What should an Equality Champion do?

The role of an Equality Champion is a voluntary role, undertaken in addition to colleagues’ day-to-day job at the University. In view of this, we appreciate that volunteers have to balance a busy workload with the requirements of their role as an Equality Champion. 

As a way of responding to the requests of Equality Champions and in order to help guide individuals by providing central direction, we have created a spreadsheet that outlines the ‘minimum requirements’ of an Equality Champion, which is, in essence, what is expected of the person who holds this role within their department or directorate. This is an attempt to help guide Champions and to focus their time toward specific tasks that we believe will have the greatest impact at a local level. 

The ‘minimum requirements’ spreadsheet has been broken down by month and highlights key priorities for a given month, and includes such things as the promotion of central initiatives and upcoming events, undertaking training or consulting of the development of an EDI project. 

For example, February is LGBT+ History Month and one of the 'minimum requirements' for February is for Equality Champions to help promote the central LGBT+ History Month webpage or calendar of events within their department. This will help to raise awareness of events taking place during February, as well as draw attention to other related initiatives that are included on the webpage, such as related training, staff monitoring activities along with particular guidance documents and information.

Also contained within the minimum requirements spreadsheet are some additional activities that an Equality Champion may wish to consider getting involved with, should they have the capacity to do so. These should be viewed as ‘optional extras’ and completed if / when the activities defined as ‘minimum requirements’ have been undertaken and completed during a particular calendar month.

Finally, there is a space within the spreadsheet alongside the ‘optional extras’ tab for each month, where Equality Champions are encouraged to propose any additional activities, based on their own experiences and involvement in ED&I work at a local level, to provide other network members with ideas about what they could get involved with in addition to the list of minimum requirements as an Equality Champion.

Here is the link to the Equality Champions’ Minimum Requirement Spreadsheet - also, see the below.