EDI Roundtable

13
Jun
EDI Roundtable
EDI Leaders Roundtable – Tackling sexual misconduct

Consent, sexual misconduct and healthy relationships: these are some of the most important – but difficult – conversations that all university leaders need to navigate. Making sure that students are safe and supported, while respecting their autonomy as adults, is a problem that universities are constantly looking for new ways to address. 

Fiona McClement, Associate Director for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Leeds Beckett University, first became interested in the issue of sexual misconduct in 2017. She has worked with universities in the US and Japan, as well as a number of British institutions, to learn more about preventing and reacting to sexual misconduct and violence in Higher Education settings. 

In this session of our EDI Leaders Roundtable series, GoodCourse’s Universities Lead Kitty Hadaway and business psychologist Binna Kandola sit down with Fiona to learn more about her approach to preventing sexual misconduct, and her perspectives on how low-level harassment and bullying are enabled by inequitable environments.

Watch the full discussion below 👇

Contact Kitty Hadaway to hear about how GoodCourse is helping universities.
Top takeaways 
  • Early intervention is key – leaders need to take action on low-level behaviours so that problematic cultures don’t develop
  • Encouraging stakeholders to speak to each other, while guiding productive conversations, is crucial to gaining leadership buy-in
  • Watch out for performative commitments to EDI and preventing sexual misconduct, and look more closely at what is normalised in an institution
  • Polarisation can be the enemy of progress, so keep open and nuanced discussions going wherever possible
EDI Leaders Vodcast on LGBTQ+ inclusion with All Laville and Alex Prestage
by Lauren Shirreff


30
May
EDI Leaders Roundtable with Imogeen Denton.
EDI Roundtable
EDI Leaders Roundtable – Commitments to anti-racism

In this session of the EDI Leaders Roundtable, we speak to Imogeen Denton – Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Birmingham City University (BCU), an institution that leads the way in the sector, striving for positive change on anti-racism, diversity and inclusion initiatives. 

Imogeen and her team have worked tirelessly to develop and implement BCU’s equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy. This includes setting equality objectives and measuring progress against them, as well as reshaping the university’s governance structure to ensure that both students and staff can contribute to EDI discussions effectively.

GoodCourse universities lead Kitty Hadaway and GoodCourse advisor Binna Kandola sit down with Imogeen to hear how her department provides support to BCU’s Black students and staff, in acknowledgement of the well-documented disparities they face in the Higher Education sector. 

Watch the full discussion below 👇

Contact Kitty Hadaway to hear about how GoodCourse is helping universities.
Top takeaways 
  • It’s important for universities to show solidarity with Black staff and students, but reforming internal systems and processes is crucial
  • The Race Equality Charter is a helpful way for universities to hold themselves accountable and measure progress they are making on anti-racism
  • Report and Support systems present a rare opportunity for universities to identify the specific problems at hand
  • Sometimes targets should be absolute, like setting up new support processes – but other times it’s better to focus only on progress, even if it’s marginal
  • Language matters – referring to an “awarding gap” instead of an “attainment gap” puts the responsibility on institutions rather than marginalised students
 
Enjoyed this EDI Leaders Roundtable on anti-racism? You might also like this interview with Zainab Khan, Pro Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at London Metropolitan University.
EDI Leaders Vodcast on LGBTQ+ inclusion with All Laville and Alex Prestage
by Lauren Shirreff


16
May
EDI Leaders Vodcast with Dan Guiness from the charity Beyond Equality.
EDI Roundtable
EDI Leaders Vodcast – Dan Guinness

In this session of the EDI Leaders Vodcast, we’re lucky enough to host Dan Guinness, Founder and Managing Director of Beyond Equality – a UK charity that works with men and boys towards gender equality, inclusive communities, and healthier relationships.

Getting boys and young men engaged with anti-misogyny initiatives is a complicated and delicate process, but they’re arguably the most important audience for driving progress toward gender equality.

GoodCourse co-founder Chris Mansfield sits down with Dan to learn more about the work Beyond Equality is doing, to engage men and boys as active participants in cultural change.

Watch the full discussion below 👇

Play Video

Top takeaways 

  • Raising awareness isn’t always the goal – furthering understanding and productive discussions with the right students is key
  • It’s important to show young people the problems, and then help them understand how they can be an active part of the solution
  • Showing students that people who face discrimination experience spaces differently is the gateway to building empathy
  • It’s possible to help people understand concepts like privilege without causing hostility or alienation
 
Enjoyed this discussion? You might also be interested in our interview series, where we sit down with a range of Higher Education leaders to discuss EDI and student wellbeing issues.
Contact Kitty Hadaway to hear about how GoodCourse is helping universities.
by Lauren Shirreff


10
May
EDI Leaders Roundtable with Alex Prestage and Allan Laville.
EDI Roundtable
EDI Leaders Roundtable – LGBTQ+ Inclusion

How can universities promote inclusion and support their LGBTQ+ students and staff on campus?

Alex Prestage (Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Queen Mary University London) and All Laville (Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Reading) are two EDI practitioners seeking to solve these issues through data insight and information sharing on campus. 

Kitty Hadaway and business psychologist Binna Kandola sat down with Alex and All to discuss how they leverage data to provide tailored support to LGBTQ+ students, and implement practical initiatives in the classroom to promote inclusivity across the LBGTQ+ umbrella. Hit play below to listen to the discussion 👇

Top takeaways 

  • Collecting data on sexual orientation is key to identifying the support that is truly aligned with the needs of LGBTQ+ people
  • While crunching the numbers can help EDI practitioners set benchmarks and targets, understanding lived experience is just as important 
  • Effective EDI training should seek to build confidence and provide space for the un-inducted to ask questions about LGBTQ+ issues they lack clarity on – meet people where they’re at!
  • Assume positive intent when people get it wrong, and help people understand how something could be understood if it was taken un-generously – people appreciate it
 
Enjoyed this discussion? You might also be interested in our interview series, where we sit down with a range of Higher Education leaders to discuss EDI and student wellbeing issues.
Contact Kitty Hadaway to hear about how GoodCourse is helping universities.
by Rachel Weatherley


05
Apr
GoodCourse's EDI Leaders Roundtable on inclusion on campus with Alex Prestage and Stephanie McKendry.
EDI Roundtable
EDI Leaders Roundtable – Inclusion on campus

How can universities create an environment on campus where every student is enabled to achieve their potential and feels included?

Stephanie Mckendry (Head of Access, Equality and Inclusion at the University of Strathclyde) and Alex Prestage (Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Queen Mary University London) are working to answer this very question.

GoodCourse co-founder Chris Mansfield and business psychologist Professor Binna Kandola sat down with Stephanie and Alex to hear how they approach the problem and their ambitions for the future. Hit play below to watch now 👇

Top takeaways 

  • It might seem obvious, but always listen to problems raised by your students and staff – they might even have the solutions already.
  • Invest in conversations on a wide range of issues, and meet people where they are, instead of expecting everyone to be on the same page.
  • Learn from and share lived experiences whenever you can.
  • Be ambitious and set your goals for your institution high!
Contact Kitty Hadaway to hear about how GoodCourse is helping universities.
by Omar Mughal