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Dr Hema Radhakrishnan, Associate Dean for Social Responsibility

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Dr Hema Radhakrishnan, Associate Dean for Social Responsibility

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Dr Natalie Gardiner, Director for Social Responsibility (SMS)

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Dr Natalie Gardiner, Director for Social Responsibility (SMS)

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Dr Adam Danquah, Associate Dean for Inclusive Education

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Dr Adam Danquah, Associate Dean for Inclusive Education

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Dr Sally Freeman, SR Director for School of Health Sciences

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Dr Sally Freeman, SR Director for School of Health Sciences

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17 March 2022
FBMH were #BreakingtheBias last Thursday when the Faculty hosted its 5th annual International Women's Day Event, a fabulously insightful and informative talk by Professor Gina Rippon, author and neuroscientist.
Using the latest cutting-edge neuroscience, Gina unpacked the stereotypes that bombard us from our earliest moments and showed how these messages mould ideas of ourselves and even shape our brains. During the talk, Gina took us back through centuries of sexism, revealing how science has been misinterpreted or misused to ask the wrong questions.

Gina prompted plenty of questions with her talk particularly around her comment, " There are very few differences between male & female brains, aside from size... we must move beyond the idea that male & female brains are different."

Gina was joined by Dr Ellen Poliakoff, Division Lead for Social Responsibility for Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology and Adèle MacKinlay, Director of People and Organisational Development for a live question and answer session. Over 250 people attended the event both online and in person, if you were unable to attend, you can watch on the FBMH YouTube channel.

IWD events are taking place throughout the whole month across the University, you can find out more and watch recordings here.

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Breaking the Bias with Professor Gina Rippon

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17 March 2022 FBMH were #BreakingtheBias last Thursday when the Faculty hosted its 5th annual International Women's Day Event, a fabulously insightful and informative talk by Professor Gina Rippon, author and neuroscientist. Using the latest cutting-edge neuroscience, Gina unpacked the stereotypes that bombard us from our earliest moments and showed how these messages mould ideas of ourselves and even shape our brains.

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Racial inequalities laid bare by the pandemic and events that led to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement meant the issue of racism emerged in sharp focus across society and our sector. There were no longer any excuses for not knowing about and tackling racism in our organisational context. The only real controversies revolved around how best to do this.

Professor Gabrielle Finn, Vice Dean for Teaching, Learning and Students, hearing from students about how racism manifested in study and on placements, sponsored a Racial Discrimination Task and Finish Group to find solutions for FBMH. Dr Adam Danquah, Dr Rachel Cowen, and Dr Sarah Chesters established the group in January 2021 to generate the plan.

The main aims of the project are to:

develop actions to tackle racism in our curricula and culture, and policies and practices

engage meaningfully with diverse students and staff to shape these actions

build the capacity of all students and staff to address racism

drive change in the context of a racism that is structural and systemic

The Group involves nearly 50 people at all levels and across the Faculty, including academics, professional services staff, and students.  Due to the scale and complexity of the issues being discussed, working groups were created to focus on key themes, including Access and participation; Anti-racism training; Recruitment, promotion and retention; Data dashboard; and Inclusive curricula.

Each working group produced a recommendations paper that went into the Racial Discrimination Task and Finish Group recommendations for 2021-22, including:

A network of anti-racism champions

A dedicated data analyst

Anti-racism and inclusivity training

More engagement from Faculty Leadership

Inclusive curricula

Embedding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in everything we do

These recommendations were presented to the Faculty Leadership Team on 11th October 2021 and received support. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and a Racial Discrimination Implementation Group has since been established to ensure the Faculty sees through the necessary changes.  Such recommendations have also been recognised by the wider University community, and our work will form part of the University’s application for a Race Equality Charter Award in 2022.

There is still much work to do, but we intend to do this collaborative effort justice, and keep pushing for a Faculty that can take a leading role in addressing racism and make us all feel included and supported to thrive.

