Meet Clara: RGU's Equality Champion for Gender Reassignment

RGU appoints Equality Champions for each of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. Clara Maurillon, Internal Communications Officer, is the Equality Champion for Gender Reassignment. Learn more about her and her work supporting the trans community at RGU.

This is the first in a series of article introducing the Champions for you to learn more about them and their work around Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at RGU.

"My role is to advise staff and escalate feedback from the community to the top to [...] bring around positive changes."

My name is Clara Maurillon, and for the last six years, I have essentially been living and breathing RGU! I left my hometown of Nice, France, when I finished school to come study at the University and started working here just a few months after graduating from my BA (Hons) Journalism. After spending a short time in a marketing role, I became the Internal Communications for Student Engagement at RGU, as well as the Equality Champion for Gender Reassignment not long after.

My equality strand of Gender Reassignment represents the whole spectrum of the trans* staff community, which is anyone whose affirmed gender is different from the one they were assigned at birth, including non-binary individuals. As a Champion, my role is to advise staff and escalate feedback from the community to the top to influence decisions made around Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion to bring forward positive changes.

I work closely with Daniel Massie, Equality Champion for Sexual Orientation, as co-chairs of the LGBTQIA Action Group. The Action Group is open to all staff members at RGU and is a safe space to talk about LGBTQ+ issues as well as plan some important activities, such as the Pride march in May/June.

"It is very fulfilling to be able to do something that matters in my day-to-day work. That is the main reason why I became an Equality Champion."

It was great fun being involved in the organisation of RGU’s participation in the Pride march last year, though also stressful with some usual last-minute panicking. Every year, RGU invites its staff, students, and alumni to march behind our very own pride banner to show our support for Grampian Pride. I am hoping that this year, for Pride Month in June, we can be even louder and bolder.  

While this role is aimed at supporting staff, I have also engaged a lot with the Student Equality Champion for trans* individuals. One of the main projects we have been working on together is the development of a guidance document to help staff support students if they are transitioning to live in their affirmed gender. This will help set out the procedures for important tasks such as changing a student’s name in their record or creating a plan to communicate the change with the relevant people.

This has been a challenging project so far but also great for me to develop new skills, as well as learn more about the challenges that the community faces and the support that they need in the long-term.

I am loving being an Equality Champion so far, even though it requires a lot of extra work and having to attend a fair share of meetings. It is very fulfilling to be able to do something that matters in my day-to-day at work. That is the main reason why I became an Equality Champion, even though I ended up in this particular role by chance.

"I thought it would be a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone"

When the recruitment process for the Equality Champions came around, I initially applied for the Sex strand to advocate for gender equality. I started engaging with feminist ideas at a very young age. I think I quickly realised that, as a woman, the world was not built for me and that like many others, I was facing unfair treatments and challenges.

However, as I grew up, I also started to understand that, in a way, I was privileged because I was a white, cisgender and heterosexual woman. This is how I was introduced to the concept of intersectional feminism, which is an approach that recognises that the system of oppression that women face can vary depending on other factors, such as their race or sexual orientation.

By expressing those views in my application, I was then offered the role of Equality Champion for Gender Reassignment instead and I happily accepted. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone and not only advocate for things that directly affect me but use my voice to help those who might not feel comfortable speaking up for themselves. 

"EDI initiatives [...] allow people to not only tolerate their job and workplace but feel like an inherent part of its community."

I think promoting EDI in the workplace is very important as it is not just a tick-box exercise to make companies look good. It deals with people and their experiences and is crucial to the nurturing of a safe and inclusive environment. The world of work is changing, and employees do not stay in the same role or company for years unless they feel fulfilled, valued, respected, and appreciated.

That is why EDI initiatives are extremely important as they allow people to not only tolerate their job and workplace but feel like an inherent part of its community. To allow this though, it is important to be able to recognise and challenge when things are wrong. This is where the role of an Equality Champion comes into play. We are not here to pretend like where we are today is perfect but to ensure that tomorrow will be better.

But it’s not only Equality Champions that can make a difference. I would encourage anyone with an interest in EDI, and even those who don’t think it’s for them, to get involved and at least give it a try. The LGBTQIA Action Group is always looking for more members so please consider joining! We organise meetings which can be fun and informal, and we have a safe Teams chat to share relevant news, activities coming up or simply to get some discussions going.

Staff can also come speak to me directly if there is anything they would like to discuss regarding my equality strand. I will be happy to chat and help you if I can!