Challenge for Change Project

Isn’t it amazing how quickly a week can go by! I find myself setting aside time this morning to write another post.

This post will feature our project with the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU). For those of you who may not be familiar with the ECU, it works to further and support equality and diversity for staff and students in higher education institutions across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It’s a central resource of support and guidance.

Last April, it invited universities to participate in a two year project “Increasing diversity: recruiting students from under-represented groups”. With the offer of consultancy support for the successful universities, I persuaded the Pro Vice Chancellor, the senior diversity champion, that we should make a submission.

Our submission addressed the under representation of black and ethnic minority students. It said we would look to increase numbers and work to improve their experiences once they arrived. We anticipate the latter will have a positive impact on their attainment and ultimately improve their employability. We were successful, and found ourselves one of only twelve universities chosen.

Our case study can be found on the ECU’s website here.

The project had to focus on specific subject areas so the schools of Media and Education were approached, and both signed up.

The project team spent the first twelve months carrying out research. We ran focus groups with existing and potential students to explore why they chose to come to Gloucestershire. We also undertook lots of desk research to identify where our students currently come from. This academic year we are able to implement a range of interventions, informed by our research. Given we moved into the action stage, we decided to call the Project “Challenge for Change”.

I’d like to share the intervention that I lead on with Dan Ramsay and Kayleigh, my intern. Over the coming weeks and months, other members of the project team will contribute to this blog talking about their own projects.

Reciprocal Mentoring

We are supporting a “reciprocal mentoring” pilot. This is a positive action activity that I picked up on from outside of the Higher Education sector: A number of law firms have put this in place to support the career progression of their female members of staff. Having come into Higher Education later in my career, I know there is excellent practice that we can learn from outside of the sector.

This pilot matches a small number of black and ethnic minority students with a small number of senior leaders and managers across the University and Student Union. It creates a supportive and safe space for both partners to learn, developing their knowledge and understanding to bring about change.

Over the next seven months our students will share their lived experiences of life at the University, and our leaders will share their professional networks and knowledge in relation to career progression.

Like every other university we have a wealth of numerical data. However, this only tells us the what. In order to understand the how and why, people’s stories need to be heard.

I know that positive action can make some people feel uncomfortable. However, I think the time has come for us to take bolder action, to step outside of our comfort zone.

Change has happened, even during my own career. I recall being interviewed by two senior male managers for a job in the early 1990’s. I was a recent graduate with a belief that anything was possible if I worked hard enough; that I was the CEO of my own career (a phrase I have heard only very recently and can share in a later blog). I thought the interview was going well, answered their questions, posed a couple of what I thought were half decent questions myself, and then it happened: The director reached across, put his hand just above my knee and said “just to let you know, we’re leg men”! Now I know that would never, ever happen today. But, if you’re being honest, is the pace of change really what it should be in 2017?

Just in case you are wondering how I responded, in truth, when they offered me the job, I went out and bought another two skirts! My mum had bought that interview suit which comprised a purple skirt and jacket. I thought people would notice a purple skirt every day. However, after about a month, I realised that my clothes had no impact on my performance and started wearing trousers. Did the director comment, yes, but only the once.

Given the University’s focus on transformation, surely it is time for each one of us to find out what we stand for.

I’ll leave you with a quote that used to hang in the corridor just outside Park refectory. I am not sure exactly who it is attributable to:

“If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything”.

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