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Equalitylink September 2010
September's monthly bulletin keeping you up to date with current equality and diversity issues and the work of ECU
Welcome
Equality Challenge Unit supports the higher education sector to promote equality and diversity for all staff and students. Equalitylink is a monthly bulletin keeping you up to date with current equality and diversity issues and with the work of ECU.
Equality update
Recent developments with implications for higher
education institutions
Equality Act 2010
Draft duties published
The Government Equalities Office has published a draft of the specific duties of the public sector equality duty. The draft regulations are open for public consultation until 10 November 2010.
ECU will be responding to the consultation. Our draft response will be available on our website later in September and we will be inviting institutions to review and comment on this.
Equality duty consultation open
Key actions for HEIs
From 1 October 2010, some provisions relating to employment, service delivery and admission and treatment of students will come into force.
The Higher Education Equal Opportunities Network and ECU have put together information on the key changes in the legislation, and specific actions institutions can take to be ready for the provisions.
Key actions for the October provisions
Your questions answered
We have published a series of questions on the Equality Act posed by the sector at events held around the country.
These include questions around pre-employment health questionnaires, third party harassment and single equality schemes.
Your questions: the Equality Act
Email your questions on the implementation of the Equality Act to equality.act@ecu.ac.uk. Some of these questions will be added to the website for use by the sector.
ECU extends service to cover Scotland
ECU welcomes the opportunity to extend its work to promote equality and diversity in the Scottish higher education sector from 1 September 2010.
The Scottish Funding Council has confirmed additional funding for ECU to provide a central source of expertise, research, advice and leadership on equality and diversity for staff and students in Scottish higher education.
From 2011, ECU will also undertake a number of Scotland-specific projects, developed as part of our new strategic plan and looks forward to being able to include the experiences and perspectives of Scottish HEIs in future activities.
Black student experiences
NUS report calls on HE to listen to the needs of black students
The National Union of Students has released a report from a project investigating the experiences of black students in further and higher education.
The report shares the interim findings of a survey of 939 black students, and explores some of the reasons that black students were less likely to be satisfied with their course and less likely to attain a first class degree.
Exploring the experiences of black students in further and higher education
Reporting transphobic crimes
Online reporting service launched by GIRES
GIRES, the Gender Identity Research and Education Society, has been funded by the Home Office to set up a national system for reporting transphobic crime (crimes against trans people) in confidence.
As well as supporting trans people, GIRES hopes that the service will reveal the true extent of transphobic crime to policy makers within the criminal justice system, enable the police to pinpoint the hotspots where it occurs most frequently and provide examples of effective police responses that will build trust with trans people.
Supporting trans staff and students in HE
HEFCE policy making
Disabled people invited to get involved
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is inviting disabled people and people with experience of supporting disabled people in the sector to be directly involved in the design and development of their policies and practices. The aim is to ensure it reflects the needs and priorities of disabled people.
Degrees of involvement can range from giving feedback to consultations, contributing to impact assessments of various policies, to sitting on a project steering group. For further information and to register, visit the HEFCE website.
HEFCE would appreciate receiving your expressions of interest by 24 September 2010.
Involving disabled people in HEFCE's work
Default retirement age scrapped
Coalition announces removal by October 2011
The government has announced proposals to phase out the default retirement age (DRA) by 1 October 2011. After this date it will not be possible to compulsorily retire employees. ECU welcomes this step, as a DRA is by its nature discriminatory to older people.
The government is currently consulting on the transitional arrangements that will apply between April 2011 and October. ECU will be liaising with the Higher Education Equal Opportunities Network about responding to the consultation.
Default retirement age consultation
Our work
Supporting the higher education sector to promote
equality and diversity
Accelerating Equality in HE
Register your place to take part
ECU's biennial national conference is taking place on 17 and 18 November 2010 in London. This major two-day event will accelerate thinking and action on equality in higher education.
From religion on campus to the equality implications of funding cuts, the packed agenda allows delegates to grapple with the challenges that lie ahead.
Join us to hear from expert speakers, take part in plenary sessions and have the chance to engage in a wide-ranging programme of seminars to help kick-start change. A full programme is available online.
Athena SWAN awards
32 successful award winners
Thirty-two higher education institutions and individual departments have been successful in earning Athena SWAN Charter awards, which reward their excellent practice and commitment to the career progression of female academics and researchers in their science, engineering and technology departments.
The awards will be presented at a celebratory lunch at the Royal Society, London, on 16 September 2010.
Religion and belief in higher education
Equality Challenge Unit has commissioned the University of Derby to research the experiences of staff and students in higher education with a religion or belief. The team has developed a website including information on the aims of the project and its progress.
As the project develops, the website will host a literature review, case study reports and online staff and student surveys, due to go live in the 2010/11 academic year.
Two stakeholder events were held in London during June 2010 to further understand the experiences of staff and students on campus. These were attended by national religion and belief groups and national staff and student unions working in the sector.
A summary is available on the project website.
BME student attainment
Addressing the degree attainment gap
ECU, the Higher Education Academy and Coventry University held a conference in July 2010 on improving black and minority ethnic student success and attainment.
The event brought together research and practice addressing the differences in degree attainment between BME and white students, including research from the joint ECU/Academy project.
