Queen Mary is committed to creating a working and learning environment which is inclusive of, and accessible to, disabled people.
Our Strategy 2030 sets out Queen Mary’s commitment and ambition to be the most inclusive university of our kind, anywhere; realising this vision means being a university of choice for disabled people to work and study. We want to ensure that disabled people can be themselves, are treated with kindness, dignity and respect and are supported to thrive.
This necessitates acknowledging, identifying and addressing the barriers to accessibility that disabled people experience.
Having a disability means different things to different people. Queen Mary wants to support all staff who have a mental or physical health condition or impairment. This could include staff who have experiences of:
It is important to recognise that disabled people are a very diverse group of individuals, with differing needs. No experience of being disabled is the same and not all disabilities are visible or permanent.
Business Disability Forum is the leading business membership organisation in disability inclusion. Queen Mary became members of Business Disability Forum in 2023. They explain the social model of disability as follows:
"The social model says that ‘disability’ is caused by society, rather than by a person’s impairment and it looks at ways of removing barriers that restrict access for disabled people. For example, a member of staff could be ‘disabled’ due to a physical barrier such as no lift access to a training room.
By this approach, disability can be defined in terms of barriers that are posed to individuals by external factors that don’t allow for their difference from the cultural or social ‘norms’. According to the social model of disability, a person is disabled by the failure of external factors to consider their needs, rather than any condition they may have.
There are a number of different models of disability, they all have strengths and weaknesses. The social model is the ideological foundation of many countries’ – including the UK’s Equality Act 2010’s – approach to adjustments."
Our Staff Disability Network connects staff, enabling them to share experiences, information, and best practices, offer peer support, and influence positive change for disabled people at Queen Mary. The network is open to any Queen Mary staff member who identifies as disabled or has a mental or physical health condition or impairment. The network will never ask you to disclose any disability or health condition.
If you are a staff member at Queen Mary you can also access the Employee Assistance Programme, which is a free, confidential service that provides a wide range of support for staff. Available anytime, any day, by phone, email or online, the service provides information, resources, referrals and counseling on any issue that matters to you.
Disabled people may experience bigotry, hatred and discrimination on the basis of their disability. Whatever form it takes, it is always unacceptable.
If you or someone else have experienced bullying and harassment, sexual violence, hate incidents or gender-based violence, you can report it to Queen Mary. All staff, students and visitors to our campus can access support information about specialist external services or make a report to the university to discuss options for support and possible action.