Welcome back! I hope you are all feeling wonderfully rested and restored from the festive break 🧘♀️Ready to bag your dream job in 2024? Diversifying Jobs have got you covered.We've kicked off the year with advice on how to hack your job search, how to use LinkedIn so recruiters approach YOU, and job opportunities galore - like these ones, all junior AND remote. Let us know what you want to see next!

- Cressida, Head of Content

QUICK FIRE NEWS 🧨

🎬 Cate Blanchett funds women & trans filmmakers

✋ BBC rejects transphobic complaints over Doctor Who

🙌 British Sign Language to be introduced as GCSE in England

📉 The mental health of workers in Europe is worsening

🎤 Female pop stars celebrate record-breaking year

LET'S GET INTO IT 🤓

Why are doctors striking again?

Working as a junior doctor is a stressful, intense and difficult job at the best of times, and they are chronically underpaid. So, to start 2024, they are going on the longest consecutive strike in NHS history, from January 3rd to 9th.

Is the pay really that bad?

The starting hourly rate is £14. Junior doctor Kirsty breaks this down in real terms: “When you cancel out inflation, I’m paid 26% less than a doctor doing my job 15 years ago.”

These poor rates of pay for people just starting out in the medical profession not only leaves them feeling undervalued and anxious, but it can and will have deep and long-term effects for the whole of the NHS. It means less people want to become doctors, and more people who qualify as doctors don’t want to stay in the NHS, or even in this country, therefore causing staff shortages and putting patients at risk.

We support our striking doctors 💙

“You can’t just sit and wait for the world to be better” says Cynthia V Davis, newly appointed CBE

New feature on our Founder, Cynthia V Davis CBE, on how she started her business with no funding and a new born on her hip.

Read ‘Still I Rise’ – Cynthia’s story | A feature by Starling Bank

How we can all be more deaf-friendly 👇

In the UK, one in six people experience hearing loss, yet they are still subject to isolation in wider society. There are simple steps we can all take to enhance our communication, and be more inclusive of deaf people:

1️⃣ Speak clearly (avoid mumbling) and at a steady pace

2️⃣ Do not speak louder or slow down your speech - this can actually make lip reading harder

3️⃣ Try not to fidget, turn your head, or cover your mouth whilst you're speaking

4️⃣ Maintain eye contact if possible

5️⃣ If verbal interaction is difficult, try pen and paper, or typing on your phone

6️⃣ Learn some basic sign language. A little bit of effort can go a long way!

New guidance on trans school kids is here

What does it say?

At the end of last year, the government issued new advice for trans school kids and their teachers. Unsurprisingly, the guidance was called out by trans organisations as dangerous and not fit for purpose. We couldn't let this get lost in the end of year confusion.

Here's our breakdown of the most concerning points -

👉 The guidance talks of "gender identity ideology" which feeds into anti-trans narratives

👉 Teachers may refuse to use a pupil's pronouns, and primary school aged kids will be forbidden from any change in pronouns

👉 Caution is urged in allowing any social transitioning, and parents must be involved unless it poses a significant risk to them

👉 Single-sex spaces to be heavily policed

So what does this mean in reality?

The guidance claims to ‘put the best interests of all children first’ but Stonewall have called it “chilling” and “actively dangerous.” The guidance is clearly designed to make socially transitioning at school much harder, essentially making schools a less safe space for anyone questioning their gender identity. Stonewall suggest the guidance could have a similar effect to section 28.

Ask your MP to speak out against the guidance with this email template.

THIS WEEK WE'RE LOVING ✨

🤗 Job centres designed to help neurodivergents

🐶 The 2023 round up you need in your life

👂 Alternatives to Audible

💙 A retail company prioritising their people over Christmas sales