University of Wolverhampton staff and students to fly flag at Birmingham Pride

The LGBT Staff Network and LGBT+ Student Society will form a parade team and march with the University’s banners at the event on May 27.

This will be the third year the University has had a presence at Birmingham Pride – the UK’s biggest two-day Pride event which runs until May 28.

The University’s Outreach team and student volunteers will be running a trailer to meet the public and showcase the University’s commitment to equality and inclusivity at the Birmingham Pride fair.

Sammy Li, chair of the LGBT Staff Network, said: “We are proud to be representing the University of Wolverhampton once again at Birmingham Pride 2017. Being respectful, confident, fair and inclusive are some of the Core Values of the University. Our institutional attendance at LGBT Pride events has become a fixture of our public engagement initiatives strengthening our vision as the University of Opportunity for all sectors of the society.”

Meanwhile, the University marked International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on Wednesday, May 17 by raising its Bisexuality Pride flag above The Gateway building in Wolverhampton. It is the first time the University has marked this occasion.

Will Cooling, equality and diversity special project and policy manager, said. “This past year we have been focused on highlighting the diversity of LGBT people’s experiences. We have held events about the African LGBT Rights Movement and Trans Feminism. For the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia we wanted to draw special attention to the fight against biphobia. There is a long legacy of discrimination or harassment against bisexuals both within the LGBT community and broader society – even today bisexuality is often seen as synonym for homosexuality. Such biphobia contributes to the difficulties many bisexuals face, when trying to stay visible as a LGBT person whilst maintaining a relationship with somebody of the opposite sex.”

He went on to note that the University is in the process of amending its Equality and Diversity policies to make explicit its zero-tolerance attitude towards biphobic discrimination or harassment.

The University has recently won a number of equality awards. The LGBT Staff Network won the West Midlands Network Group of the Year award at Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index (WEI) Midlands Awards 2017, and the Advancing Staff Equality category at the annual Guardian University Awards.

For more information, visit: www.wlv.ac.uk/about-us/equality-and-diversity/information--support-for-staff/staff-networks-/lgbt-networks/.