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Vice-Chancellor named Stonewall Senior Champion of the Year for the South West

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Professor Jane Harrington, who joined Greenwich from the University of West of England in December, was recognised at an awards ceremony last night

The University of Greenwich's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jane Harrington was named Stonewall Senior Champion of the Year in the South West region for her work on LGBT-inclusion at the Stonewall South West Regional Awards.

Stonewall, the lesbian, bi, gay and trans equality charity recently announced its list of Top 100 LGBT-inclusive employers for 2020.

Professor Harrington, was recognised for her strong support for the LGBT community, and LGBT staff and students, during her time as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the University of the West of England. Professor Jane Harrington said: 

I was delighted to accept this award last night. I have, over a number of years, taken part in reverse mentoring which has both exposed me directly to the issues that some staff face and also made me far more aware of the power of language to both include and alienate.

I am proud of the work that I did as an LGBTQ+ ally which included bystander training for staff and student union societies. I feel very strongly that it is not up to individuals to have to defend themselves but it is our collective responsibility to not be bystanders.

Sanjay Sood-Smith, Stonewall's Executive Director of Workplace & Community Programmes, said: "All of the organisations and individuals recognised in last night's event are playing a huge role in improving the lives of LGBT people, and should be very proud of their work.  

"We still don't live in a world where everyone is able to be themselves in the workplace, as we know more than a third of LGBT staff (35 per cent) hide who they are at work. By taking steps to make their workplaces supportive and welcoming of all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people, these organisations are bringing us closer to a world where everyone is accepted without exception." 

Professor Harrington will be driving forward the ambitious Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, which was launched at the University of Greenwich last year.