For the Academic Year 2018/19 the position of Equalities Officer will remain vacant. Due to the timing of this vacancy arising we will not be holding another election.  Any election would need to take place in the Autumn Term meaning a student would need to suspend their studies, and they would not have benefited from the summer induction and training period alongside the other Officers. The responsibilities of this role will be shared amongst the Union’s other four sabbatical officers and a number of other roles and resources have been added to the team to support work related to the Equalities agenda.

Representing students and giving everyone a great student experience is always our first priority, and we have put in a number of measures to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. A newly appointed work placement student will support a new group of liberation networks, including BAME, Women’s, Disabled and LGBTQ, ensuring that students have access to a platform that represents them. These networks will work directly with the Officer Team, focused on student-led campaigns and initiatives.  

The Students’ Union has completed the first stage of the “Ethnicity and Race Maturity Matrix”, and will continue this area of work during the academic year. The SU is also collaborating with the University on a number of events for Black History and LGBT History Months.