement). It is hoped that the statement will encourage other institutions to come forward and publicly support a fair resolution to the USS dispute. LUCU will now work to secure a joint statement on 4 Fights.

General Assembly

The Chief Operating Officer, Richard Taylor, has responded to the 2 motions that were tabled for the General Assembly meeting that was postponed.

Concerning the request that GA does not take place during strike action: the date of GA was fixed before Lboro UCU fixed their strike dates. We do not routinely re-organise University events affected by strike dates.
On the second motion (the deficit), it is not clear if this is a motion to ask Council not to pay the deficit reduction now; if this is the case, we believe it would be beyond Council’s legal power to act in this way. If the intent is to push for a dispensing of the need for the deficit reduction payments in the future, this would be within Council’s powers, and therefore it could consider this. I believe it would be best to raise this following the next valuation.

I would like to note this point of governance: Council cannot be compelled to act by GA. The GA called and postponed, can still be reinstated at UCU’s request, but I would hope we could determine a better route. Management has no objection to the view of Loughborough UCU being shared with Council. If there are views/statements that Loughborough UCU wish us to bring to the attention of Council (which it could then choose or not choose to consider), we would be happy to do this.

Given this statement, should another GA be called on a strike day, LUCU will act to gather the 25 signatures needed to call another meeting, and the branch committee welcomes the opportunity to present members’ views to Council.

Pay Gaps

The Government Pay Gap Review 2017-2022 reveals little progress over the last 5 years on gender; for example, Lboro is in the worst position for 3 metrics compared to other East Midlands universities. Click here for Lboro data on gender pay gaps; click here for government data.

We will be raising the issue of pay gaps for all staff with protected characteristics at the JNCC on September 14^th. Management agrees that more progress is needed, and they have agreed to invite Charlotte Croffie (PVC for EDI) to present her initial thoughts on closing pay gaps. LUCU will work to ensure that solving the pay gap problem at Lboro is high on her agenda.

Lboro University Council Elections

LUCU endorses the candidacy of Priti Meredith, who is standing for the role of non-academic member of University Council.

I have worked for five different Universities in the Midlands and in London since 2005. I joined the University in 2015 and currently work for the School of Science as a Development Manager in the Centre for Mathematical Cognition. I will take on a role in operations management this summer for a new, large-scale research centre in early mathematics learning.

Having worked for different Universities has enabled me to experience a range of organisational strategies, policies, and procedures. In addition, I am female and of Asian British Indian origin and a working mother. As a result, I feel that I would be able to make a unique and pragmatic contribution to Council. Furthermore, I am presently on maternity leave following the birth of my second daughter and becoming a member of Council would further contribute to my career development.

My experience overlaps with the remit of Council including advising in the development of strategy and vision and contributing to decision-making. In addition, I have worked collaboratively with colleagues to create risk strategies and helped identify and monitor Key Performance Indicators.

I have strong communication and presentation skills and regularly present to audiences, shaping my delivery to suit. Much of my career has involved encouraging academic colleagues to apply for external funding and I have a track record of achieving this successfully through my experience and ability to be honest and empathetic, which I feel are also important attributes for Council. I understand that good governance is critical to ensuring the organisation’s success and endeavours to make the most of available opportunities to move the organisation forward. I feel greatly enthused at the prospect of playing an active role in contributing to Council’s work and adding representation in terms of a professional staff member and one who is able to represent academic colleague’s views and experiences, thus bringing an exclusive and valuable insight –Priti Meredith

LUCU Committee

19th March 2021

Women in Trade Unions and Discussion Group for “Complaint as Diversity Work”

Women in Trade Unions

Women are seriously under-represented in trade union leadership roles, despite the fact that they form over half of UK membership.

Women still earn an average of 18% less than men in our economy – the Gender Pay Gap at Loughborough University is larger, with a mean difference of 22.7%.

During the COVID-19 pandemic women are facing increased domestic violence, unpaid care duties, unemployment, and poverty. Despite women making up a majority of front-line workers, there is disproportionate and inadequate representation of women in national and global COVID-19 policy spaces.

Only 20 countries have women as Heads of State and Government. The United Nations call for “Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”

Complaint as Diversity Work: Thursday 25^th March 1-2pm

Our discussion group this week explores issues in Sara Ahmed’s lecture ‘Complaint as Diversity Work‘, which takes a critical (though not hostile) approach to management-led diversity agendas in Higher Education, with a particular focus on the gendered and racialized forms of labour they require. With Equality at the heart of UCU’s national #FourFights campaign and local work, our discussion will be led by members’ responses to the lecture. You can watch the lecture, which is an hour long, ahead of the session here and/or read a shorter blog post which introduces its main themes can be read here.

