UCU: Intersectionality in UCU projects

Motion

Motion text: Congress believes
1. Promoting equality and equity is central to UCU’s purpose.
2. Marginalisation, oppression and disadvantage are experienced in complex ways shaped by people’s specific circumstances, particularly the overlap of characteristics and identities.
3. Effective analysis of inequality and strategies to address it must recognise these differences and the possibility that groups with different characteristics may have distinct or conflicting needs.
4. Approaches that ignore the diversity of people’s situations risk further marginalising those most disadvantaged and fuelling division between groups.
Congress resolves
a. To task the equality standing committees to work collaboratively to develop union policy and campaigning on key intersectional issues.
These include:
i. closing pay gaps;
ii. closing gender pensions gaps (for which intersectional issue the retired members’ committee should also be involved
iii. challenging the far right on campuses and in communities;
iv. addressing the disproportionate impact of redundancies and restructuring on marginalised groups; and,
v. advancing policy and legislative change to promote equality in post-16 education.
b. To encourage equality conferences to prioritise discussion of cross-strand equality issues and support campaigning.