University first to achieve Disability Confident Leader status

We're proud to announce that, following our official accreditation in December 2017, we are the first University to achieve Disability Confident Leader Status

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)?Team, in conjunction with the Disability Working Group and Chris Jay , CEO of?Enable Me (a local charity organisation), worked together for a whole-organisation approach on disability equality. Successfully obtaining the?Level 3 ¡®Leader¡¯ accreditation demonstrates the University¡¯s commitment to disability equality and its stance on encouraging a positive approach towards disability, challenging negative attitudes and ensuring that all staff have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

ÍøÂç²ÊƱAPPÏÂÔØ_°Ä¿Í²ÊƱÍø-¹Ù·½ÓÎÏ·, President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, commented:

¡°It¡¯s fantastic news that the University¡¯s commitment to disability equality has been recognised and that we are the first University to be awarded Disability Leader status.¡±

The Disability Confident Employer Scheme is a government initiative designed to enable employers to think differently about disability and ¡®improve how they attract, recruit and retain disabled workers¡¯ for their skills and talent.

There are 3 levels to this scheme and an organisation can only move forward after achieving each level. You can find out more about the scheme here .

The scheme supports and highlights organisations¡¯ commitment to:

1. Challenging negative attitudes towards disability
2. Promoting?disability equality
3. Removing barriers to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions
4. Ensuring that disabled people have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.

For more information on this story please contact Aysha Rahman, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer?by emailing:?diversity@soton.ac.uk