All Equality & Diversity courses

The Institute of Astronomy is hosting “Dignity and Respect at Work” workshops for ALL staff as part of the University wide E&D policy and training programme.

To be held in the Sackler Lecture Theatre in the Hoyle Building

Sackler Lecture Theatre in the Hoyle Building

How often do you find yourself on social media during the course of a normal week? More importantly, how does using social media make you feel?

Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the ways in which we have used social media has changed, as well as how we feel about social media in general. Social media is a paradox. It connects us in some ways, while pushing us apart in other ways. Social media has become our source of information, and a valuable means of connecting with friends and family, while at the same time making us feel lonelier and disconnected.

In this talk, we will explore some of the research about social media, connection, loneliness – as well as looking at some ways that we might be able to helpful reframe our relationship social media in our everyday lives.

Tyler Shores is delighted to announce that he has secured two external speakers to join him next week.

Luke Fernandez is Assistant Professor in the School of Computing at Weber State University where he teaches classes on the politics of technology and software development and Susan J. Mattwho is Professor of History at Weber State. They have both co-authors of Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Changing Feelings about Technology, from the Telegraph to Twitter (Harvard University Press, 2019).

Tyler Shores manages the ThinkLab research program at the University of Cambridge, and is a Senior Research Associate at the Intellectual Forum, Jesus College. His research focuses on digital habits, social media, and how digital environments shape how we work and think. Prior to Cambridge, Tyler worked in online education at Stanford, served as a director at an international education nonprofit organization, and worked at the Google world headquarters in Mountain View, California while running the Authors@Google program. His various work has been featured in the New York Times, BBC, WIRED, amongst others. And he was once on an episode of The Simpsons.

Luke Fernandez is Assistant Professor in the School of Computing at Weber State University where he teaches classes on the politics of technology and software development. He is co-author of Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Changing Feelings about Technology, from the Telegraph to Twitter (Harvard University Press, 2019). He holds a PhD in Political Theory from Cornell University. He is also a software developer. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, Salon, Slate, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, among other places.

Susan J. Matt is Professor of History at Weber State. Her research focuses on the history of emotions and US social history. She is co-author of Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Changing Feelings about Technology, from the Telegraph to Twitter (Harvard University Press, 2019). She is author of Homesickness: An American History (Oxford University Press, 2011), and Keeping Up with the Joneses: Envy in American Consumer Society, 1890-1930 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003). Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Journal of American History.

Join Dr Jill Armstrong, Murray Edwards College, for this research-based workshop on how unintentional bias influences networking and career sponsorship and how to tackle this.

In this session Rachel Bailey, from the University SPACE network, gives personal insights from her experiences of supporting and caring for someone with mental health issues.

Yvonne McPartland, Deputy Head of the Staff Counselling Centre, will be leading a one hour live event to offer attendees the opportunity to understand how counselling can support personal resilience, especially in the current climate of fear and anxiety.

You will be have the opportunity to safely ask questions to Yvonne and other members of the Staff Counselling Centre team.

Details on how to join this session will be on your booking confirmation email.

During this event we will share what we know about the racial composition of the University and what staff and students have told us about their experiences.

We will present the institutional action plan to improve racial equality at Cambridge and will seek your feedback.

The Vice-Chancellor will also reflect on the University’s aspirations and the way forward towards a more inclusive University.

A light lunch will be provided from 12noon.

Remember when we used to live in precendented times? It seems like it was just yesteryear but it only feels that way because it was.

It has been a time for us to really remember the meaning of words and phrases, like how ‘just managing to stay afloat’ or ‘just keeping my head above the water’ are both overwhelmingly positive achievements (just consider what would happen if you didn’t!).

But living like this is exhausting in so many ways, so at this year’s Festival of Wellbeing, let’s think a bit about just being in this moment and being apart together.

Joining instructions will be provided on your booking confirmation email.

Love and the Law – An insider’s look at the legal battle for marriage equality in Australia

Following a few short introductions from the LGBT+ Staff Network Committee, we’ll be joined by Matthew Psycharis who will be talking about his first-hand experience in the legal fight for marriage equality in Australia.

We will then have the opportunity to meet each other informally over ZOOM to discuss the talk amongst other topics of interest.

In many of the world’s liberal democracies, we may now take for granted the simple proposition that two consenting adults, regardless of sex or gender, may be lawfully married. The recognition of marriage equality speaks to a more fundamental principle – that our law ought not to discriminate between persons on the basis of gender, sex or sexuality. And yet, until only a few years ago, Australia had outlawed same-sex marriage (‘SSM’). In 2016-2017 this became a bitter battleground, which, after stasis in Parliament, ultimately culminated in a High Court constitutional challenge and a legally-mired national plebiscite.

Matthew was one of the lawyers who advised the SSM campaigners, and who ran the court case challenging the lawfulness of the government’s stance. His legal team was comprised entirely of volunteers and was arrayed against the full resources of the Australian Government. In this Chatham House talk, he will describe how a strategy of marriage equality didn’t just mean marriage equality at all costs – in the eyes of the campaigners, it had to be done the right way. With dignity. And that meant a constitutional showdown with a government committed to dragging the question of legal equality through an ugly public vote. It also meant dealing with opposition from within the legal profession. It’s a story of how, when pursuing change, means can be just as important as ends.

