UCU Equality Conference 2024: a guide to registration and nomination

At UCU Commons, we want to broaden participation in all of the union’s democratic structures. This includes the equality conferences and the equality standing committees. The calling notice for this was published a few weeks ago, so we thought we’d write an accessible explainer of how this bit of the union works, and a guide to nominations for election to these committees.

The equalities standing committees advise the union’s leadership, NEC and subcommittees on equalities matters. They do not have the power to decide union policy, and they are not intended to be representative of members belonging to that group, so they are in effect advisory groups. They are each composed of around 12 members from across HE, FE, adult, community and prison education. The time commitment is minimal, as the committees meet 3 times per year, and you are not obliged to attend all meetings if you have work or other commitments. These meetings are, in almost all cases, online. Terms on the equalities standing committees last 2 years, but there may be some opportunities to be elected for only one year, for example if there is a casual vacancy.

Attending the conferences is an excellent way to contribute to UCU democracy, and to meet like-minded people also committed to work on equalities and liberation. While lived experience is sufficient qualification to run for equalities standing committees, if you have expertise in work or organising around equalities issues, either from your job, branch activities or other activities outside work, this is an excellent opportunity to apply this expertise.

The five equality strands are women’s, LGBT+, Black members, migrant members and disabled members. The corresponding five equalities standing committees are elected by the delegates to the conferences. This means that if you attend the conferences, even online, you can have a say in deciding who sits on the standing committees. Voting is done via an email link, so there is no need to be in the room in order to vote.

This whole process is based on self-ID, so if you identify as a woman, as LGBT+, as Black (meaning all those racialised as non-white), as a migrant or as disabled, you can attend the conference for that equality strand. You can attend as many conferences as there are equality strands you identify with - some people will want to attend all 5. The three requirements for nomination are: being a UCU member in good standing, self-identifying into the relevant equality strand(s), and having been employed within the last 12 months.

In 2024, the conferences take place in a hybrid format from Thursday 28th November to Saturday 30th November. This year they will be taking place in Birmingham, at the Aston Conference Hotel, but you can also attend them online. There is a separate half-day conference for each equality strand plus a plenary session, meaning that it is always possible for delegates to attend all 6 sessions.

To be a delegate at the equality conferences, all you have to do is register online. This means you do not need to ask for a nomination from your branch or from anyone else. Delegates to equality conferences do not represent their branches and therefore do not vote on their behalf. If you wish to attend the conferences in person, UCU will pay for your travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses (if needed). UCU will book your accommodation on your behalf. If you register to attend the conferences online, you will be able to join via a Zoom link.

However, if you want to run for election to one of the five equality standing committees, you will need to secure a nomination from your branch. We think this is an exclusionary way of doing things for several reasons, and want to work to change it, but this is how things are done right now. Each branch can only nominate one member for election to an equality standing committee. If you fill in a nomination form and send it to your branch secretary, your nomination can be voted on either at a quorate branch meeting, a quorate meeting of the branch committee, or a ‘properly constituted’ meeting of members of the relevant equality strand within that branch (e.g. women or disabled members). In practice, most nominations are dealt with at either a branch meeting or by the branch committee. Unless they have already agreed to nominate someone else, there is little reason for your branch to decline to nominate you.

If not all the vacant positions on a committee are filled via the election, then it is possible to nominate for co-option after the conference. This means that current members of the committee will decide on which nominees for co-option are to join the committee. This is done via self-nomination and if you are co-opted, you will join the relevant committee for a period of one year. Co-option forms are available both in hard copy at the conferences and to download from the UCU website. Nominations for co-option usually close about a month after the equality conferences.

If you wish to attend any part of the equalities conference, whether in person or online, you need to register by 6pm on Monday 28th October. Nominations to any equality standing committee must be received by Thursday 14th November.

If you go to the link above, and click on the relevant conference on the left-hand side of the page, you will be able to download a nomination form from there. Part of this is for you to fill in, and part of it is for the relevant person in your branch (probably your branch secretary).

Many UCU Commons members serve on the equalities standing committees, and would be very happy to talk with anyone interested in getting involved. Here's how to get in touch.