Oxford’s LGBTQI Task and Finish Group

Ahead of Pride month this June, David Isaac, CBE, Provost of Worcester College and Chair of the LGBTQI+ Task and Finish Group, shares his experiences, talks about the direction of the group and reflects on our work to promote equality, diversity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ staff and students at Oxford.

Key messages: 

• Details about the LGBTQI+ Task and Finish Group’s work, including the group’s work in reviewing University policies and practices.
• Stonewall has cancelled their 2024 workplace competition, and intends to launch a new Stonewall Index competition in 2025.
• Building on the progress to value, support and recognise the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community that has already taken place over the last few decades

When I was a student in the early 1980s, it was hard to be openly gay and very few of us were ‘out’.  Yet as I return to Oxford as the head of a college, I can see first-hand how much progress has been made since then to value, support and recognise the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community in the University. 

It’s wonderful that we no longer have to hug the shadows, but it’s still the case that more can always be done to make everyone feel recognised and to contribute fully. This is especially the case for our trans students and colleagues. The legal and cultural progress made by lesbian, gay and bisexual people has not been extended to the whole of the LGBTQ+ community due to division and polarised discourse in society. I am, however, confident that, in our own university community, we have made progress in raising awareness of these issues and making the University as safe a place as it can be for all LGBTQ+ staff and students. I am proud to help continue this progress as Chair of the Task and Finish LGBTQI+ Group, which includes students, professional and academic staff, and heads of house from the LGBTQ+ community (as well as colleagues who are important allies).  

The Task and Finish Group was originally set up to consider feedback from Stonewall on our last submission to their Workplace Equality Index and plan for a future submission, and to explore how we could strengthen inclusion and belonging for LGBTQ+ staff and students. The index ranks the country’s employers for their best practice approaches to workplace equality for members of the LGBTQ+ community. It is universally acknowledged that high rankings in the WEI are an indicator of workplace excellence for all employees. The University last made a submission to the index in 2022 (ranking 231st), and was unable to make a submission in 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

In our plans to improve on our 2022 ranking, we decided to be ambitious and use the submission as an opportunity to review University policies and practices, to showcase our role models, to address outstanding workplace challenges, to support our affinity groups – and, generally, to work to make the University as inclusive an employer as possible.  

We have recently been told by Stonewall that, for a variety of reasons, it is not inviting applications this autumn for a 2024 workplace competition. Rather, Stonewall will launch a new index competition in 2025. Not deterred by this decision, the Task and Finish Group met recently to agree that we should continue our important work – not just in readiness for a submission to Stonewall in 2025, but to ensure that the group continues to push ahead to address issues, review policies and celebrate the contribution of the LGBTQ+ community in the University. It was the unanimous view of the group that, although winning a place in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI) was hugely important, there is still a great deal the Task and Finish group can do for LGBTQ+ inclusion at Oxford in the meantime.   

So please watch out for updates on our progress and do get in touch by emailing equality@admin.ox.ac.uk if you would like to be involved. There have been immeasurable improvements to the lives of LGBTQ+ people in Oxford over the last few decades, but we do need to ensure that we continue this progress, and that the University delivers on its commitment to make every member of the University feel valued.