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Staff Pride Network

Staff Pride Network

The Staff Pride Network is an inclusive network that serves as a resource for the rich diversity of LGBT+ employees across the institution, including PhD students who prefer to attend staff events. We strive to take an intersectional approach to providing a safe, supportive and welcoming environment for all people who self identify as part of LGBT+ communities, whether or not they are 'out' in the wider world, and to make LGBT+ issues more visible within the University environment. Different organisations use different acronyms to refer to specific groups, and terminology is always evolving. Our definition of LGBT+ includes, among others, those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, gender fluid, intersex, non-binary, asexual, pansexual and polyamorous. It also includes all those individuals and communities whose sexuality or gender identity is a matter of shared personal, political and/or social experience, as well as those who are LGBT+ allies.

Staff Pride Network Newsletter – Issue 9

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Staff Pride Network Newsletter – Issue 9
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Welcome to the May 2020 edition of the
Staff Pride Network newsletter

Dear Members,

Welcome to newsletter 9, packed with diverse articles and links to LGBT+ History Month event (subtitled) videos on our new Youtube channel. In these turbulent times, we hope you have found comfort and enjoyment in our virtual social events, emails, Twitter and Facebook. Katie and I are pleased to have been included in virtual meetings of the new University Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee. In February, the 2020 Stonewall Workplace Equality Index placed UoE at 132 out of 500 organisations: a rise of 200 places in 4 years, in large part thanks to SPN volunteers. If you’d like to help make this a better place for LGBT+ people to work and study, we’d love you to contribute your skills and experience.

Best wishes,

Jonathan (he/him) & Katie (she/her)
Co-Chairs, Staff Pride Network for LGBT+ colleagues & allies

Virtual Socials

This is a regular weekly Wednesday lunchtime coffee meetup 1-2 pm & also the first Friday of the month our evening social event (BYOB) 6:30 pm – late. Find out more…

Body Clock Flow (Online Yoga Class)

Mon, 25 May 2020 13:00–14:00
The Body Clock Flow is a sequence of Qi Kung movements and is a practice using the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine in an easy to learn form. We hope you enjoy this introductory session and we hope to run more opportunities to practice Yoga and Qi Kung with Allison in future. More Details…

 

LGBTQ+ Resources During COVID-19

We have compiled a shortlist of other groups also providing support and events during this difficult time. Find Out More… 

A welcome message from our new Events Officer David

Meet David, SPN’s new Events Officer.  Find out about his background and interests, then join the Events Team! Read More…

Lesbian Visibility

In lieu of any formal events to celebrate Lesbian Visibility Week, one of our Co-Chairs and Bi Rep, Katie, and our Book Group Coordinator, Anna have had a [online] discussion about what it means to Anna to be visible as a lesbian. Read it here…
Anna also compiled a list of books that she recommends either by lesbian authors, with lesbian characters, or both: Shining a Light on Lesbian Authors

LGBT+ History Month 

Our first event in Feb was a panel discussion marking 20 years since the repeal of Section 28/Clause 2a and how experiences have changed in education with a particular focus on young trans students’ experiences.

Watch the event here…       As well as a powerful response to the event here. 

We were delighted to host a workshop and discussion with Bob & Sigrid. Lavender Menace Returns hopes to create an archive and database of the classic LGBT+ literature we knew best. They want to also include LGBT+ writing of today to form one body of work telling the story of our community – and our demand for equality and honesty. Watch the full event here…

Due to planned strike action our planned conference We Are Human: Personal Stories of LGBTQ+ Identities and Intersection was postponed and may now have to move online. News to follow…

International Transgender Day of Visibility

Since it was founded in 2009, International Transgender Day of Visibility has been dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of the discrimination faced by trans people worldwide as well as their contributions to society.
In light of the current covid-19 pandemic we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of the ways in which the trans community are being specifically impacted by this crisis. Read more…

We also recommend this moving blog post by SPN’s Gina:

Sterile like the moon: the joys of transgender healthcare

Great news from Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at HR

We are delighted to let you know that we have developed new, simplified HR processes for changes of name and gender details in staff records. The new processes remove the need for staff to produce documentary evidence and ensure that important information is provided to staff when requesting changes to their HR record.
We believe we are the only HEI to take this bold approach to support staff who cannot, or are not yet ready to make formal changes to their personal details. This work will be used to inform a future review of the Trans Equality policy, and we will continue to review our processes to ensure we are a good employer for trans people.
Very many thanks to trans colleagues who provided input to this!

#NetworksGotTalent

The LGBT+ Network of Networks in Higher Education (@LGBTNoNHE) have an initiative to showcase the talents and skills of members, and to bring joy to LGBT+ communities during the current testing time.

Enjoy the talents of Staff Pride Network Meeting Secretary Derek Williams and his improvisation on piano of The Village People’s YMCA and Macho Man.

The University’s Mackenzie Medical Centre has been awarded a gold accreditation by the LGBT Foundation’s Pride in Practice. Read more…

SPN Register of Expertise

The Staff Pride Network is creating a subject specialist database bringing together scholars – PhD students, early career researchers, and established academics – working on LGBTQIA+ topics, reflecting the combined strength of the University of Edinburgh expertise in the field.

New online equality, diversity and inclusion training modules

We are pleased to announce the launch of new online equality, diversity and inclusion training modules:

  • Equality and Diversity Essentials
  • Challenging Unconscious Bias
  • Introducing Equality Impact Assessment
  • Recruitment and Selection Essentials

The four new modules are self-enrollment courses and sit on the University’s LEARN platform and can be carried out at your own pace.

All staff are strongly encouraged to complete the training and for all those involved in recruitment and promotion, completion of the Challenging Unconscious Bias training is mandatory.

Exciting News from Queen Margaret University

Kitty has just restarted the QMU LGBT+ Staff Network and we look forward to future collaborations.  Read all about it…

Welcome to:
Like the sister project Evidence Base, led by the University of Edinburgh, STEM Equals at the University of Strathclyde is one of eleven EPSRC funded projects under the Inclusion Matters initiative. Further Details…
The Book of Queer Prophets, 24 short stories on sexuality and religion curated by former Stonewall CEO Ruth Hunt, will be published on 28th May. Click here for a review and an opportunity to access a preview copy…
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