EDI Champions
Our EDI Champions
Our community of EDI Champions are passionate members of staff who volunteer to engage their teams in conversations around equality, diversity and inclusivity and help raise the profile of EDI at UWE Bristol.
What is an EDI Champion?
Written by the EDI Champions at the Community of Practice:
We will help our teams bring the EDI strategy and policy to life, sharing real life examples, that mean something tangible to our colleagues. As a member of your team, we understand the context of our work and the challenges we face. We are an accessible, approachable, and familiar face that provides a mechanism for all staff to feel heard and involved in encouraging an inclusive culture at UWE Bristol.
This will be an ongoing learning and sharing process for everyone involved. Champions are not EDI experts, but we are committed to engaging with EDI, and learning more. We will help you navigate EDI conversations, expand your EDI knowledge and help you know how to Speak Up if you see or hear something that's not right, and be an active bystander.
We are conversation starters and facilitators. As part of our discussions with you, we will collate insights from the team of areas UWE Bristol could improve or areas of good practice. We are a bridge, creating a two-way relationship between senior staff and our team, prompting them to consider and respond to your ideas, even when they cannot be adopted by the institution.
EDI Champions are a key step in embedding and integrating EDI within everything we all do, helping us move away from EDI being seen as a separate entity and a tick-box exercise to a place where it is entwined into every part of life at UWE Bristol.
Becoming an EDI Champion
If you would like to join the EDI Champions, or for more information, please contact us at edi@uwe.ac.uk.
"My favourite thing about being an EDI champion is initiating discussion on important topics that we often forget about in our usual work environment."
What is your role and how long have you been working at UWE Bristol?
I joined UWE as a Senior Research Fellow in June 2020.
What made you sign up to become an EDI champion?
I supervise a research group which is rich in diversity – people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities. I aspire to create an environment where people open up about their differences, needs and expectations from others. Practicing such activity can ultimately create a workplace where people understand each other better, have respect and support each other more.
What does being an EDI champion involve?
- Sharing SWAY each month with my team.
- Initiate discussion around the spotlight topic of the month, record outcome/opinions/issues collected from the discussion, and share with my line manager.
- Signpost staff to UWE services to get support as needed.
What is your favourite thing about being an EDI champion?
My favourite thing about being an EDI champion is initiating discussion on important topics that we often forget about in our usual work environment.
What has been the biggest challenge?
None! Being EDI Champion for the last few months I have received good responses from my team so far.
What would you say to others who are considering becoming an EDI champion?
If you are someone who likes to interact with people, practice healthy work culture and enthusiastic about bringing positive change to your work environment – being EDI champion can be a great option from where you carry on with it in your personal life too.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about EDI champions?
In EDI champions community of practice group, I get to meet people from other departments, talk about their work and life, know more about the campus and the diverse things happening around which ultimately makes me feel more included within the whole university.
"For me, being an EDI Champion involves bringing people together, listening to different views and beliefs and creating a respectful workplace."
What is your role and how long have you been working at UWE Bristol?
My name is Alex and I have recently started a new position at the University as an EDI Coordinator. I have been at the University as an employee for almost one year and have been enjoying every second of it.
What made you sign up to become an EDI champion?
I have always had a passion for social justice and to create positive social change. This passion drove me to study Sociology at university in which most of my research since has focused on inequalities within higher education. Becoming an EDI Champion provided another avenue for me to act upon my passion to progress higher education and create equal opportunities and spaces. Being an EDI Champion provides me with the power to create equal spaces and facilitate respectful conversation on sensitive issues where everyone can learn.
What does being an EDI champion involve?
For me, being an EDI Champion involves bringing people together, listening to different views and beliefs and creating a respectful workplace. It involves the facilitation of learning, where people can learn from one another. It also allows me to do something I am passionate about and gain experience of EDI in the workplace and finally, it involves the creation of relationships. Co-workers come together to discuss EDI topics and learn from one another. They are able to find commonality, shared experiences, understand their differences and in doing so, able to find friendship.
What is your favourite thing about being an EDI champion?
