EDI Caucus

Calling wheelchair users who work in wet labs (including in NHS settings) to user-test a new lab coat. Contact UCLEast.labcoats@ucl.ac.uk. Split photo shows a woman in a powered wheelchair with a long royal blue buttoned-up labcoat which stretches down the tops of her feet. It totally covers her lap and her hands are tucked into the pockets.

UCL are looking for UK-based wheelchair-using lab users to test out their design.

Is it easy to take on/off? Comfortable? How're those pockets & fastenings? Any safety concerns? etc.

Contact ucleast.labcoats@ucl.ac.uk for more info.

#AccessForAll #DEI #EDI #AcademicSky

a group of boats are lined up in a harbor Alt: a harbour full of boats rise and fall with the tide in a sped up gif

Plus, in bringing all our Lego and VR headsets and handouts up to the meeting room, I also needed the doors to magically open for me. Accessibility rising tide lifting all boats, etc.

While we certainly would hope the graduates of our workshop noted the inaccessible building entrance, in this case that was 3 of the EDICa team members, including your BlueSky correspondent. 😊
Wheelchair users are too often hypothetical. So it’s striking to meet one living the challenge. 1/2

Today is our first VR workshop where we discuss enabling workspaces for the research and innovation sector. In addition to the VR experience we used Lego play to explore enabling workspaces.

Still time to sign up to our London sessions 5 March! Edicaucus.ac.uk/vr

Student Survey Exploring Part-Time Doctoral Student Experiences Online surveys is a powerful, easy to use tool for creating online surveys. Run by Jisc, online surveys is used by over 300 different organisations in the UK...

Call for survey participants
- Current & past part-time PhD students - AND their supervisors.
Looking at experiences of PT PGRs.

Run by U of Salford.

If your institution gets >30 responses, you get a findings report specific to your institution.
app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/salford/st...

And affects the diversity of that pipeline.

A photo of an incredibly standard square tiled low ceiling with strip lighting and spot lighting. Despite the bank of windows with natural light, the lights are on full.

We hope you tip into a black hole or better, spend the eternity looking at our ceiling. 😉

"We hope that this brief evidence-based Guide will enable educators to make practical changes to their teaching and learning practices to support Muslim students who are fasting during Ramadan."

Have a skim of this 10-page, readable guide:
figshare.edgehill.ac.uk/articles/edu...
4/4
#DEI #EDI

Ramadan this year in further north hemisphere can mean breaking fast during working hours/class hours. Consider scheduling of meetings or offer flexibility around timings.

It's also not just about fasting, but also other cultural practices like prayer and community.
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#AcademicSky

Never assume someone fasts or ask if they are. Reasons they might not are quite private - e.g. not practicing Islam, illness, pregnancy.

Muslims fast by choice, not a punishment. Don't feel sorry for them. Many speak of the intense spirituality and look forward to it.
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This #Ramadan we're sharing a useful resource for supporting colleagues and students in higher ed - also applicable for work.

Key = "the importance of listening to the perspectives of Muslim[s], not making assumptions, and learning from what they say."
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figshare.edgehill.ac.uk/articles/edu...

Updated to include the image flyer. Feel free to share.

Supporting black staff and PGRs to attend this kind of conference could be a good idea for organisations who don't have a critical mass of black scholars, helping to provide a support network for them.
#EDI #DEI #AcademicSky

Conference 16 April @cetiwestminster.bsky.social in Oxford Circus, London.
Holding the Space: Shining a Light on Black Academics.

Appears to be free?

westminster.cventevents.com/event/websit...

"Will spotlight, amplify, & invest in research scholarship of Black scholars/students/prof services."

Why your brain has to work harder in an open-plan office than private offices: study We all know poorly designed chairs cause physical strain. But here’s why poorly designed workplaces are so mentally draining.

If you need ammunition for your defense, we saw this shared on LinkedIn yesterday: (have not verified its underlying research yet)
theconversation.com/why-your-bra...

Why your brain has to work harder in an open-plan office than private offices: study We all know poorly designed chairs cause physical strain. But here’s why poorly designed workplaces are so mentally draining.

If you need ammunition, we saw shared this on LinkedIn yesterday. We have not yet checked the research behind it.

theconversation.com/why-your-bra...

Mind the motherhood gap: What the motherhood penalty costs all of us - and how we change course | Saïd Business School Join a day of action and insight as we explore the true cost of the motherhood penalty.

"Mind the motherhood gap: what the motherhood penalty costs all of us, and how we should change course."

An in-person Oxford day of action and insight.
Thurs 19 March 9-4 - FREE

www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/events/mind-...

