27 Aug 2021

Diversity Lens - Issue 91

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Aug 27

Diversity Lens - Issue 91

Welcome to Diversity Lens.
Diversifying your news consumption.

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This week we're reflecting on our own news sources and hitting the right balance between reporting on the top news stories, and sharing pieces from small publications. We'll strive to get this mix right for you.

Our top stories this week include the significance of the Paralympics this year, which kicked off this week, as well as an insightful column on bisexuality from independent publication, Aurelia Magazine.

Got a piece you'd like us to feature? Please let us know!

STORY OF THE WEEK

"How To Watch The Tokyo Paralympics – And How Not To, Please" Huffington Post

The Paralympics kick off in Tokyo this week, a year delayed. While it might be tempting to skim over the effects of the pandemic, it's important that the very real impact on disabled and vulnerable people over the last year and a half are not glossed over in favour of spectacle.

In this vein, Scope and the British Paralympic Association have launched the 'turn cheers into change' campaign.

Put simply, disabled people have been forgotten over the course of the pandemic, left behind and made to feel expendable.

69% of disabled people want Paralympics fans to do more to understand the issues disabled people face. In a period when "there’ll be more disabled people on our screens than at any other time of the year", we must make sure our interest translates into long-term support for disabled people.

While the Channel 4 ad campaign 'It's rude not to stare' has received mixed responses from the community, some progress is being made this year with live captioning across the programming and a presenting team mostly disabled themselves.

"We shouldn’t be grateful that for four weeks, we’re equal to abled-bodied people. That should be happening all the time."
Rosie Jones

Forward

IN OTHER NEWS...

Less than one in five Windrush victims have received payouts in compensation scheme fail
While up to 1,867 claims were submitted, just 388 actually received payouts through the scheme. Over 200 cases are currently being appealed after being denied due to not ‘accurately proving’ severe affects. Labour’s shadow home secretary has described the handling as “heaping insult on top of injustice”.

Read time: 1 minute

Existential Bi-sis: what percentage are you?
"So, the bisexual thing – what percentage are you?”
A question many bisexual people face with dread. Bisexuality as a concept has long confused people, both straight and gay. The question of percentages doesn't just erase non-binary people but it contains an implicit accusation of whether someone is 'gay enough' - a notion that constantly plagues the bisexual community, Charlotte Moore explains for Aurelia Magazine.

Read time: 4.5 minute s

79% of bisexual women admit that they’re not out to the important people in their life.

How accent discrimination has impacted my life
Accents across the UK are incredibly diverse with around 40 different dialects existing today. Received Pronunciation or 'RP' is valued above all of these variations however, and has come to be (wrongly) viewed as an indicator of class, wealth and even intelligence. Non-RP accents typically receive biased treatment across "professional, social and romantic lives".

With this reality in mind, it is no wonder many people learn to adapt their accent or 'code switch' in order to 'pass' in a certain social context.

Read time: 13 minute s

"Well-spoken men in positions of power undermine women by accusing them of speaking incorrectly."

THIS WEEK IN D&I...

Female directors still being paid a small fraction of their male counterparts
New research shows that the gender pay gap in UK boardrooms is still thriving. The average pay for a FTSE 100 female director is just a quarter of what is paid to their male counterparts. These figures are far more significant at board level than in the the broader jobs market. While numbers of female directors at FTSE 100 firms increase, this shouldn’t be the stopping point.

Read time: 3 minute s

Remote work doesn’t have to be lonely. Grab your laptop and a friend
If you're thinking the future of flexible working is a choice between a 9 to 6 week in the office and working in isolation at home, think again. Find the right working routine that works for you. Many are now choosing to find a buddy or two and congregate at a house, cafe or co-working space. Friends can work as a "buffer" they report, helping you to maintain perspective while also being more productive.

It won't work for all friends, but there is likely a co-working buddy out there for us all.

Read time: 8 minute s