Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is central to the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences (FBS), shaping our professional, research, and cultural engagements with staff and students. Over the past five years, we have strengthened our governance and aligned with the Higher Education equality charter framework, Athena Swan, to progress gender equality.

Where We Started

In 2019, the foundational structure for EDI within the Faculty was not clearly defined. While there were individual efforts to advance EDI initiatives, resources were limited. Beyond Athena Swan, there was little governance established for EDI activity to be implemented.

Taking Action

To drive and implement change, the FBS focused on strengthening leadership and creating structured support. This included the appointment of a Vice-Dean for EDI (Professor Anna Cox, 2019-2024) and adding two full-time EDI staff members to support the Faculty’s efforts. In addition to the permanent EDI positions, roles such Faculty Equity Leads and Directors of EDI were established, each with clear job descriptions. The Faculty Equity Leads focus on representing and progress of particular protected characteristics interests which includes leading sub-committees, while the Directors of EDI demonstrate local leadership that contributes to overall faculty progress in EDI.

The Impact

So far, the governance structure has significantly enhanced the Faculty’s engagement and commitment to EDI. Key achievements include:

• All departments have achieved Athena Swan awards (5 Silver and 1 Bronze).
• Conduct biennial Faculty staff survey to collect Athena Swan data across all departments, enabling benchmarking and staff engagement to identify ways to improve the staff experience.
• Celebrating our EDI initiatives by recognising volunteers who contribute at a Faculty EDI celebration event.
• We reduced the BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) awarding gap from 14% in 2021-22 to 4% in 2022-23.
• Addressing the inequities in research by establishing the Equality Research Centre in Brain Sciences, a network of interdisciplinary researchers aiming at foster understanding and solutions to equality challenges in science and beyond.
• We actively communicate our EDI activities by publishing regular blogs and hosting a podcast series entitled “EDI Chronicles at Brain Sciences.”.
• Tackling and preventing toxic working and research culture by developing and delivering training addressing bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.

To round up, while the FBS structure ultimately proved effective to produce such achievements, EDI cannot adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, as various factors such as structures, priorities, and resources influence how EDI is implemented. Embedding EDI is a continuous journey that requires intentionality and a commitment from both leadership and grassroot.

For more details on FBS’s EDI structure, strategy, initiatives and projects, read FBS’s EDI annual reports:

• EDI Report 2023/24
• EDI Report 2019/20-2022/23

Ramadan Mubarak to Muslims across Brain Sciences observing and celebrating Ramadan.

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and fasting during Ramadan is the pillar of the Islamic religion. During Ramadan, Muslims worship Allah (God) through fasting which requires a person to refrain from consuming food and drinks from dawn until sunset every day for a month.

Tips to being inclusive during Ramadan:

Even if you are not observing Ramadan, there are a lot of things you can do (and some you might want to avoid) to make your workplace or learning environment a supportive and inclusive space for anyone who might be fasting and observing Ramadan.

Be curious, but positively curious!

Try to learn why your colleagues, students, or peers are fasting and observing Ramadan. It can be a simple ask or even a read on the internet- but if you ask, ensure you ask appropriately and at a convenient time. Being open to learning will increase your cultural competence, which is always a good thing in diverse environments such as UCL.

Flexibility goes a long way

While flexibility is already promoted within Brain Sciences, individualised flexibility during this period is important to maintain. If you are aware a colleague is observing Ramadan, offer any adjustments necessary where possible such as shortening meetings, avoiding scheduling meetings outside UCL hours (10 AM – 4 PM), and for line Managers- consider adaptations to break times.

Avoid micro-aggressions

Microaggressions are subtle examples of racism, prejudice, or bias that can be unintentional, but nonetheless very harmful. Microaggressions can be described in this context as “not even water?”, “If you have a little snack, will God be unhappy with you?”. As mentioned before, if you are curious, just ask respectfully.