Let's get ready for the Employment Rights Bill. An icon showing a bill with King Charles' signature and seal. EDICa logo. Sign up for our free workshops. BSL available.

The new #EmploymentRightsBill expects organisations with more than 250 employees to have a #Menopause Action Plan.

What does that look like and what should it include? How does an organisation implement and evaluate an action plan?
For outside academia:
edicaucus.ac.uk/impact/#mens...
🧵

EDICa logo. Free training workshops - how to improve employment experiences. url, BSL available.

If you're in the UK's research & innovation ecosystem (including private sector R&D etc) and you want to up your game on supporting disabled people in the workforce, come learn from us for free.
4 dates online or 10 March in Edinburgh (local travel remunerated)
More:
edicaucus.ac.uk/impact/#Trai...

EDICa logo. A woman wearing a virtual reality headset and handset. Photo in a screen showing the virtual experience - a lobby with sound dampening battens and sofas, wood flooring.

Do you have an estates department? Maybe architects working on workspaces? Send this to them!

We've workshops in Edinburgh on 24 February & in South Kensington, London on 5 March on how to create enabling workplaces for employees.
Local travel remunerated.
Sign up:
edicaucus.ac.uk/vr/

If you know of anyone working outside of the academic sector who will need to be implementing the #EmploymentRightsBill, encourage them to attend our free workshops.
edicaucus.ac.uk/impact/#mens...

a man in a suit and tie is saying oh my god where are all the men . Alt: Chandler from Friends in a suit having just walked in a doorway is saying oh my god! where are all the men? and then turns and stomps out

We've had some good take-up of our workshops creating guidance on how to make a menstrual health action plan (required by new Employment Rights Bill).

But it's all women!
Men in management, senior leadership, HR and EDI also need to contribute.

Details:
edicaucus.ac.uk/impact/#mens...

Usualising LGTBQ+ identities in secondary school science and maths.
A resource with videos and posts for use in secondary schools or undergrad.
Online event 13 February 4pm UK time.
www.outsavvy.com/event/32735/...

"For Black students who frequently encounter isolation or racialisation, belonging is not a soft outcome. It is the baseline condition for academic persistence and success."

Impact - EDICa Evidence into Impact Workshops and training sessions putting EDICa’s research into practice. (Free) Click here for information in BSL Menstrual […]

We invite HR & EDI practitioners, senior leaders and managers from non-academic employers to join our workshops. Online or in Edinburgh.
6 March in #BSL online
17 March in Edinburgh (we can remunerate local travel)
22 April or 28 April online
For more and to register:
edicaucus.ac.uk/impact#menst...

Photo of houses of parliament and Big Ben clock tower. EDICa logo. A crudely made icon of the Employment Rights Bill with King's signature and seal. BSL available

The new #EmploymentRightsBill is requiring organisations over 250 employees to have a "Menopause Action Plan". EDICa's consulting with government advocating this covers #MenstrualHealth more widely.
We're hosting workshops on what would an Action Plan look like.
edicaucus.ac.uk/impact#menst...
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Today, for LGBT+ History month, I'm giving a talk - 'Hidden Stories of LGBT+ Scientists'.
It's at 12:30 in the National Science Learning Centre on campus @york.ac.uk. You can also attend online!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hidden-sto...
How many of my magnificent 7 do you recognise?

EDICa logo. A woman wearing a virtual reality headset and handset. Photo in a screen showing the virtual experience - a lobby with sound dampening battens and sofas, wood flooring.

Do you have an estates department? Maybe architects working on workspaces? Send this to them!

We've workshops in Edinburgh on 24 February & in South Kensington, London on 5 March on how to create enabling workplaces for employees.
Local travel remunerated.
Sign up:
edicaucus.ac.uk/vr/

Faith Uwadiae, Ecosystems Manager at Wellcome, says: "We're supporting Black-led initiatives that expand opportunities for Black researchers in an intentional and thoughtful way."

Many Black-led initiatives in the UK that support the careers of Black researchers provide mentoring, safe spaces, networks and advocacy.

But they're often underfunded.

That's why we’re launching a new funding programme in partnership with Do it Now Now to help strengthen these initiatives. [1/3]

EDICa logo. Free training workshops - how to improve employment experiences. url, BSL available.

If you're in the UK's research & innovation ecosystem (including private sector R&D etc) and you want to up your game on supporting disabled people in the workforce, come learn from us for free.
4 dates online or 10 March in Edinburgh (local travel remunerated)
More:
edicaucus.ac.uk/impact/#Trai...

We’ll help you grow sustainably, strengthen governance and leadership, and expand your ability to support the research careers of Black and Mixed Black heritage people in the UK, driving long-term change in research culture."
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www.doitnownow.com/innovate-now...