My favourite thing about being an EDI Champion is the relationships that are formed through the programme. Whether it’s the relationships you form with people as an EDI Champion or the relationships that get formed within sessions. EDI Champions have a Community of Practice – we can discuss topics with other EDI Champions and relay best practices and approaches. This is helpful as you can then find something that works best for your team. Moreover, as an EDI Champion you get to watch friendships flourish with co-workers who have discovered their similarities and differences.
What has been the biggest challenge?
For me, the biggest challenge of being an EDI Champion is not feeling that my work is going to change structures. This is difficult as it can sometimes feel that what you are doing may not be too important. However, it is. We challenge our co-workers to think about others’ beliefs, identities and cultures. They take this information, and they can apply it to their personal lives also. Therefore, we are hopefully reducing bigotry and prejudices in day-to-day life outside of work too.
What would you say to others who are considering becoming an EDI champion?
The work you will be doing as an EDI Champion is impactful and people will take this into their personal lives also. In this role, you can really have an impact and I think it is an amazing thing to do. Go for it!
"I want to bring about positive change so that our children, friends, and family, need never question their identity or feel limited by what society perceive they are capable of."
What is your role and how long have you been working at UWE Bristol?
I have been at UWE 10 years and was previously a mature Law student between 2007-2010. I work within Library, Careers and Inclusivity (LCI), and more specifically the Placements and Global Team as Global Project Lead.
What made you sign up to become an EDI champion?
I have always been an EDI champion in my own way for as long as I can remember. I am now a working mother with two amazing mixed heritage children, wife to a Black Ghanaian Man, and have disabled and neurodivergent family members, as well as my own health and social-economic challenges both growing up and now, so the importance of Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity is engrained into my everyday existence. I want to bring about positive change so that our children, friends, and family, need never question their identity or feel limited by what society perceive they are capable of. Therefore, I will use whatever tools I have to Speak Up and challenge the status quo, of which being an EDI Champion is one of them.
What does being an EDI champion involve?
For me, it has been sharing the EDI Sway ahead of our monthly team meetings and making time on the agenda to discuss the talking points that are amazing worked into the Sway update. It gives some great structure and discussion points if you don’t already have this meaningfully embedded into your team meetings and work.
I also attend EDI community of practice once a quarter with other EDI champions lead by the UWE EDI team. This is a great way to share practice, challenges, and ideas. LCI leaders also set up EDI meetings for EDI Champions and other colleagues within LCI whom have EDI built into their role. This way we can discuss current agendas within our areas and what we can be doing to support improvements etc.
What is your favourite thing about being an EDI champion?
To have an official role that allows me to channel my energy and be given the capacity to do that. A few months ago, I put forward an idea for UWE Bristol to adopt the Halo Code which it had not one to date. It was warmly received and rather than hand it over to others, I am working collaboratively with EDI colleagues to form a mini project team to look at how we meaningfully embed the code across UWE Bristol. I am sure that it would have been warmly received whether I was an EDI Champion or not, but it gives me some time and space with the support of my manager, to work on the idea alongside my day-to-day role.
What has been the biggest challenge?
To know if I am doing enough, or in some cases anything. It is hard to ‘see’ the results as it is often not that kind of role. But taking little wins makes it worth all the while and ensuring EDI is no longer a second thought to our work. For example, hearing team members continue EDI update discussions after our team meeting that would not have taken place otherwise.
What would you say to others who are considering becoming an EDI champion?
Go for it! You have nothing to lose, but so much for you and others to gain if it works.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about EDI champions?
As with so many things in life, the role is what you make of it.
"My favourite thing about being an EDI Champion is helping others and sharing the future of equity."
What is your role and how long have you been working at UWE Bristol?
Senior Lecturer, 9 years.
What made you sign up to become an EDI champion?
To be able to contribute to equity and help the voiceless.
What does being an EDI champion involve?
To be able to help and guide others, to be able to give back and promote inclusiveness and equity.
What is your favourite thing about being an EDI champion?
Helping others and sharing the future of equity, being a role model for others.
What has been the biggest challenge?
People are hesitant to speak out because they fear being singled out or isolated.
What would you say to others who are considering becoming an EDI champion?
It is worth your time and effort.
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