Welcome to the weekly equality and diversity news bulletin. Here you’ll find snippets of news from last week. Read about Clegg’s Scarman lecture, Andrew Pilkington’s research on racism in universities, International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women and more.
Delivering the Scarman lecture 30 years after the Brixton riots, Nick Clegg said the private sector had to do more to end the ‘racial ceiling’ and offer equal opportunities to the UK’s ethnic minorities. He particularly targeted banks and sports, commenting on the recent Sepp Blatter controversy. Admitting that his party still had to do more, Clegg said, “Real equality is not just the absence of prejudice. It is the existence of fairness and opportunity too.”
Matthew Reisz, writing for Times Higher Education, voices similar concerns raised by the scholar Andrew Pilkington, but for higher education. Pilkington, professor of Sociology at the University of Northampton, has recently published a book entitled ‘Institutional Racism in the Academy: A Case Study’. He argues that universities are “oblivious” to racial inequalities and are failing to act on problems because they “see themselves as liberal and believe existing policies ensure fairness”.
Last week, 25 November was marked as the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. On this day, the United Nations was urged to put pressure on governments around the world to act after figures reveal the prevalence of violence against women all over the world. UN statistics indicate that one in five women globally will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime.
Last, an event alert – on Saturday 14th January next year, Leeds University will be hosting an anti-trafficking event. It will be part of a series of community roadshows to inform key localities what human trafficking is, how it affects the area and what can be done about it. To register and for more information, email act@stopthetraffik.org.
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If you come across news of relevance to equality and diversity, please write to equality.and.diversity@lse.ac.uk
