Dear Jenny,
First of all to put you in the picture about
W'ton, a thumbnail sketch of what we do and how we are working on networks.
Here we have an ED committee chaired by the
Deputy VC who has in all his roles here shown a strong commitment to
E&D.
The committee has representatives from all our Schools
and the Unions, and at present some but not all departments.
At present after a couple of committee training
days to look at how the committee works (one of them run for us by
Naseem from Glasgow) we are working on strengthening the school link, i.e.
ensuring that these reps report to an appropriate committee in their School,
some schools have an EDC, for others the right place is their School Board
etc . We want two way communication on ED matters so we want their feedback on
what we do.
Our first staff network arose after the Carter
Fenton Modood report on ethnic minority employment in HE to which you refer. It
was set up to consult with staff and get a sense of the main issues and
possible solutions as they saw things. This network which is still going
is chaired by the DVC but confines itself to institutional and wider
issues though it has served to link individuals who have supported each other as
friends with specific issues. It has been strongly supported by each
successive VC and they have from time to time sent out messages to all managers
saying that staff should be allowed the time to attend network meetings (3
a year) We are looking to refresh this approach as we feel we keep covering
the same ground and are going to discuss some other models with the
group.
All our other networks arose as
consultative groups from the legislation. Some are still solely
consultative but we hope to make the transition to a networks when we are
clearer about appropriate models and the best way forward for tying them
into our institutional structures.
The Black Staff network has been successful in
that we usually have a minimum of about 20 attending, most has probably
been about 45, and the staff seem to have fruitful discussions
in the small groups we organise to give feedback in the meeting.
We have regular reports from Personnel Services (yes it is still Personnel
here and I must say I like that ) on staffing matters and we have looked at
policies etc. which hasn't produced much comment from the group. Those
attending are invited to put items on the agenda, they rarely do beforehand but
things do come up in the meeting. The fact of senior management support has been
important, and the last meeting was good as we had two black governors to talk
about their lives, how they came to be governors and what governors
do. Their experience seemed to chime with many of those present and there
was a real feeling of camaraderie at that meeting. Lots of people went up to
talk to the governors after the meeting. The idea for these speakers came from
the DVC.
Anyway I don't know how much help this is to you but
you might find it interesting.
Berry
Dear colleagues
I have recently taken over responsibility, pro tem,
for work in the area of race equality. We have recently attempted to
launch a race equality network, with very little initial take-up. As a
white woman I can only speculate as to why this is - whether our global majority
(thanks to Gus John for the formulation) staff simply don't want a
network, or whether the culture discourages them from seeking to network, for
instance by locating the 'problem' with the individual rather than the culture
(Carter, Fenton, Modood, c. 1998).
I'd be very grateful for any information colleagues
can give me about successful networks, how they have been set up, how they
function, and any suggestion such as speakers who might help us to
focus.
With best wishes to all - sorry to trouble you again
so soon!
Jenny
Jenny Woodhouse
Equality and Diversity Policy Officer
University of Cambridge Human Resources Division
25 Trumpington Street
Cambridge CB2 1QA
01223 332344
Please note that I work part-time. My
normal working days are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.