Purpose
In line with the university’s equality and diversity policy, this group meets once a semester to actively engage staff in meaningful discussions on topics that affect our staff and students to actively promote equality, diversity, and inclusion.
The group is chaired by the university’s Equality Champion (Age), Laura Chalmers and brings together academic and professional services staff across RGU. We also work in partnership with the Equality and Diversity team to contribute to activities that promote equality at RGU through the Equality and Diversity Forum.
Champions
Equality Champion - Age
"My name is Myra Mackenzie, and I’m Equality champion (Age) here at RGU. I’m a dietitian by background, and have worked in various positions across the NHS, as well as here at RGU (with a couple of short breaks) since 1992.
Why do I care about ageism? I think it’s because I’ve now experienced it at all stages of my career. Early on, as a PhD student, I was asked to give a research update to a group of physicians (nearly all male, nearly all middle aged). I was barred from entering the lecture theatre, because they were waiting for the speaker to arrive. I explained that I was that speaker and was told that I was too young! There was an undercurrent of misogyny, but the main message was that I needed to be grey to have any gravitas.
And I’m sure many people have experienced the banter around significant birthdays (I got a blow-up Zimmer frame for my 50th!). However, people tend to contribute to the workplace, community, and wider society at large up to and beyond their retirement age. One inspirational example in my experience is my PhD supervisor, Professor Sir John Lennard-Jones who was an exemplar of ageing well.
As a society, we are living longer, and with luck, ageing is something we will experience. It should be viewed as an opportunity – for us and for society. I believe we should appreciate what people bring to the table in terms of diverse life experiences and perspective. And I also believe that this should be the case regardless of age, whether young or old.
I’m looking forward to working with colleagues to work towards challenging stereotypes and championing positive representation. Come and say hello!"
Current Members
- Myra Mackenzie - Chair and Equality Champion (Age)
- Vikki Taylor - HR Champion (Age)
- Emmanuel Akerele - EDI Adviser
Contact
Everyone can get involved! We would love to have you onboard and welcome you to get in touch with any queries, suggestions or if you’d like to join as a member. You do not need to identify as anything in particular, and we always welcome allies to support our equality work.
Email equality@rgu.ac.uk with any questions.