Able-bodied straight white men have been barred from a university equality conference to be held later this year.
The University and College Union (UCU) for lecturers has said it will only admit members who identify themselves as gay, disabled, female or an ethnic minority into its summit in November.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This effectively means "that even equality reps elected by their union branch who did not meet the criteria cannot participate in discussions", says the London Evening Standard.
Disability campaigner Emma-Jane Phillips called the ban "ridiculous".
"To infer that someone does not understand someone's situation just because you don't tick a box is insulting," she told the Times Higher Education.
Ciara Doyle, a senior lecturer in youth and community studies at the University of Greenwich, said the sessions were a unique "safe space" for those with various characteristics to talk openly about their situations, which might otherwise be dominated by those with no personal experience.
"There were strong views on both sides but in the end members felt that it was important that those from minority groups should be able to discuss their issues together," said the UCU.
This is not the first time the union has been embroiled in a controversy over its attendance policy. Last year, the UCU held separate conferences for women, ethnic minority, disabled and LGBT members.
-
Dive right into these 8 underwater adventuresThe Week Recommends It’s time to make a splash
-
The world’s oldest rock art reveals hints about human migrationUnder the Radar The art is believed to be over 67,000 years old
-
Grok in the crosshairs as EU launches deepfake porn probeIN THE SPOTLIGHT The European Union has officially begun investigating Elon Musk’s proprietary AI, as regulators zero in on Grok’s porn problem and its impact continent-wide
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
