Category Archives: LGBT

LGBT

Gay penguins join Pride at London Zoo

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Penguins in same-sex relationships at London Zoo have had their beach transformed as they prepare to celebrate Pride next week.

Banners reading “some penguins are gay, get over it” have been propped up at the beach, home to the zoo’s most famous gay couple, Ronnie and Reggie.

The pair in 2015 famously adopted a chick abandoned by another couple.

London Pride-inspired Zoo Nights will start on 5 July.

The signage honouring Stonewall’s Get Over It campaign will be erected at the 93-strong penguins’ beach in Regent’s Park.

Ronnie and Reggie, a couple since 2014, live on the beach with fellow gay couples Nadja and Zimmer and Dev and Martin. More

Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, LGBT, Religion

HR Bulletin No 19.3 – Join our Staff Networks

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Dear Colleagues

Would you like to have a say in how the University:

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

Age, Disability, Diversity, Equality, Ethnicity, Inclusion, LGBT, Mental Health, Race, Religion, Transgender

Providing our staff and students with a fair and inclusive environment

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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:

  • Continue to focus on improving the numbers of under-represented groups across all levels of the university.
  • Aim to improve the educational achievement for all protected groups.
  • Ensure a more inclusive curriculum and culture.

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.

LGBT

‘LGBT shelter means I can be myself’

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Shaban

The UK’s first permanent homeless shelter for LGBT people has opened in London. The BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme met residents, who explained why having a dedicated facility was so important.

About one in four homeless people is thought to be LGBT.

But Chabahn, who became homeless last year aged 51, said it was very, very, dangerous to be open about being LGBT on the streets.

“In some places where I stayed you could hear it in some people’s conversation – it’s almost hatred and it’s almost disgust, in their jokes and their conversation,” he said.

In fact, he said, he had heard that in one hostel, four men had been raped because it had been discovered that they had been gay. More

LGBT

Restarting our LGBT+ staff network with a ‘town hall’ meeting on 27 March

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Come along and discuss and share your ideas for our network whether you’ve been to network events before, or are new to the network.

We are looking to restart the activities of the university’s LGBT+ Staff Network.  If you would like to be involved please do come along to our ‘town hall’ meeting and let us know your opinions.

The meeting will take place from 4pm on Wednesday 27 March in the Stephen Lawrence building SL001 on the Greenwich campus. Colleagues from Avery Hill, Medway or Bathway who’d like to attend please see the university bus service timetable.

When the network is reestablished our intention is to hold activities and events across our three campuses.

Please let us know in advance if you intend to come along, or if you’d prefer simply pop in on the day.

If you can’t make the meeting please feel free to email us at lgbt@gre.ac.uk to express your interest and we will keep you informed of activities and events.

We really look forward to seeing you on 27th.

Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, LGBT

Altrincham FC: Non-league team tackles homophobia in rainbow kit

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Josh Hancock

Non-league Altrincham showed their support for football’s fight against homophobia by wearing a kit based on the LGBT rainbow flag.

The National League North side – who normally play in red and white stripes – say they are the first club to wear a shirt inspired by the flag’s colours.

Director Bill Waterson said the move was “a big statement” and “a small moment of football history”.

Saturday’s home match against Bradford (Park Avenue) ended in a 1-1 draw.  More

Gender, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month, LGBT

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – February 2019

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February is LGBT History Month and with that in mind we have chosen Nicola Adams as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

 Nicola is a British professional boxer. She fought (and won) her first bout at the age of 13, but it was four years before she found a second opponent.  In 2001, she became the first woman boxer ever to represent England, in 2003, she became English amateur champion for the first time, and she retained the title at the next 3 championships.

She was the first English female to win a medal in a major tournament taking silver in the bantamweight division at the European Championships, she also won silver at the World Championships in 2008 and in 2010 this time at flyweight.

However Nicola struggled to continue her boxing career due to lack of funds. She worked as an acting extra on soap operas such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, and EastEnders, and worked as a builder before the International Olympic Committee backed funding for women’s boxing in 2009.

In November 2010, she was victorious in the first ever GB Amateur Boxing Championship and in 2011, she won Gold at the European Union Amateur Boxing Championships. In July 2011, the BBC included her in a feature on “6 Promising Britons to watch in the Olympics”.

At the 2012 Olympics Nicola claimed the first Olympic women’s boxing gold medal, she defended her title at Rio 2016 and became the first British boxer to defend an Olympic title in 92 years.

In 2017 she turned professional, having signed with promoter Frank Warren, winning her first professional fight.

In 2012, she became the first female boxer to receive an award from the Boxing Writers’ Club of Great Britain when she was awarded the Joe Bromley Award for outstanding services to boxing. She was also the first woman ever to be invited to the club’s awards ceremony.

In 2013 she was awarded an MBE and in 2017 an OBE 2017 for services to boxing.

In 2016 Nicola was named Number One in the DIVA Power List of the UK’s most eminent lesbian and bisexual women.  She is openly bisexual, and was named the most influential LGBT person in Britain by The Independent in 2012.

She also became the first openly LGBT person to win an Olympic boxing Gold medal, after her win at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

To find out more about LGBT History Month see here https://lgbthistorymonth.org.uk/

To find out more about Nicola see here https://nicola-adams.com/

Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, LGBT

Charlton v Homophobia Football Tournament

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Greenwich claimed a hat-trick of wins last night at the Charlton v Homophobia football tournament.

Finishing top of their pool put them in the final against the team from Fans for Diversity. The match finished in a draw so it was all to play for in the penalty shoot out. A heroic performance by the Greenwich goalkeeper meant that a successful penalty by Greenwich would win the tournament and the next taker duly obliged tucking the shot away very nicely.

Well done to all involved a very successful event yet again.

 

Diversity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month, LGBT

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – February 2018

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February is LGBT History Month and with that in mind we have chosen Heather Peace as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Heather is an actor and musician studying at Manchester Met University.  She has appeared in a number of well-known TV series including Emmerdale, London’s Burning, Ultimate Force, Waterloo Road and Prey.  She has been a classically trained pianist since the age of six and held a jazz residency at a club whilst at university.

Heather divides her time between acting and her music.  She has released numerous albums and tours regularly in the UK, Europe and currently in Australia.

Heather and her longtime partner Ellie Dickinson entered into a civil partnership in 2013, and subsequently converted it to marriage in 2014 and they have three daughters together.

Heather is a prominent supporter of LGBT equality causes. She is a patron of Manchester Pride and has recorded a video for Stonewall‘s “It Gets Better” campaign. She is involved in a number of related charities, including Diversity Role Models and The Albert Kennedy Trust.

She has hosted and curated her own “Heather Peace Presents” stage in several editions of Manchester Pride and in July 2016 Diva announced that Heather was its new columnist.

In 2010 she was number 40 on the Independent on Sunday‘s Pink List, and number 10 in 2011. She was also voted number 18 on US website afterellen.com’s 2011 Hot 100 list. She is also the only woman to have appeared twice on the cover of Diva Magazine in the space of six months.

To find out more about Heather’s music see here http://www.heatherpeace.com/ and for her acting see here http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668698/

To find out more about Diversity Role Models see their website at https://www.diversityrolemodels.org/ and the Albert Kennedy Trust at https://www.akt.org.uk/

 

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