If you are interested in feeding into the work of the implementation group, please contact: fbmh-tl@manchester.ac.uk

Written by Sarah Chesters

by | Feb 10, 2022 | Communications, Marketing and Student Recruitment, Faculty, FBMH News, Social Responsibility, Teaching, Learning and Students |

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Faculty Racial Discrimination Group – FBMH News

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Racial inequalities laid bare by the pandemic and events that led to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement meant the issue of racism emerged in sharp focus across society and our sector. There were no longer any excuses for not knowing about and tackling racism in our organisational cont…

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14 October 2021

Starting the journey through medical school is a daunting experience for all students, but even more so for students facing challenges due to their faith. Which is why a group of staff and students had the idea to start a guide aimed at Muslim students to help them navigate through their medical journey.

The aim of the guide is to help Muslim students, through offering practical tips and advice, and providing answers to the most common questions that students might have. The guide starts off with fresher's week and includes tips on meeting new people and making friends. It also includes guidance on how to navigate situations that students might find themselves in, to ease transition into university.

The guide covers a wide range of topics, from accommodation to prayers, with tips on how to make the academic timetable work around a prayer schedule. It even includes a section on placements, and faith appropriate work wear within a clinical environment. Most importantly, the guide includes a section on wellbeing, and highlights how dedicated The University of Manchester medical school is to the academic and pastoral support of students, through the variety of services available.

Mohammed Ullah is now aiming to work with other schools within the Faculty, to produce subject specific guides and resources for Muslim students. The Medicine Programme is also reviewing the document, with a plan to develop similar guidance documents for other students from protected characteristics.

Dr Enam-Ul Haque commented: "As a Muslim student in medical school, I never felt I belonged, and found it difficult to request anything relating to my faith. Hopefully, this guide will help develop a more inclusive learning environment for Muslim medical students and plant a seed to widen inclusivity for other groups."
Article written by Yasmin Sbaih, Student Recruitment and Admissions Intern

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Muslim Medic Guide - For Students by Students

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14 October 2021 Starting the journey through medical school is a daunting experience for all students, but even more so for students facing challenges due to their faith. Which is why a group of staff and students had the idea to start a guide aimed at Muslim students to help them navigate through their medical journey.

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27 April 2022

Join us for the launch event of the FBMH Black Student Collective, an opportunity for students of African, Caribbean and multiple heritage students to meet peers and colleagues from across the University. Listen to inspirational stories, pick up top tips for success, learn to network with confidence and get your questions answered, part of a professional skills series of events.

To find out more, join:

Professor Gabrielle Finn, Professor of Medical Education and Vice Dean (Teaching, Learning and Students), School of Medical Sciences, FBMH, University of Manchester

Dr Adam Danquah, Associate Dean for Inclusive Education and Engagement, School of Health Sciences, FBMH, University of Manchester

Panellists will include:

Banji Adewumi MBE, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, University of Manchester

Catherine Millan, Access, Student Success and Development Officer, University of Manchester

Mr George Obolo, Third-year medical student at the University of Manchester and Co-Founder of The Black Excellence Network.

Emmanuel Oladipo, Lecturer in Clinical Education, School of Medical Sciences, FBMH, University of Manchester

Dr Nick Weise, Lecturer, School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science & Engineering, University of Manchester
Followed by networking and refreshments
Time: 4.00 - 6.00pm

Venue: The Nest, Ground Floor, Students Union Building

Details on venue accessibility
Who is the event for?
This event is open to all but is particularly relevant for students and staff of African, Caribbean and multiple heritage.

To register your interest, please sign up online.

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FBMH Black Student Collective Launch Event

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27 April 2022 Join us for the launch event of the FBMH Black Student Collective, an opportunity for students of African, Caribbean and multiple heritage students to meet peers and colleagues from across the University. Listen to inspirational stories, pick up top tips for success, learn to network with confidence and get your questions answered, part of a professional skills series of events.