Link to join the discussion session is here: Click here to join the meeting

9th March 2021

Equality, Diversity, Inclusivity

Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (IWD2021)

International Women’s Day (IWD) was started in the 1900s when women’s oppression and inequality spurred them to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change in working hours, pay and for voting rights. The first National Woman’s Day (NWD) was observed in the United States on February 28, 1909, followed by the establishment of International Women’s Day in 1911 in Europe and the US. International Women’s Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations in 1975.

Over the last 110 years, there is more equality in legislative rights in many countries, and an increased visibility of women role models. However, the gender pay gap persists, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women’s education, health, and the violence against them is worse than that of men. https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Activity/15586/The-history-of-IWD).

To celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, LUCU will be sending weekly emails with information about women in the workplace and also holding 2 free events on:

#ChooseToChallenge bias. A workshop with Marie Hanlon to empower people to identify and challenge bias head-on.
Complaint as Diversity Work reading group discussion with David Bell and David Wilson. This group will discuss the complexities that emerge when institutions take on the mantle of ‘diversifying’ themselves, and the struggles of those who complain about gendered and racialized issues in the workplace.

The University has also organized events to mark these dates: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/iwd-2021/

Listening to Lived Experience

We all have complex identities made up of intersecting characteristics such as race, gender, sexuality and much more. We may face prejudice against our gender, while experiencing privilege because of our race, or vice versa. It’s important that we listen to the experiences of those around us and think about how they compare to our own, in order to help us understand this complex picture. Sharing our personal experiences, especially painful experiences, can make us feel vulnerable. Indeed, such experiences can make us materially vulnerable. It is a privilege when someone is willing to let us see into their lives, and it gives us an opportunity to learn and grow.

We are therefore very grateful to our colleague David Roberts, who recently shared an intimate account of his life on the University Equality, Diversity and Inclusion blog. In ‘Recollections of a racial past in a racist present’ David paints a vivid picture of the challenges he’s faced, and continues to face, and those who have helped him achieve the success he has. We urge you to find time in your busy lives to read it – especially if your race is not something you’ve ever thought much about.

Gendered Lives.

When a baby is born, or indeed more often these days long before it is born, we ask “what is it?” The gender of the brand-new human becomes their defining feature before they have drawn their first breath – determining the choice of clothes in which they will be dressed and the colour of the toys on which they will dribble and chew. In the short piece “What are you having?”, David Wilson explores why we’re so keen to answer this burning question, and what problems it might cause.

If you would like to have a piece of writing on EDI circulated among the membership, please get in touch: ucu@lboro.ac.uk

LUCU Committee

LUCU Equality Report: 2024 UCU Equality Conference and Local Developments

Migrant Members’ Conference

Women’s Conference

Black Members’ Conference

LGBTQ+ Members’ Conference

Local Developments

UCU Equality Groups Conference 2024

A Fond Farewell and a Warm Welcome

LUCU News: June 2023

General Assembly

Reminders: MAB support

Update on dispute issues: Workload; Casualisation; Equality

Introducing our new branch Equality Officer

2023 Glasgow Congress: LUCU Motion ‘UCU to move from Equality to Equity’

Social Sciences Senate Elections

Call for Participants: Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic Staff Research Study

April News

Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB)

Joint statement with management and LSU

Hardship fund donation by Leicester Workers Support Group

WhatsApp groups

Branch Equality roles

Advance notice of AGM and branch elections

Motions sent to Congress and SHESC

University of Leeds petition

LUCU News: October 2022

Local Negotiations

Cost of Living Support

Project Expectation

Living Wage

UCU Rising

Conferences/Training Opportunities

Annual Equality Groups Conference, 8-10 December 2022

Climate and Ecological Emergency Annual Meeting, Thursday 10 November 2022

LUCU News – May 2022

Women in Trade Unions and Discussion Group for “Complaint as Diversity Work”

Women in Trade Unions

Complaint as Diversity Work: Thursday 25th March 1-2pm

Equality, Diversity, Inclusivity

Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (IWD2021)

Listening to Lived Experience

Gendered Lives.

UCU Week of Action Against Workplace Racism

(22-26 February 2021)

 Climate and Ecological Emergency Annual Meeting, Thursday 10 November 2022

Complaint as Diversity Work: Thursday 25^th March 1-2pm