Creating a dedicated National Equality Officer post within the Union
Internal practice
Duration
Ongoing.
Reason it was developed
During a period of vacancy for the EIS National Officer Education and Equality post, the EIS Education and Equality Department put forward a proposal to create two National Officer posts. The EIS is well recognised in Scotland as a leading voice on equality in education, and for our guidance and resource publication to support teachers in delivering equality and equity-oriented learning. The proposed creation of a dedicated post was intended to solidly signal this continued commitment on equality matters and to increase the capacity of the EIS to engage with members in this regard.
Activities
The EIS National Officer, Equality was appointed in February 2020. The postholder is responsible for servicing the EIS Equality Committee and sub-committees and has led the work on implementing the EIS Anti-racist strategy, as well as engaging with a range of members.
Results
The approach of creating a new EIS Equality Officer post allowed more sustainability and enhanced capacity for the EIS to service all of the internal committees, sub-committees and networks, and STUC Equality Conferences; respond to consultations and calls for evidence; participate in external meetings which increasingly lay members were struggling to be able to accommodate, allowing the EIS to continue to act with authority, profile and agility as both a professional association and a trade union across a range of equality matters.
Funding
Self-funding.