A stunning array of rainbow colours cascade the stairs at City Campus and Hillsborough Campus - they are impossible to miss.
Whilst we love our vibrant stairs at The Sheffield College, celebrating Pride Month 2021 is about so much more than admiring a rainbow.
Symbolism makes the boldest of statements and can be a powerful thing in raising awareness, however actions need to speak louder than words or imagery.
We are really proud to support our LGBTQ+ communities this month as part of our long term commitment to diversity and ensuring that the College is inclusive all year round.
Underpinning this is a commitment to putting the values of fairness, respect, equality, diversity, inclusion and engagement at the heart of everything the College does. But what does this mean in practice?
It means treating everyone with the respect that they deserve as unique human beings and transforming lives through the power of high quality education and training. There should be no barriers for students and staff to achieve their potential.
At The Sheffield College, we want to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to succeed and develop irrespective of age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation or any other characteristic which might be perceived as 'different'.
It also means, amongst other things, that every student and member of staff should feel safe at the College - free from name calling, bullying, harassment and discrimination.
Our Equality Scheme 2020 to 2023 sets out how the College has been taking steps to eliminate discrimination, advance equal opportunity and foster good relations.
Through a zero tolerance approach, we are determined to address and eliminate unfairness and discrimination wherever we find it and create a college culture that does not tolerate it in any form.
We have a good record of reducing the gaps in success between groups of students from different backgrounds and we have made some great progress with our Equality Scheme. However, we also recognise that we need to do more.
For example, it is really encouraging to see that the College is ranked among the top 100 inclusive workplaces in the country.
Ranked 25th in the National Centre for Diversity’s Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index 2021, the College has risen 76 places since last year. This represents the biggest ever increase in a single year by any organisation in the history of the index.
I am also really proud that journalism student Niamh Brownhill, who is also the LGBTQ+ Officer at The Sheffield College Students’ Union, has been shortlisted in the Role Model of the Year category of the first ever Queer Student Awards.
Niamh has run campaigns, helped launch the college’s first LGBTQ+ Society and has started a podcast and online publication @QueerUpNorth tackling stigma.
These national awards are a new annual celebration recognising talented LGBTQ+ college and university students, and allies, who are proudly leading in their lives and the communities around them.
The awards organisers have explained how the word ‘queer’, previously associated with being a homophobic slur and a form of hate speech, is in the process of being reclaimed by LGBTQ+ students as a way to express their identity positively.
Pride is about being proud of who you are and celebrating diversity every day. It’s about remembering that we are all equal, acknowledging the progress that we’ve made and committing to relentlessly addressing any areas where we fall short.
Angela Foulkes, Chief Executive and Principal, The Sheffield College