Be aware exemptions exist during Ramadan

Be mindful that a Muslim may not be fasting at all or for certain periods of the month for different personal reasons. Some reasons a person may not be fasting can be; they are unwell, they are mensurating, they are pregnant, or they may suffer from a chronic illness.  Being aware of such possible reasons that are considered sensitive and personal should prompt how you approach possible conversations with those observing Ramadan.

Registration: Participation is free and open to all staff and students; however, registration is required, and spaces are limited so please register early to avoid missing out:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/biology-of-sexes-tickets-432466026527 

Our aim: The phrase “biological sex” has been thrown about like confetti, yet no one has bothered to ask us, biologists, what we think. We are therefore organising a new seminar series to give staff and students at UCL the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and broaden their understanding of the Biology of Sexes. Our speakers will challenge the preconceptions of biological sex and sex in biology, revel in the diversity of the animal kingdom to raise important scientific and societal questions to prevent biology being mis-used to fuel discrimination.

About the speaker: Lucy is a New York Times best-selling author, award-winning documentary filmmaker and broadcaster. Her recent book BITCH: A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal challenges how we think about sex, sexual identity, and the patriarchal view of sexual selection. You will also be able to purchase a signed copy of Lucy’s book and enjoy a drink at the reception.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the inaugural UCL LMS lecture of the ‘Biology of sexes’ series.

Best wishes,

The Vice Deans EDI and organising committee.

As another academic year begins, we want to welcome new staff and students to UCL’s Faculty of Brain Sciences, and let you know about LGBTQ+ equity groups and activities in the Faculty and beyond – see below for a list.

We’re also looking forward to hosting our first Faculty of Brain Sciences LGBTQ+ Equity event this term – on the evening of Tuesday 8^thNovember we’ll be hosting a free event with UCL PALS researcher Dr Julia Shaw, who will be talking about her book, “Bi: The hidden culture, history, and science of bisexuality”. Event details can be found here.

Faculty of Brain Sciences LGBTQ+ Equity group

Our Faculty of Brain Sciences LGBTQ+ Equity committee meets at least once a term and is open to staff and research students in the Faculty who identify as LGBTQ+ or who have a significant interest/experience in LGBTQ+ equity. We are currently inviting new members, and would particularly like to increase representation of trans and non-binary colleagues and those with intersectional LGBTQ+ identities. Please email c.mgettigan@ucl.ac.uk for more information and to submit a short expression of interest.

Join our Faculty LGBTQ+ groups on Teams:

• FBSLGBTQ+: For information and updates on our LGBTQ+ events and projects within the Faculty. A public group open to LGBTQ+ staff and research students, plus allies!
• Out@BrainSciences:A space to connect with LGBTQ+ colleagues across the Faculty of Brain Sciences. Once inside the group, membership is not anonymous, so please request to join if/when you feel comfortable. A private group for LGBTQ+ staff and research students.

Other LGBTQ+ groups at UCL:

• Out@UCL
• UCL Trans network
• LGBT+ STEM @UCL
• LGBT+ Students’ network 

Written by Katerina Fotopoulou, Gender Equity Lead

The Faculty Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team is establishing a new EDI Research Centre and Hub. The aim is to bring researchers that conduct research on Mental Health, Neuroscience, and EDI within the Faculty into one network and also provide them with common resources and other facilitations. Ultimately, the network will provide opportunities for staff to meet their peers, share ideas and experiences, and initiate collaborations. It will also provide a platform for careers advice and the dissemination of research findings, and information regarding jobs, training, and funding opportunities.

We would like to kindly call all researchers within the Faculty, as well as all staff and students with an interest in the area, to express their interest in joining our network by completing the following very short survey (around 5 minutes – depending on your typing skills ?). Please note that your information will be used only for communications relating to this centre, will not be shared with anyone else other than our EDI team and other network members and you can withdraw your data at any time without giving a reason.

https://uclpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6hhp91s5VzV44hE

Looking forward to receiving your responses!

Katerina (Gender Equity Lead) and Ilia Galouzidi (Research Assistant)