Page 10 - Eclipse - Autumn/Winter 2023

Building an equitable and inclusive

RVC community

promoting gender equality at the RVC.
The award is a framework used across
the globe to support and transform
gender equality within higher education
and research institutions. You can read
more about it on page 11.

We recently became members of
the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower
scheme. Many forms of disability are
not immediately apparent – such as
neurodivergence, hearing loss and
Christine Thuranira-McKeever Ana Faro epilepsy. To make the invisible visible, the
Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme
reating an inclusive, and staff lifecycle. This includes uses Sunflower lanyards as a visual tool
diverse, and welcoming our admissions processes, faculty for anyone to voluntarily share that they
community takes courage, and staff recruitment and retention, have an invisible disability and may need
Chard work, responsibility, curriculum development, professional additional assistance or support.
and commitment from all levels of an and support services, and our overall We also furthered our support of our
organisation – from the single individual institutional culture. Our aim is to create LGBTQ+ by renewing our Stonewall
to the collective institution. a transparent framework for continuous membership and implemented a new
improvement and progress towards
At the RVC we remain committed to Transgender Equality Policy. During the
creating a community where students and fostering a truly inclusive community. 2023 Pride month, we held a lunchtime
staff are valued for their skills, experiences, In this past year, we have made session with an invited keynote speaker,
and unique perspectives. We believe significant advancements in furthering Gillian Russell from Beyond Reflections,
we are stronger in our differences and the RVC’s commitment to promoting to discuss the importance of using gender
understand that fostering diversity of and enhancing equitable and inclusive pronouns and discuss strategies to be an
students and staff is key to achieving student and staff experiences. To meet effective ally to our LGBTQ+ community.
research and teaching excellence. our challenges, the RVC has made To support our students and staff we are
important changes to the structures of
However, we acknowledge that there governance and support for EDI. The currently preparing a calendar of events
are many challenges that still impact appointment of Dr Christine Thuranira- and a suite of training sessions for the
the ways in which members of our McKeever as Vice Principal of EDI 2023-24 academic year, which will be
community experience life, study and has been strengthened by increasing open to all members at the RVC.
work here.
our EDI operational capacity with the At the time of writing, we are in the final
As a world-leading veterinary and creation of an EDI Unit, which is a part stages of developing our first institutional
biomedical sciences university, the RVC of the Principal’s Office. EDI strategy. This strategy has been
has a unique global platform and with In April 2023, we welcomed our new co-created with our community, being
this comes responsibility. To continue to Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, the result of many months of staff and
be a leading international authority we Ana Faro. Ana is an EDI, Culture and student consultations, data collection
must also aspire to be a beacon in our Workplace Wellbeing specialist, with and analysis and meaningful dialogues
sector, for the promotion of diversity and over 15 years of experience in the taking place across the RVC.
equity of experiences and outcomes for Higher Education sector and with the Advancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
students and staff.
commitment to create positive social requires commitment from all members of
First and foremost, we believe we must impact. Ana trained as a Biologist and our community. We will continue to strive
adopt an institutional accountability worked as a researcher for many years to develop a culture of allyship at the RVC,
approach towards equity – taking before leaving the bench to pursue her equipping people to challenge antisocial
responsibility at institutional level for passion for EDI in a new career path. behaviours, and celebrating practises that
our actions, policies, and practises. build inclusive cultures.
Part of this involves embedding Earlier this year, we also marked the
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) successful renewal of our institutional
in the various aspects of our students Athena Swan Bronze award, given
in recognition of our commitment to

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