Biography of speaker – Matthew Psycharis:

Matthew is a lawyer, originally from Australia. Before coming to Cambridge, he worked as a litigation lawyer at a leading Australian law firm. He advised on a wide range of disputes and regulatory investigations. In a pro bono capacity, he led a series of legal teams in high-profile constitutional disputes, involving human rights, LGBT+ rights, as well as advising NGOs on issues concerning offshore refugee detention and the drafting of anti-discrimination legislation. Matthew worked as an Associate (judicial assistant) to a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. And, before coming to the law, trained as an economist, working at the Department of Treasury and Finance. Now, Matthew is a second-year PhD researcher at the Cambridge Faculty of Law, researching the use and abuse of referendums and popular votes. He is also a Director of the Cambridge Pro Bono Project.

Pronouns: he/him/his

A curated LinkedIn Learning course, provided by the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The course can be accessed here.

A curated LinkedIn Learning course, provided by the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The course can be accessed here.

A curated LinkedIn Learning course, provided by the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The course can be accessed here.

A curated LinkedIn Learning course, provided by the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The course can be accessed here.

A curated LinkedIn Learning course, provided by the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The course can be accessed here.

A curated LinkedIn Learning course, provided by the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The course can be accessed here.

A curated LinkedIn Learning course, provided by the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The course can be accessed here.

Workshop 4: Behaviour

Delivered by Kathrin Hicks from the University Counselling Centre

The most common behavioural consequences of long term health conditions are avoidance and doing too much. These often go together in a “boom or bust” cycle. We will look at what this means in the context of living a life in line with our values and how we can work towards achieving a balance of rest and activity, and of different types of activity.

Concepts to be covered include:

• How the boom/bust cycle operates and its long term consequences
• The idea of behavioural activation: the positive impact of gradually increasing activity on mood
• The idea of activity scheduling, with a particular emphasis on balancing activities we “have” to get done and activities that bring us pleasure, meaning and social connection
• The concept of our core values and how we can use this to influence the way we plan our activities

There will also be time to pull the ideas from all 4 sessions together, considering them within the original conceptual framework.

Joining instructions will be provided on your booking confirmation email.

Take a break from looking at your screen and join us for a walk around Madingley Park.

The tour will give you the opportunity to get out into nature and explore more of the University estate including the Capability Brown designed parkland.

How we view ourselves and the world around us impacts our ability to dream and achieve.

This session thinks about how an entrepreneurial mind set can help you identify new opportunities, solve problems and make change in your working and personal life.

Our mental health is likely to be impacted in some way by the pandemic and lockdown conditions. Dr Olivia Remes, a researcher at the Institute of Public Health, will explore the nature of depression and anxiety and will suggest practical ways to cope during this challenging time.

Details on how to join this session will be on your booking confirmation email.

Stress and its partner anxiety are part of life for us all. In fact, without them, we would not achieve nearly as much as we do. However, too much stress can become problematic. In these times of uncertainty, it is more important than ever to prioritise our mental health, to recognise when we and others are struggling, and to find strategies to help us manage its impact. This talk will put stress and anxiety in context and offer ways in which to think about and manage their effect on us both physiologically and mentally.

Presenter: Ashley Meggitt MSc Ashley is an associate lecturer and research psychologist working at Anglia Ruskin University. He holds a master's degree in psychology and is studying for his PhD. He spent 25 years of his first career working within the Cambridge University and College environment and is well versed with many of the challenges this brings. He has also spent the last 5 years volunteering for a mental health charity.

In this interactive session, Jonathan Taylor, a Chartered Psychologist from Pearn Kandola https://pearnkandola.com/ will discuss how inclusion contributes to our self-esteem, well-being and our ability to perform at our best.

The session will explore how we can maintain our social well-being whilst physical distancing through inclusive practices and leadership with our colleagues.

Highly recommended for anyone who manages people, or with an interest in Leadership, Inclusion, or Well-being.

Joining instructions will be provided on your booking confirmation email.

Menopause Cafés exist to increase awareness of the impact of the menopause on those experiencing it, their friends, colleagues, and families.

Anybody interested in sharing stories, experiences, and questions about menopause is welcome!

A mentoring relationship could help you to progress in your professional life/career and build your networks. It can also support your mental health by increasing confidence and reducing anxiety.

If you are interested in hearing about mentoring and its effects on mental health, join the ourcambridge Self-Match Mentoring Scheme' team for an informal session and discussion.

“(Mentoring) supported my mental health through a period of work-related anxiety/stress”.

Professor Tamsin Ford CBE, will explore the evidence impacts of the upheavals of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions on children and young people – is there a Tsunami of mental health conditions or are the kids alright?

Tamsin is Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. She is an internationally renowned Child Psychiatric Epidemiologist who researches the organisation, delivery, and effectiveness of services and interventions for children and young people’s mental health.