presenting and representing

Dominique and me busting myths in London. Picture taken by someone else at the event. No rights reserved by me.

Dominique and I presented our work in Equality and Diversity  in London this week. We were invited by Universities HR to showcase ‘The PlayFair Steps‘, our award winning staff development and organisational change programme.

A quick check around the audience indicated that we were the only non-HR professionals in the room. Dominique was certainly the only student. Nevertheless, the audience were very kind and seemed genuinely interested in how much we have achieved. Colleagues from Salford and Leicester have already contacted me to find out more.

We touched on a number of challenging ideas. We spoke about the sector imperative for IT services in universities to ensure that the services and products we develop meet the diverse needs of our students and users, and how diversity in our workforce can contribute to that business advantage. We spoke about the need for the sector to work together to make a career in university IT seem like an attractive choice for all.  We spoke about the value of students as change agents in your organisation and the importance of intersectionality. Dominique managed to say ‘intersectionality’  to this audience nearly half a dozen times.

In the bar afterwards we reflected that equality and diversity at work is a matter for leadership, not something to be ‘left’ to HR.

In July 2015  only 1 out of  the 8 grade10 posts in ISG were held by women. In January 2019 we are 4 of 9.

In July 2015 9 out of 35 grade9 posts were held by women. In January 2019 we are 15 of 38.

Looking at staff engagement, 438 staff in ISG have signed up to attend events in our ‘PlayFair Steps series’. Event titles include:

Understanding age in the workplace: challenges and opportunities (Prof Wendy Loretto)
 Equality Working Group: introductory session
Race Matters in the Workplace (Prof Rowena Arshad)
 LinkedIn for recruitment (LinkedIn)
PlayFair Steps community meeting
 Coding for Diversity ( Stewart Cromar and Jacqui Aim)
Supporting fathers to make the most of workplace entitlements ( Prof Alison Koslowski)
 Changing Recruitment Language (Equate Scotland)
Women into Coding (Girl Geek Scotland)
 Disability and Employment – The Challenges of Finding and Keeping a Job (Prof Sheila Riddell)
 Managerial and Critical Perspectives to Understanding Gender in the Workplace (Dr Tom Calvard)
 Working Group: Dads’ Focus Group (Fathers Network Scotland)
Managerial Perspectives to Understanding Millennials in the Workplace ( Dominique Green)
 What is LGBT+ and why does it matter at work? ( LGBT+ Staff network)
Religion at the University (Harriet Harris)
Working Dads Focus Group (Fathers Network Scotland)
Intersectional approaches to Equality and Inclusion at Work ( Dominique Green)
 Renew You (ChangingPeople)
 Speak Up (ChangingPeople)
IT and Accessibility (Stratos, Myles, Anne-Marie, Bruce)
 Outsiders Within: Can Feminist Managers Make a Difference? (Prof Fiona MacKay)
Age Awareness: Working in Inter-generational Teams (Age Scotland)