Diversity News – Summer 2018
In 2018 we celebrate a hundred years of the first steps towards women’s suffrage in the UK. We say “first steps” because the journey towards women’s suffrage has been a long one. In 1918 the vote was only given to women over 30 who paid (or whose husbands paid) at least £5 in property taxes. (£5 in 1918 would be over £300 in today’s money.) In contrast all men over 21 could vote.
In this issue of the newsletter we will be highlighting some of the many amazing women that we work with, and women’s issues that we address.
Dominique Thompson is an expert in mental health issues. She talks about the tremendous cost to the economy of poor mental health. Training in mental health issues, and how to support employees who are struggling, can help stop problems at work.
An area we are interested in exploring is menopause awareness. Menopause symptoms vary widely between women, but some are affected very badly. Many companies have no policy for dealing with issues faced by staff going through menopause. We have been talking to researchers at Bristol and Leicester Universities about raising awareness of these issues.
Bristol Zero Tolerance, led by Charlotte Gage, does great work tackling gender-based violence in Bristol. Please consider signing up to their pledge.
We interviewed Vicki Morris, Chief Executive for the Care Forum: And read about our partner, Julie Close, Director of Southern Brooks Community Partnerships and their amazing work in South Gloucestershire.
We also introduce one of our new Directors, Lou Hart, who has a very impressive career in diversity work.
Finally, please take a look at our 2017-2018 Social Impact Report. We’re very proud of the work that we’ve done over the past year. With your help we’ll continue our social impact over the next 12 months.
Read our newsletter DN_issue12_4
Read our 2017-18 Social Impact Report DT_AR_6