The EDI committee of the department of Psychology has agreed to focus on equity, not just equality. As such, the committee will be renamed the equity, diversity and inclusion committee.
While equality remains one of the main goals of the EDI committee, equity is the means by which this will be achieved. Equity recognizes that people in different circumstances might need different resources and opportunities to reach an equal outcome.
I hope you will join us in welcoming this change.
Here at Durham, the Department of Psychology is committed to creating and fostering an environment that has equity, diversity and inclusion at its core.
We are proud to have a multicultural and diverse community and we actively endeavour to promote an environment of mutual respect within our community. We celebrate multiculturalism, all protected characteristics, and we do not condone incidences of even subtle discrimination towards any members of our community.
We are determined to continuously improve our practices to tackle any inequalities that may exist in our own community. We are mindful of the societal biases and the discrimination experienced by our own staff and students. We are committed to challenge our own biases and to foster an inclusive, kind, and empathic community that supports all of its members.
We passionately believe that the best psychological science must draw on the unique and distinctive talents of all people. We believe by harnessing the power of diversity we can enable, empower and energise our staff and students, and in so doing realise the potential psychology holds to make a real difference to peoples’ lives.
The Department is also proud to hold an Athena SWAN Silver Award for its outstanding progress in promoting gender equality and addressing the unequal representation of women in science. Although the Athena SWAN awards recognises and celebrate good practice in recruiting, retaining and promoting women, the charter now recognises work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression that affect women.
Athena SWAN: Silver - Department Application
As part of our EDI initiatives we have a dedicated EDI PhD studentship which is currently held by Isla L Dougall
Isla L Dougall wrote about her research: “My research focuses on social class and wellbeing. In my PhD, I will be exploring the role of psychosocial factors that could mediate this relationship and will look at factors such as social status, social inclusion and autonomy. I am currently investigating this relationship within Higher Education settings as Universities have a history of class-exclusion, yet now aim to ‘widen participation’. Later in my PhD, I will investigate this relationship within society more generally. Taking a multi-method approach, I hope to improve our understanding of the ways in which social class impacts wellbeing and in doing so, add to the literature focused on reducing class-based inequalities.”
Planning is well under way and Durham Pride can announce that the annual march through Durham City will be one of the many highlights this year along with the main stage, beer tents, family fun area/funfair, market and food stalls and much more. This year also brings a very special artist and one of the biggest headliners to date to the main stage.
Following the success and feedback from everyone who attended last year, this will remain a ticket only event.
This year also marks the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, and the first UK Pride was 50 years ago in London, so let’s celebrate the combined total of 120 years of fabulous Queens with a Jubilee themed Pride!
Durham Pride 2022 will be held on Sunday 29th May 2022 - so get those crowns and tiaras polished and join in the celebrations!
Tickets ARE ON SALE NOW via eventbrite …it’s already looking to be the biggest one yet!
The department held an online event, with three wonderful speakers, to celebrate the International Transgender Day of Visibility.
Transgender individuals make up a small proportion of the population, making direct intergroup contact infrequent. Transgender people may also be less likely than other invisible minorities to disclose their identity due to the severity of prejudice and discrimination. Therefore, is it essential that research identifies alternative strategies to improve outgroup attitudes towards this group. The present study was the first to examine the effect of reading transgender news media on attitudes towards trans people and their rights. Intergroup anxiety was examined as a mediator of this relationship, and social dominance orientation as a moderator.
My talk will focus on the history of transgender people in India, especially about ‘Hijras’- a community made of eunuchs, transgender, and intersex people. For centuries, the Hijra population has been involved in giving blessings on auspicious events like weddings, housewarmings, the birth of a child etc, but has never received respect or acceptance from the society. Their living conditions are some of the worst in India, oftentimes being pushed to the margins to become as invisible as possible during everyday life. I’ll also be talking about my research and my talks with transgender youth and their experiences with their gender identity and sexuality.
These talks are available to watch for Department of Psychology members. They can be found on the Psychology Hub.
We are really pleased that the Centre for Neurodiversity & Development has been awarded funding for this new project from the institutional EDI fund for increasing awareness of the needs and requirements of neurodiverse students within our community.
Durham University’s theme for this year's Black History Month is "Visibility and Voices". Through this theme, we aim to provide a platform for the stories, works and achievements of Black-heritage individuals from underrepresented groups—touching on the intersectional aspects of Black identity in the 21st century. You can download the programme of events by clicking the link below.
DU BHM 2021
The BPS research on the impact of COVID-19 on students, staff and Departments of Psychology in UK universities has now been published:
https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/poorer-and-bame-students-feel-left-behind-during-pandemic-says-new-bps-survey
The Durham University Mothers-and-Mothers-to-be Support Network (MAMS) has led a UK-wide study on how mothers working in HE in the UK have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Please see short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QyjuvjfO0g
Here at Durham we have a wide range of resources available to support our staff any students.
Current students and staff can also find additional EDI information on our Psychology Sharepoint Hub
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