Newham College LGBT Committee host breakfast with Head of Stonewall.

Newham College LGBT Committee organised a breakfast event to raise awareness of the work they do to tackle homophobia and create equality within the organisation and local area. The event was headed by Head of LGBT charity, Stonewall, Ruth Hunt and Newham Councillor, Rachel Tripp and took place exactly 4 months since the College was ranked 72 in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, (WEI) 2017.

Organiser, Olivia Besly said: “We are delighted to host the LGBT breakfast and honoured to have Cllr Rachel Tripp and Ruth Hunt to support us. It is a fantastic opportunity for people to hear about the inspiring work that is being done and to join either as a member of the Committee or as a Straight Ally.”

Cllr Rachel Tripp was guest speaker at the gathering and shared her experience of acting as political lead on equalities. She explained that her job is to help identify and remove discrimination and to celebrate and champion the different groups of people that make up the borough of Newham.

She said: “Homophobia is still present in so many educational organisations today and it’s absolutely fantastic to see really positive action being taken by Newham College to ensure diversity and promote equality in the education system.”

Head of Stonewall, Ruth Hunt said: “Newham College have really got to the heart of the importance of equality and acceptance, and really do enable everybody to be themselves.”

“They recognise that your attainment and success relies on a culture where you are able to be yourself. What the College has done is taken proactive steps to promote a positive culture – they’ve not just relied on a fundamental approach to meritocracy and assumed that everyone will be alright. They’ve not just said ‘we treat everybody equally’, but have actively attempted to level the playing field.”

“It is inspiring to see that in a cultural context like this, such great strides can be made to bring a community together.”