Congratulations to Vice-Chancellor Prof Jane Harrington named Stonewall Senior Champion of the Year, South West region

On By In LGBT

Jane’s work on LGBT inclusion at her previous university, the University of the West of England (UWE), was recognised at the Stonewall South West Regional Awards on 5 February. 6 February 2020 

Jane, who was recognised for her strong support for the LGBT community and LGBT staff and students, was delighted to receive the award and said:

I am proud of the work that I did as an LGBTQ+ ally which included bystander training for staff and student union societies. I feel very strongly that it is not up to individuals to have to defend themselves but it is our collective responsibility to not be bystanders.

Congratulations Jane from everyone at Greenwich.

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – October 2019

On By In Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month, Race

October is Black History Month and with that in mind we have chosen Elizabeth Anionwu as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Elizabeth was inspired to become a nurse at the young age of four because, whilst a ‘wonderful nursing nun’ treated her childhood eczema in an expert and sensitive manner.

Elizabeth has put in a substantial amount of her life into her work as a nurse, health visitor and tutor working with black and minority ethnic communities in London and in 1979 helped to establish the first nurse-led UK Sickle & Thalassaemia Screening and Counselling Centre. She has chaired several projects for the NHS Sickle and Thalassaemia Screening Programme and in 2004 she was presented with the Royal College of Nursing Fellowship (FRCN) for her work in the development of nurse-led sickle cell and thalassaemia counselling services and education and leadership in transcultural nursing.

In 1988 she was awarded a PhD from the Institute of Education, University College London and from 1990-1997 she worked at the Institute of Child Health, UCL as a Lecturer then Senior Lecturer in Community Genetic Counselling. She has written extensively and is a co-author of the book ‘The Politics of Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia’ published in 2001. 

In 1997 Elizabeth was appointed as Dean of the School of Adult Nursing and Professor of Nursing at the University of West London and in 1999 she established and was Head of the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice until her retirement in 2007.  The university then honoured her with the award of Emeritus Professor of Nursing. In 2001 she was awarded a CBE for services to nursing.

Elizabeth was vice-chairperson of the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal from its launch in November 2003. The statue was unveiled in the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital in June 2016 and Elizabeth is now a Life Patron of the new charity, the Mary Seacole Trust.

She was honoured with a Damehood in the 2017 for her services to nursing and the Mary Seacole Statue Appeal. The Queen’s Nursing Institute awarded her a Fellowship (FQNI) in October 2017.  In July 2018, as part of the celebrations for the 70th Anniversary of the National Health Service, Elizabeth was included in the list of the 70 most influential nurses and midwives in the history of the NHS.

She is a Patron of the Sickle Cell Society, the Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association (UK) and the Sickle & Thalassaemia Association of Nurses, Midwives & Associated Professionals (STANMAP).

To find out more about Elizabeth see here http://www.elizabethanionwu.co.uk/about-me/ To find out more about Black History Month see here https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/

Gabby Logan: ‘Involve men in menopause discussion’

On By In Gender

TV presenter Gabby Logan has encouraged men to be included in the discussion around menopause so they have more of an “understanding” towards women.

The BBC Sport host, 47, told the Women’s Health Going For Goal podcast she had been unprepared for the impact the menopause had on her.

She said: “Men work alongside women, men are married to women, and I think men also need to know what’s going on because we need to have that empathy and understanding of what’s happening to our partners, our friends.”

Logan said “more people are talking about” the effects and stages of the menopause now. More

Rachael Blackmore: Jockey reflects on historic Cheltenham win with Honeysuckle

On By In Equality, Gender

Jockey Rachael Blackmore said she hoped her historic triumph might inspire others after winning the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on Honeysuckle.

She is the first woman to ride the winner of Tuesday’s championship race.

“There is no deal about being a female jockey anymore. If you want to be a jockey you can be a jockey, drive on,” said Irish rider Blackmore, 31.

“To young people, if you want to do something go and do it. For me standing here right now, anything can happen.”

Honeysuckle’s trainer Henry de Bromhead hailed the combination of rider and horse – the unbeaten mare was clocking up her 11th successive victory.

