Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Blog

Tokeer Ahmed: Importance of Employee Networks and Mentoring

Tokeer Ahmed: Importance of Employee Networks and Mentoring

We interviewed Tokeer Ahmed – Chair of the Race & Equality Network (REN) at Capgemini UK since 2021 – as part of the ‘Let’s Talk Careers’ podcast series and he has kindly written a blog piece on the importance of staff networks and mentoring. Employee networks and mentoring, particularly reverse mentoring, play a critical role in advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. These initiatives create environments where employees from diverse backgrounds feel supported, and they contribute to building an inclusive culture that goes beyond policies to real, lived experiences of equality.

Dr. Sayema Rahman Khan and Dr Perpetual Eze-Idehen: Arts and Crafts Workshop: A Day of Fun, Family, Engagement and Support

Dr. Sayema Rahman Khan and Dr Perpetual Eze-Idehen: Arts and Crafts Workshop: A Day of Fun, Family, Engagement and Support

On the 26th of July 2024, the University of Manchester’s Parents, Carers, and Guardians Network (PCG Network) hosted an exciting Arts and Crafts Workshop at the Roscoe Building. With over 100 attendees, including students, staff, and their families, the event was a resounding success, offering a perfect blend of creativity, fun, and community spirit. The day provided a much-needed opportunity for families to bond, participate in hands-on activities, and discuss how the university can better support parents, carers, and guardians.

Korry Robert, Ozioma Paul, Pauline Kimani, Victoria Uka, Anyssa Navrer-Agasson, Veronique Griffith: 100 Black Women Professors Now program – reflections of the 2024 cohort

Korry Robert, Ozioma Paul, Pauline Kimani, Victoria Uka, Anyssa Navrer-Agasson, Veronique Griffith: 100 Black Women Professors Now program – reflections of the 2024 cohort

100 Black Women Professors Now (BWPN) is a 12-month programme which aims to propel equity of opportunity for Black women academics, researchers and PhD students and to deliver a step change in progress for the HE sector by working with individuals throughout the academic pipeline as well as institutions, managers and leaders. These are reflections about the programme from 2024 participants.

John Walker: Empowering Inclusivity – New Comprehensive Accessibility Training for a More Inclusive Digital Environment

John Walker: Empowering Inclusivity – New Comprehensive Accessibility Training for a More Inclusive Digital Environment

As part of our commitment to creating an inclusive digital environment, the IT Services Directorate, in collaboration with the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Directorate, has invested in comprehensive role-based accessibility training provided by AbilityNet, a renowned leader in accessibility services. The training empowers our staff with the knowledge and tools needed to ensure our digital platforms are accessible to all.

Doron Cohen and Stacey McKnight: Teaching Sensitive Content: Balancing Compassion, Accuracy, and Inclusivity

Doron Cohen and Stacey McKnight: Teaching Sensitive Content: Balancing Compassion, Accuracy, and Inclusivity

Academics, especially those in the social and health sciences, are often tasked with teaching some of society’s most sensitive and uncomfortable issues. These include discussions about systemic inequalities in health, employment, and education that arise from discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, and class. As social psychologists specialising in teaching sensitive content, we (Doron and Stacey) frequently find ourselves in a unique position where we must balance the responsibility of providing accurate, evidence-based education with the moral imperative to honour the lived experiences of those most affected by these issues.

John Roache: The marginality paradox (and how student partnership might help us to solve it)

John Roache: The marginality paradox (and how student partnership might help us to solve it)

A recent sociological study defines ‘marginality’ as the ‘involuntary position and condition of an individual or group at the margins of social, political, economic, ecological, and biophysical systems’. While there are other (and sometimes contradictory) ways to discuss the term, it nonetheless represents one, important critical ‘lens’ through which researchers and policymakers have long been attempting to understand inequality in education.

Rebecca Phillips: ‘Empowering future generations’: understanding EDI in primary and secondary schools through our annual MIE initial teacher education inclusion conference.

Rebecca Phillips: ‘Empowering future generations’: understanding EDI in primary and secondary schools through our annual MIE initial teacher education inclusion conference.

The annual UoM Manchester Institute of Education’s (MIE) ITE inclusion and inspiration conference provides opportunities for UoM trainee teachers on our primary and secondary PGCE and SCITT programmes, early career teachers and researchers from the University of Manchester to join together to explore, discuss and debate current practices and recent research relating to EDI in education.