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Dr Suzanne Verstappen, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead for School of Biological Sciences

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Dr Suzanne Verstappen, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead for School of Biological Sciences

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Natalie Liddle, Senior Engagement Officer for Social Responsibility

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Natalie Liddle, Senior Engagement Officer for Social Responsibility

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Standing item of EDI on EVERY meeting agenda

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Standing item of EDI on EVERY meeting agenda

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To provide an opportunity for anonymous discussion on bullying, racism and other EDI related issues

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Shared parental leave / Caring responsibilities

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Shared parental leave / Caring responsibilities

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Maternity leave declaration taken out of career progression, how can we make sure this is taken into account at promotion? Suggestion to reduce teaching load when returning to work but this brings about other issues as to who picks up the load during this phasing back to work. Suggestion for Line Managers to be involved in discussions from early stages with pregnant mothers to support throughout.

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Students sometimes don't feel like they can be themselves due to lack of role models, fear of being laughed at, use of preferred name / legalities around certificates for graduation etc

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Discussion around longer paid paternity leave.  Workshops to inform and increase awareness of opportunities that are available to all staff.  Suggestion to identify the uptake of paternity leave and why staff do or don't use PL.

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How to deal with this? Champions, exchange across schools, provide full training and support? Include active bystander training in teaching and staff training.  Would central EDI person be a good suggestion as they are a little further removed?  Named person for each programme? Are Harassment Advisors still active? Link to counselling service

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Neurodivergent staff and students should be included in EDI initiatives. Initiatives should be designed in participation with this group, and EDI/SR committees should have neurodivergent members

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PS staff as a group is completely dismissed when it comes to promotions. We are fobbed off whenever the subject is raised. There is no career pathway. If we want a better job we have to apply for a new one - most of the time leaving the expertise and years of experience of an area behind. Our jobs evolve all the time but the grades stay the same.

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Why does annual leave depend on grade?

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Minor changes could be made to make campus more accessible to this community.

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What can we do make to change to language that is used and the ways that people behave? This is a collective change that must be acted upon, active bystander trainer is available but how do we make it compulsory and / or integrate to training.  Suggestion to talk to students about the correct language that is preferred for different cultural groups. Role modelling behaviours - top down with regards to attending training, using correct language and living what has been learnt.
EDI Objectives to be included PDR for anyone who has line management responsibility.
Emotional intelligence & trigger warnings for faculty comms, particularly around researchers recruiting for studies, ethics committee need to be on board when studies are signed off.

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Representatives from different groups when planning events etc ...

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Representatives from different groups when planning events etc ...

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Eg. Global travel does not suit all, special adjustments to be made for specialist characteristics particularly around promotion/ probation committees.

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Empowerment and tolerance, support people to be comfortable in their own skin.  Suggestion for days when people don't feel 'ok' that it is acceptable for them to say that they don't feel they can bring their best selves to work.
Challenging as opens us up to misuse and people often might not want to admit that they are having a 'bad day'. Language disclosure can present a barrier in itself, complex area to be navigated carefully. Suggestion of offering somewhere to log data anonymously to start to collect data in order to provide evidence that a policy is required.

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EDI Central Team will be running Active Bystander training this year in  the faculty. For info, please email tahira.majothi@manchester.ac.uk

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EDI Central Team will be running Active Bystander training this year in  the faculty. For info, please email tahira.majothi@manchester.ac.uk

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EDI Director has presented the new 3 year EDI Strategy to FBMH FLT. The new EDI and People and Organisational Development (P&OD) strategies will be presented to the Board on 14th July. 

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EDI Director has presented the new 3 year EDI Strategy to FBMH FLT. The new EDI and People and Organisational Development (P&OD) strategies will be presented to the Board on 14th July. 

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There is a new Chartermark Coordinator, Fran Guratsky, in the Central EDI Team. Fran will be working with EDI Partners on the Race Equality Charter (REC), Athena Swan, Business Disability Forum and Stonewall chartermarks in a coordinated and intersectional way.