ECU annual review
Round-up of ECU's work in 2009
ECU's 2009 annual review highlights our work with the sector over 2009, looking back on a very productive and challenging year.
The review highlights the wide range of projects and activities undertaken in partnership with the sector to support and promote equality and diversity for staff and students in HE.
Get involved
How to take part in ECU’s work
Equality Act event: Glasgow
Free seminar for Scottish HE institutions
ECU is pleased to be running a free, practical session to prepare Scottish higher education institutions for the introduction of the Equality Act. The event will be held at the University of Glasgow on 28 September 2010.
The programme has been tailored for equality and diversity practitioners, human resources, student services and those with responsibility for equality and diversity within higher education institutions.
Register for Equality Act 2010 seminar: Glasgow
Work with ECU
Vacancy: Policy Adviser
ECU is inviting applications for the role of Policy Adviser. This position is based in London with frequent travel to Scotland.
The role involves facilitating engagement with, and providing a lead contact for, Scottish higher education institutions as well as working on a range of equality policy issues.
With recent changes to anti-discrimination legislation and a range of practical and financial pressures facing the higher education sector, this is an exciting yet challenging time to be working at ECU.
Closing date: Monday 20 September 2010 at 12 noon.
Flexible approaches to retirement
Survey for HR directors
ECU will be working on a collaborative HEFCE-funded project assisting higher education institutions and employees to manage without a default retirement age.
We will shortly be distributing a survey to HR directors investigating current approaches to retiring employees, which will inform a best practice guide for the sector.
Flexible approaches to retirement
Meaningful student engagement
New Higher Education Academy programme
The Academy will be launching a new programme for higher education institutions to enhance the engagement of disabled students in the design and delivery of learning and teaching.
Building on the joint ECU and Academy project, Furthering the involvement of disabled students, the programme involves a series of three events and is open to ten institutions in England and Wales.
Closing date for expressions of interest: 27 October 2010.
Resources and support
New publications and resources to support equality
and diversity in your institution
Anti-discrimination law in Northern Ireland
An overview for the HE sector
This briefing provides an overview of anti-discrimination law in Northern Ireland, with illustrative case studies. It also draws comparisons between anti-discrimination law in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
This publication will be of use to a range of staff working in higher education institutions in Northern Ireland, including line managers, teaching staff, senior managers, human resources or student services departments. Organisations and institutions based in the rest of the UK that work in or with Northern Ireland will also find this briefing useful.
Anti-discrimination law in Northern Ireland
Equality impact assessments
ECU has published two briefings to improve the sector's confidence in conducting equality impact assessments in higher education institutions.
Admissions
A joint publication with the Supporting Professionalism in Admissions programme, which includes practical advice and case studies from higher education institutions who have conducted admissions impact assessments.
Restructuring and redundancy
Designed to assist institutions in embedding equality impact assessments into their restructuring and redundancy processes.
Equality in restructuring and redundancy
Sexual orientation and faith
Managing the interface
Guidance to help higher and further education institutions manage the needs and relationships between people of different sexual orientations and religions or beliefs has been published by Lifelong Learning UK.
ECU has been a partner in the development of this guide, which follows on from extensive research in 2009.
Managing the interface: sexual orientation and faith
Supporting disabled students
QAA podcast and transcript
In this podcast from the Quality Assurance Agency, Dr Helen May and Professor Alan Hurst discuss current issues and developments relating to the support of disabled students in higher education.
A transcript of this podcast is also available.
Events
Upcoming sector events
Transforming your organisation through disability equality
21 September 2010, Birmingham
This one-day workshop from NIACE is aimed at those with an interest in and commitment to disability equality for staff and learners in all areas of lifelong learning, including higher education institutions.
This workshop aims to enable institutions to implement recommendations from the report of the Commission for Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning and explore proactive ways of achieving disability equality.
Transforming your organisation through disability equality
UKRC women mean business
12 October 2010, London
The UKRC annual conference celebrates gender equality in UK science, engineering and technology.
The UKRC's Women mean business conference is for all organisations and individuals that share the commitment to building gender equality in SET.
Equality and diversity: embedding excellence in HE
19 October 2010, London
This UCAS conference, aimed at vice-chancellors, pro vice-chancellors, and those involved in widening participation and admissions, will explore practical ways to put equality and diversity at the heart of higher education institutions.
Delegates will be challenged to re-frame their thinking about equality and diversity, so that the work carried out in universities reflects the changes in people's lives over the last decades. The conference will open up discussion of new ways of working to tackle inequality and foster diversity in higher education.
ECU's David Ruebain will be speaking at the event.
Equality and diversity: embedding excellence in HE
Transition: supporting disabled learners into placement and work
12 November 2010, Birmingham
The National Association of Disability Practitioners' autumn conference will cover aspects of supporting disabled students both into higher education and into the workplace.
If you would like your event to be featured on our website and the next issue of Equalitylink, please email details to Anna Roberts, Communications Manager.
Contacts
ECU Press Office
Anna Roberts Allison
Communications Manager
Telephone: 020 7438 1018
Email: anna.robertsallison@ecu.ac.uk
Out of Office enquiries
For urgent media enquiries outside of ECU office hours
Mobile: 07810 556 724