Meike Imberg, former UoG student and Student Union
President joined us on the 27 February 2020 to discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion of LGBT students and staff. Joining her for this seminar, was Vice-Chancellor Jane Harrington who discussed the importance of LGBT allies and how to be one.
Meike opened by introducing herself as a lesbian woman, stressing the importance of not assuming one's gender identity - letting people know what your pronounces are (she/her, he/his, they/theirs) goes a long way in creating an inclusive environment.
She then spoke about the importance of diversity and inclusion, calling it common sense that 'people perform better when they can be themselves'. Comparing a football team formed of only goalkeepers with the lack of inclusion in the workplace may have been a bit of a stretch, but an effective visualiser.
The seminar continued with an introduction to the latest stats, of which we will mention that 42% of students in universities across the UK are not comfortable sharing their sexual orientation with others, and 24% non-binary students can't wear clothes that represent their gender expression. Even more troubling is that 14% of students have received negative comments from university staff, with the percentage increasing to 36% of transgender, 24% of ethnical minority, and 22% of students with a disability were the targets of such comments.
Meike and Jane then talked about what we can do to change things and make it easier for our LGBT colleagues. A major point was to stop assuming one's sexual orientation or gender identity and to raise awareness about the negativity attached to such assumptions.
Another step we can all take is to become allies and have open conversations with anyone that said something that is was exclusive or homo-/bi-/trans-phobic. As Jane pointed, being an ally means taking an active role to uplift the voices of those different than you.
Love is love, be yourself.
Thank you for reading, for more information on the Big Picture Seminars, please click here.
