Equality & Diversity course timetable

This session, delivered by Marta Costa and Laura Fachal, will introduce StepWide, a leadership programme developed by postdocs for cis and trans women postdocs. Current initiatives to bridge the gender gap focus on academic staff, with little support for those trying to reach that particular career stage. StepWide was designed to question and broaden current and constrained ideas about leadership and develop the confidence and skills that will allow women postdocs to increase their visibility, improving promotion and progression.

Marta Costa is a Senior Research Associate at the Department of Zoology working on creating a map of the nervous system of fruit flies. She did her undergraduate in Biology in Lisbon, Portugal, followed by an MSc in Neuroscience at UCL. She then moved to Cambridge for her PhD, followed by a postdoc. She is also a Research Associate at Lucy Cavendish College.

Laura Fachal is a Senior Staff Scientist at Wellcome Sanger Institute. She earned her BS in Veterinary, MSc in Biotechnology and PhD from University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She completed her postdoc at the Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, University of Cambridge. She is also a Research Associate at Lucy Cavendish College.

The session helps to increase the understanding of systemic racism and race. It encourages participants to reflect on their own identity, building confidence to speak about race and capacity to challenge racism.

The training will be split into two 1h sessions. This will allow us to make space for discussion while not making the zoom meeting too long.

Everyone is warmly invited to attend.

Please only book if you can attend both sessions.

A survey of our staff diversity network members and stakeholder groups in Spring 2021 showed there was overwhelming support to set up a new network for disabled staff and staff with long-term conditions. 67% of respondents were in favour of setting up a network run through mailing groups and virtual meetings.

What people said they would like to get from such a network is a safe space to bring issues to and get support, advice and information (60%), and a body that would advocate for its members and inform institutional policy (20%).

We learnt that people would like the network to help those supporting colleagues and caring for disabled family members and those with long-term conditions, and that it would be very helpful to have a repository of resources and guidance easily accessible.

At this event

At this event we would like to think about the particular impacts of COVID on disabled staff and those with long-term conditions and present our initial thoughts on how this staff network could work.

Speakers will include Dr Hisham Ziauddeen, the University’s Disability and Wellbeing Champion, Professor Alison Dunning, Disabled Staff Network Chair and Dr Miriam Lynn, Head of the University’s ED&I Section.

We would be grateful if you could make time to attend and would greatly appreciate your comments and feedback in developing our plans for this new staff network.

Sign Up To The Network To find out more about the new Disabled Staff Network, and to join, please see the DSN webpage

*Date for your diary!*

Developing the Disabled Staff Network: Focus Group

After this event, we would like to have more conversations going into the detail of how we can best support members and potential members of the Disabled Staff Network.

If you would like to take part, please also sign up to one of the sessions being run in January 2022 (see the events listed in the left margin).

The session helps to increase the understanding of systemic racism and race. It encourages participants to reflect on their own identity, building confidence to speak about race and capacity to challenge racism.

The training will be split into two 1h sessions. This will allow us to make space for discussion while not making the zoom meeting too long.

Everyone is warmly invited to attend.

Please only book if you can attend both sessions.