Inclusion Guide for Clubs

Minority Group

Actions that can help with inclusion

LGBTQ+

• Ask for a persons pronouns when starting a conversation!
• Show support and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community openly. This might help and encourage LGBTQ+ students to get involved. Mention or share on social media that your society/activity is supportive of LGBTQ+ students, particularly at the start of the year.
• Create an LGBTQ+ position and a Trans position within your committee. This is a great opportunity to actively show your support to the LGBTQ+ community.
• Be open and prevent discrimination. Be mindful of what you’re saying and show leadership if other members of your society are making inappropriate comments.
• If there is an incident of hate crime within your society, this should be discussed and reported.
• Encourage members to add their pronouns onto their Zoom account to become a trans and non-binary ally.
• Reach out to LGBTQ+ societies on campus if you want to ask for more detailed support on how to improve inclusion within your society of LGBTQ+ students. For example, GULGBTQ+ can help organise a Pronoun Pledge to show the members of your society on how to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ students.

Disabled Students

(May be inclusive of physical, mental health, learning difficulties and other conditions)

• Have a dedicated member meet with people outside an event to walk in with people who have anxiety or other debilitating problems that stop them attending events.
• When organising activities, trips or events, try and consider whether this is something that everyone can and will be able to participate in. I.e.- a sub crawl event isn’t necessarily disability friendly - having a taxi take disabled people to each stop could help this.
• Advertise to disabled students so they know you’ll be inclusive of them!
• If your group needs money for equipment to make things more inclusive, budget for it! Affiliated societies can apply for financial grants from the SRC; please check out our Grant Page for more info.
• Disabled students don’t have to tell you about their condition, but if they want to then that’s great that they can trust and be open with you. It can be scary for someone to reveal a disability so try and reassure them and be accommodating to their condition within the activities you organise. Remember to keep their disability confidential too - they might not want every member of the group knowing.

BME (Black, Minority Ethnic)

• It’s an uncomfortable truth to think that racism and prejudices still exist today but sadly it is the case. A lot of this can be unconscious bias, but by being consciously aware of our actions and the way in which we work, we can challenge these unconscious assumptions and thoughts.
• BME students might feel isolated or uncomfortable if they are the only BME student in a particular club or activity. It is key to be friendly and engage with everyone who attends your events and activities.
• Create a BME committee position in your committee in which a BME member can actively work on how the society can be extra inclusive.

Women

• Lad Culture: try and directly tackle any sexist language and/or jokes and call out people on misogynist language
• Visibility: make women in your society visible if you can and encourage them to run for committee positions.

Postgraduates/PHD

• Postgraduate students can sometimes feel disconnected from the Undergraduate student community, so always approach and engage with anyone who wants to join your group.
• Postgraduate courses tend to be more intense than undergraduate ones so don’t be offended if postgraduate students can’t participate, but remind them they are always welcome.

Mature Students

• Sometimes, mature students can feel isolated which can be demoralising and saddening for them. A welcoming group can be really reassuring!
• Make sure you or society members do not make people feel insignificant - call out comments which although may be unintentionally biased, might be offensive or rude.
• Try to appeal to the masses - not all students are keen on events that might involve drinking or nights out, so try and cater for all interests where possible.
• Don’t exclude or ignore! If someone shows an interest in your society and they look older and you’re unsure if they’re staff or a student, just ask!
• We’re not that different! We’re all here for the same reason and although some students might be older than the norm, we all experience similar pressures, worries, highs and lows during University. Being able to feel included within the whole university is important for everyone, not just the majority!

Home/Commuting Students

• Try to run events across a range of times. Sometimes, students who commute aren’t able to participate in late night events or nights out, so run early evening/daytime events so they can participate.
• Home students can sometimes feel really isolated from students who live near campus or in accommodation - bear this mind and remember to be welcoming as possible.
• Be aware that home students can’t just go home and get ready for a night event if they live far away - it might be nice if you’re keen to offer them over to your flat or somewhere to get ready so they don’t feel isolated from those who live in the area.

Student Parents

• Often, these students have commitments alongside their studies, so try and be aware of this when arranging events and activities. For smaller societies, you could try to survey the best times for all people.
• Many points in the above mature students’ section might apply to student parents too.

Students of faith or belief

• Some students of certain faiths might change the way they choose to live their lives, and some might require private changing, prayer facilities or specific dietary requirements. Make sure you let these students know you’re happy to support them to take part in activities.
• Try to be mindful of key religious festivals when planning events and activities.

International Students

• International students can be very hesitant to join events which they think aren’t targeted at them. Maybe consider hosting an event that explicitly serves as a taster for international students. Or at least be explicit about welcoming all students, irrelevant of experiences or background. This is a small comment that can be very encouraging!
• Language Barriers: The most obvious barrier for international students is the potential of language barriers. Try to show patience with those who may be working on their English - it’s one thing learning a language abroad, but local slang and non-formal words aren’t necessarily taught abroad. If you can see someone is struggling, try to talk to them one on one to develop a more fluid conversation!

Students who don’t drink alcohol

• Try to vary the events that you run across a range of different times. Remember to publicise your non-alcohol events and also consider catering events that are drinking events to those who don’t want to drink it by supplying non-alcoholic options etc