International Women’s Day: supporting gender equality at UAL
- Written byKat Smith
- Published date 08 March 2023
Today we’re marking International Women’s Day – an annual celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and anyone who feels represented by this day.
The theme this year is to #EmbraceEquity where we imagine a gender-equal world, free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. International Women's Day is our opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness against discrimination and take action to drive gender parity.
At UAL we are taking action to tackle typically gendered issues in society:
- We publish our Gender Pay Gap Reports and our pay gap dropped in 2022 to 0.01%.
- We recently developed Menopause support and guidance and launched a Menopause Community of Support (CoS). This is a place where people affected by menopause can come together in recognition of the impact that menopause can have.
- We also recently launched our Equal Parental Leave Policy. From 1 October 2022, all salaried employees and hourly paid lecturers at UAL are entitled to 26 weeks of full maternity or paternity pay. These new commitments are a significant step toward a truly equal and inclusive workplace and an environment that champions flexibility, support, and improved work-life balance for parents.
- In response to feedback from staff, we launched UAL’s first Parents and Carers Network to support all staff that identify as parents and/or carers.
The EDI Team is currently working with colleagues from across UAL to develop a Gender Action Plan that assesses gender equality at UAL and looks to address barriers and improve gender equality.
Keep an eye out on the UAL social media to hear more from our community at UAL during Women’s History Month, including student and alumni work, researcher profiles and more.