LGBTQ+ Staff Forum
Our LGBTQ+ Forum is a community group, made up of LGBTQ+ staff and PhD students, who offer each other informal peer support, share LGBTQ+ resources and set up social activities for the LGBTQ+ community within the University.
As a community forum, we aim to work with other staff networks to collaborate on areas such as gender, race and disability. We strive to provide a safe and confidential space for all members of the LGBTQ+ community.
What we do
The forum has a variety of social activities, including a termly meeting, holiday mixers and happy hours.
We also work with University management and advocate for LGBTQ+ staff and students, by helping review relevant policies and practices.
Our terms of reference (.pdf) details the LGBTQ+ Forum's main aims. This is reviewed on an annual basis, in consultation with the members of the forum.
Join us
We have a mailing list where you can become a member of the Forum.
Get involved
Below we have listed ideas of how you can be an active member of the LGBTQ+ staff Forum and supporter of our community:
- include your pronouns at the bottom of your emails
- subscribe to the LGBTQ+ Forum mailing list
- attend Bystander Intervention Training to learn how to safely challenge discrimination (search 'Bystander intervention' in HR Organiser)
- attend diversity and inclusion training available at the University and actively learn how we can support members of our community and others
- use gender-neutral language in your daily communication, such as emails, committee papers, web entries, etc. and adapt your teaching material to be more inclusive, such as using same-sex case studies, updating ‘he/she’ examples to gender neutral terms such as they or ‘one’, teaching third gender options in our modern languages courses, etc
- support and attend LGBTQ+ events both on campus and in the community, Trans Awareness Week, LGBTQ+ History Month, Trans Day of Remembrance, Pride, etc.
Report and support
We at the University of Essex have a Zero tolerance policy and take harassment and discrimination seriously. Attacks on LGBTQ+ members of staff is considered a hate instances and should be reported via Report and Support.
