Equality, diversity and inclusion issues at Greenwich were the subjects of a major event at the university. Over 70 people attended The Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI) Symposium, where guests from Greenwich and other institutions enjoyed presentations and talks, including an analysis of results from the recent Staff Engagement Survey.

Cinthya Quijano, from Human Resources, says: “The whole day was a real success. We are doing good work at Greenwich but cannot be complacent, as shown by results from the recent Engagement Survey.

“Questions on equality, diversity and inclusion showed that generally lesbian and bisexual staff responded more negatively. Also, 18 per cent of staff preferred not to say what their sexual orientation is. We want to create an inclusive and engaging place to work. The ability to be yourself at work is important.”

Anne Poulson, Chief Operating Officer of the university, gave the opening speech which looked at the importance of diversity and the university’s work on issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the university.

Stonewall’s Peter Mercer praised the university’s work in diversity issues, especially since its involvement in Stonewall. Greenwich is the first university to become an accredited training partner with Stonewall, the LGBT equality rights charity. This means that the university is now recognised as a centre of excellence for training schools about issues relating, in particular, to homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.

The event was followed by a drinks reception, opened by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Maguire.