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There is a new Chartermark Coordinator, Fran Guratsky, in the Central EDI Team. Fran will be working with EDI Partners on the Race Equality Charter (REC), Athena Swan, Business Disability Forum and Stonewall chartermarks in a coordinated and intersectional way.

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AdvanceHE which runs REC and Athena Swan will be providing updates on the changes to REC. Enhancements to the Race Equality Charter: A Focus on the Revised Principles advanceHE. EDI Team will provide updates. At present we will be submitting under the current application process in July 2023. We will be contacting school and faculty colleagues for support. 

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AdvanceHE which runs REC and Athena Swan will be providing updates on the changes to REC. Enhancements to the Race Equality Charter: A Focus on the Revised Principles advanceHE. EDI Team will provide updates. At present we will be submitting under the current application process in July 2023. We will be contacting school and faculty colleagues for support. 

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The University has signed up to the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard scheme 

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The University has signed up to the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard scheme 

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In December 2021 as part of Purple Light Up Day The University of Manchester registered to become members of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme.

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower exists to support those with non-visible disabilities such as autism, chronic pain, dementia, sight or hearing loss. Wearing the Sunflower lanyard enables individuals to discreetly indicate that they have an invisible disability and may need additional assistance, kindness, or simply a little more time.

Since the Sunflower was established in the UK in 2016, it has been adopted globally by organisations to support both their colleagues and customers. The Sunflower is recognised across a broad range of sectors - ranging from retail, financial services, transport including over 130 airports, travel and tourism as well as over 450 universities, schools and colleges, all of the UK railway network, theme parks, supermarkets, leisure facilities, healthcare, financial services, emergency services, theatres and over 350 charities. The Sunflower has been launched locally in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK and the USA.

We will be recognising the Sunflower in all our staff, student and public spaces.

TRAINING

In association with Hidden Disabilities Sunflower we have made some very short videos available on Blackboard that explain the meaning behind the Sunflower logo and what you should do if you come across someone who needs assistance. These can be accessed via Content - LAOD150 Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme ... (manchester.ac.uk)

LANYARDS

Sunflower lanyards are available to purchase, either individually or by the box in the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Store. They also stock marketing material which can be bought and used to promote the Sunflower in your area. If you wish to purchase any products from the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Store please contact equalityanddiversity@manchester.ac.uk who will set you up as a user on the website which will enable you to do this. Please note that these are chargeable to us as an Institution but must be issued to people who need them free of charge.

RESOURCES

There are many resources on the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower website which can help you understand certain conditions. There is a section where people can share their stores which can be accessed through Sunflower Conversations. This is something we would love to start doing at The University of Manchester, if you are willing to share your story please contact us.

Globally, 1 in 7 of us live with some form of disability. That's more than 1 billion people with disability in the world. While some experience a disability that is visible, many have a non-visible impairment or condition. And often, many people experience a combination of both. To help with understanding these conditions Hidden Disabilities Sunflower provides an Invisible disabilities index where you can find information about many of the disabilities that you may come across.

Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean that it is not there.

Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, making the invisible visible.

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In December 2021 as part of Purple Light Up Day The University of Manchester registered to become members of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme. The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower exists to support those with non-visible disabilities such as autism, chronic pain, dementia, sight or hearing loss.

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The EDI Team recently recruited 8 mediators and 14 Harassment Support Advisers. They can support with microaggressions, harassment and workplace conflict. Our Report and Support Service is still running for staff to raise concerns.  

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The EDI Team recently recruited 8 mediators and 14 Harassment Support Advisers. They can support with microaggressions, harassment and workplace conflict. Our Report and Support Service is still running for staff to raise concerns.  

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If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination, gender based violence, hate or micro-aggressions, or have a safeguarding concern, you can report it anonymously or get support from a trained advisor.

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Report + Support - University of Manchester

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If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination, gender based violence, hate or micro-aggressions, or have a safeguarding concern, you can report it anonymously or get support from a trained advisor.

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More support for neurodiverse colleagues and students please 

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More support for neurodiverse colleagues and students please 