Reach Roundup 1 August 2012 August 1, 2012
Posted by Rosalind Kemp in : Skills and Competencies, declaration, job hunting, research , add a commentReach Roundup is a summary of the news, blog posts and careers information we’ve come across in the last fortnight that we thought may be of interest to you.
- First off – why aren’t women pursuing academic careers after their PhDs? Curt Rice in The Guardian looks at Why women leave academia and why universities should be worried.
- Some really helpful advice from University of Salford Careers Information Blog which looks at how to identify and deal with discrimination at interview and once you are in a new job.
- Great tips for graduate job seekers from Manchester Graduate Careers blog which highlights five “reasons why having a disability or health concern means you’ll have already developed a range of transferable skills employers are looking for”.
Remember to use your careers service if you are facing any of these issues or have questions about job seeking in general. You can find a list of contact information for University of London colleges on The Careers Group website.
Shattering disability perceptions June 13, 2012
Posted by Louise Honey in : Uncategorized , add a commentAs a new US programme airs with disability at the heart of the shows stars, it faces some harsh reviews from the press in how well it tackles the subject. Push Girls aired at the beginning of the month on the Sundance Channel and was criticized as its main characters – four glamorous ladies with acquired mobility disabilities, are ‘not representative’ of people with disabilities.
Suzanne Robitaille – founder of abledbody.com, a website on disability issues, hits back at this criticism in her blog and offers support for how the show highlights the struggles of its characters; through their life, careers and love.
Suzanne comments on how the show tacitly reveals how perceptions about disability can be hurtful to a person’s career and livelihood – and the fact that this is happening in the sunny, wealthy, glamorous lives of four LA inhabitants should not matter. She goes on to say ‘people with disabilities share an ethos. We’re all struggling to adapt to an able-bodied world, and we constantly encounter obstacles that have less to do with physical barriers and more to do with attitudes. It’s a common denominator that bounds us.’
Read Suzanne’s full blog article here http://www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com/Blog/post/Push-Girls-Shatters-Disability-Perceptions.aspx
(Updated 09/04/2013: link included)
UCL Diversity month – open to the public January 31, 2012
Posted by Katie Dallison in : Events, commercial awareness , add a commentFebruary is UCL’s diversity month and the central London University is opening the majority of it’s events to the public. There is something for everyone with events on women’s rights, transgender issues, gay imagery, agism and religion.
Although not strictly careers related – the events could provide a great opportunity for networking, with most Monday evenings throughout the month having a panel event. For anyone interested in pursuing a career around advocacy (human rights law, policy or diversity roles within business or the public sector) these talks will put you in touch with experts in the field and help you to meet a range a people interested in these topics.
To find out more about Diversity Month and for a full calender of event, please visit http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/equalities/diversity_month2012.php
Women making it in the Armed Forces August 24, 2011
Posted by Katie Dallison in : Uncategorized , add a commentOn the 5th of August, the Royal Navy broke a 500-year taboo by giving Lt Commander Sarah West the command of a warship – the first women to achieve such an honor in the UK. She will take command in April 2012 of HMS Portland, whose arsenal has been used in anger against Somali pirates and cocaine smugglers in the Caribbean.
This appointment helps highlight the growing awareness in the armed forces for equality between the sexes. In the Navy, women form between 15% and 20% of ships’ crews and are only barred from posts in the Royal Marine Commandos, mine clearance involving diving, and submarines. The submarine ban is currently under review and is expected to be eased.
The Army currently employs more than 7,000 trained women, representing 7.7 percent (trained) of the Army. Within this, more than 10 percent are Officers, with a female/male Officer ratio of 1 in 10. More than 70 percent of jobs in the Army are open to women (close combat roles are excluded) spanning more than 140 trade groups and 1,000 job types - from pilots to chefs, mechanics to musicians.
In the Airforce, the latest data I could find from 2006 showed women make up 12.3% of the Air Force and female pilots are employed in various operational theatres, including Afghanistan and Iraq. In April of this year, The Royal Air Force has been awarded exemplary status as a “Top 50 Employer of Women.”
If you are interested in knowing more about working in any of the armed forces, they all have their own recruitment pages and roles available now. Visit:
Navy – http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/
Army – http://www.army.mod.uk/home.aspx
Airforce – http://www.raf.mod.uk/
