Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Just another University of Greenwich blog
A teenage birdwatcher has urged students to “tackle the environmental crisis” as she received an honorary doctorate at the age of 17.
Mya-Rose Craig, also known as Birdgirl, set up Black2Nature to help engage more children from minority ethnic backgrounds (BAME) in conservation.
She received the doctor of science degree from the University of Bristol.
The environmentalist posts on Twitter as BirdGirlUK and is thought to be the UK’s youngest recipient of the award. More
Alice Dearing, 22, could make history in 2020 by becoming the first black woman to represent Great Britain in swimming at the Olympics.
She speaks to BBC Sport about breaking down stereotypes in the sport – as well as everyday issues, such as how she manages her hair in the pool. More
The first black woman to become a Church of England bishop has been consecrated at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Rev Dr Rose Hudson-Wilkin was consecrated as the Bishop of Dover during the ceremony in London.
Dr Hudson-Wilkin said: “I’m excited, I’ve got lots of new people to meet, to get to know, and that fills me with joy.”
The former chaplain to the speaker of the house succeeds the Rt Revd Trevor Willmott who retired in May.
Dr Hudson-Wilkin was 14 when she joined the ministry and said she never thought becoming a bishop would be possible. More
Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo have been named the joint winners of the 2019 Booker Prize after the judges broke their rules by declaring a tie.
Atwood’s The Testaments, the Canadian writer’s follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale, was recognised alongside Londoner Evaristo’s novel Girl, Woman, Other.
The pair will split the literary award’s £50,000 prize money equally.
The Booker rules say the prize must not be divided, but the judges insisted they “couldn’t separate” the two works.
Atwood, 79, is the oldest ever Booker winner, while Evaristo is the first black woman to win. More
Don’t miss the Black Excellence exhibition in Dreadnought and online – it’s just one of the events organised by the GSU and the BAME Staff Network. 4 October 2019
The Students’ Union exhibition space in Dreadnought is hosting the Black Excellence exhibition, which celebrates and highlights the success of black students, staff and alumni from our university community. Throughout the month it will feature a series of weekly exhibitions:
Our BAME Staff Network is also launching in Black History Month, with a launch event on 8 October, which is one of many events they have organised.
For more details of the events organised throughout the month, please see the events listings below.
https://www.gre.ac.uk/events/staff-events
“I vividly remember a black girl saying at training that the reason black girls don’t swim is because of their hair.
“I was about 12 or 13 at the time and had never thought of the idea of hair stopping you from swimming. Now that I am older I can fully understand why someone would quit over their hair.”
Alice Dearing, a 22-year-old student at Loughborough University, is one of Great Britain’s top female marathon swimmers.
She’s also currently the only black swimmer on Team GB and is only the second to represent them in the water. More
The number of people from minority ethnic backgrounds appointed to roles in public life in Wales is not good enough, a senior minister has said.
In 18 months, out of 170 appointments to public bodies by Welsh ministers, fewer than six were from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething said the Welsh Government was looking again at the public appointments process.
Ministers recognised “that there is something to do”, he said. More
Dear Colleagues
Promotes equality, diversity and inclusion
Celebrates the diversity of its staff and students
Shapes its recruitment approaches to support diversity
Develops its training offer to support staff to advance their careers
Develops and delivers teaching and learning to students from diverse backgrounds.
If yes, then how about joining one of our five Staff Networks: Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), LGBT+, Disability, Faith and Women’s Network.
Regular Staff Network meetings are being held and focus on planning work that helps promote diversity and inclusion across the University. These networks have a direct communication channel to Senior Management through the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Interested?
If you are interested in being a part of any of these inspiring groups, please contact Naseer Ahmad in the EDI Team on: n.ahmad@greenwich.ac.uk.
For LGBT+ network contact Paul Nicholson-Lewis on: lgbt@gre.ac.uk
Best Regards
Gail Brindley
Director of Human Resources
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan set out how we will provide an environment where you can flourish and achieve your full potential.
We want to see the university reflect the diversity of the community we serve. To help us achieve this we are launching the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy 2019-22, along with our Action Plan.
The key aims of the EDI strategy are:
We see diversity as a strength which should be encouraged, celebrated and promoted across our staff and student communities.
To find out more about the actions we will take view the full strategy and action plan.
Two Black Panther crew members made Oscar history by becoming the first black winners in their categories.
Ruth Carter scooped the costume design trophy, and Hannah Beachler shared the production design prize with Jay Hart.
“This has been a long time coming,” Carter said in her speech. “Marvel may have created the first black superhero but through costume design we turned him into an African king.”
Fellow Oscar winner Halle Berry was one of the first to congratulate her. More