“Rachael is a brilliant rider on any horse and Honeysuckle is just a brilliant horse. The combination is deadly – it’s the perfect storm,” he said. More

Hollie Davidson and Joy Neville to undertake referee and TMO roles at Munster-Benetton game

On By In Equality, Gender

Scotland’s Hollie Davidson will referee her first top-tier men’s game on Friday as Munster host Benetton, with Joy Neville the television match official.

Davidson, 28, was scheduled to referee European Challenge Cup and Pro14 games in January in February, only for both matches to be postponed.

Neville’s presence will make it the first time a top-tier men’s game has had both a female referee and TMO.

Irishwoman Neville refereed her first Pro14 game in February 2018.

Davidson, who became Scotland’s first female professional referee in 2017, follows in the footsteps of Neville in becoming the second woman to take charge of a Pro14 fixture. More

International Women’s Day 2021

On By In Equality, Gender

Marked annually on 8 March, International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity at home, in the workplace and within wider society.

The theme for 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.

Find out more about International Women’s Day at Greenwich, including stories celebrating women from across the university, events and our latest updates.

InSpirational Diversity Champion of the Month – March 2021

On By In Disability, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

World Hearing Day is on 3 March and with that in mind we have chosen Eshaan Akbar as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Eshaan Akbar is a comedian who began performing stand-up in 2014. He has appeared on many tv shows including ‘Frankie Boyle’s New World Order’, BBC Two’s ‘Big Asian Stand Up’, as well as on BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Now Show’, BBC Asian Network, and is a regular on TalkSPORT and LoveSport.

Eshaan, who is a proud hearing aid wearer, has been a staunch supporter of Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) having performed in their Laughing to Deaf comedy fundraiser for two consecutive years, featured in #DontBeADonut campaign for Deaf Awareness Week in 2019, and acted as a spokesperson in the national media, including ITV.

A regular face on the comedy circuit, Eshaan has supported Micky Flanagan, Dane Baptiste, Hal Cruttenden, Rory Bremner, and Jan Ravens.  

His show ‘Prophet Like It’s Hot’ at the Soho Theatre was a sell out, following a successful run at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Eshaan is a celebrity Ambassador for the Action on Hearing Loss charity.

To find out more about Eshaan see here

https://www.speakerscorner.co.uk/speaker/eshaan-akbar To find out more about World Hearing Day see here https://www.who.int/india/campaigns/world-hearing-day/

inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – December 2020

On By In Disability, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

On 3 December it is International Day of Persons with Disabilities and with that in mind we have chosen Warwick Davis as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Warwick began his career at the age of 11 when film producer George Lucas put out a call for actors under four feet tall. Soon Warwick was battling Stormtroopers in a galaxy far, far away as Wicket the Ewok in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. From there he went on to star in Willow, had several parts in the Harry Potter movies and has made numerous appearances in the Star Wars movies since.

He is also well known through his work on TV, including portraying a fictionalised version of himself in the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant sitcom, Life’s Too Short. He also starred in a season of the comedy travel show An Idiot Abroad with Karl Pilkington. Warwick has also appeared with survivalist Bear Grylls on Bear’s Mission with Warwick Davis.

In 2014 Warwick became the first disabled person to regularly present a primetime show when he hosted ITV’s Celebrity Squares. For the last four years he’s presented ITV’s quiz show Tenable.

Warwick helps others build careers in show business through the talent agency Willow Management, which he co-founded. The agency specialises in representing actors under five foot tall, working for positive representation and more than niche roles.

He also founded the Reduced Height Theatre Company which casts theatrical productions entirely with actors who are little people, giving talented short actors a platform and also produced a musical, Eugenius!, which has had multiple theatre runs.

Warwick co-founded the charity Little People UK, which provides support to people with dwarfism and their families.

To find out more about International Day of Persons with Disabilities see here https://www.un.org/en/observances/day-of-persons-with-disabilities

To find out more about Warwick see here http://www.warwickdavis.co.uk/ To find out more about Little People UK see here https://littlepeopleuk.org/