The Differently Abled Forum is a group open to any Council employee who identifies as disabled, impaired or differently abled. The forum is relaunch and fingrom October will have a renewed offer of events and support available for members. The forum also aims to help educate others and address the challenges the community faces. 

The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. The charity Scope has also produced a video on the social model of disability. The social model says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their condition or difference. 

To join the Differently Abled Forum, follow the link below to request to join the Teams group. 

Differently Abled Forum

If you haven't started your Be Proudly You diversity and inclusion training, make sure you begin soon!

All staff are asked to participate in the training to help create an inclusive workplace culture where everyone can bring their whole self to work.

Feedback from those who have completed the training so far has been positive, with staff particularly enjoying the video conversations that are part of the course.

Remember, you don't need to do it all in one go - once you begin the training you have six weeks to complete it.

Be Proudly You

Last Tuesday (6 September) participants in the Future Leaders programme gathered for a networking event hosted by Shazia Hussain, our new Deputy Chief Executive.

Shazia spoke about her own experiences building her skills and overcoming barriers throughout her career, before training providers Mind Gym delivered an ice-breaker exercise and the participants networked with each other and members of the Extended Leadership Team who were also in attendance.

In June this year the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the first results of the 2021 Census for England and Wales.

Following a deep dive analysis of Waltham Forest’s data, the Data and Intelligence Team will host a tea and talk session open to all staff on Wednesday 21 September, 12.30-1.30pm. You do not have to have a background in data or analytics to attend.

Please use the link below to join the meeting.

Census 2021 Tea and Talk

The Women's Fellowship network will host a Tea and Talk from We Are Project Woman on menstrual health, Tuesday 20 September, 12-1pm. The focus will be on helping people who menstruate to better understand their bodies and hormones.

You will leave this workshop with a greater understanding of menstrual health and how to mitigate issues before they arise. The workshop will also be useful for those preparing for perimenopause and menopause.

Menstrual Health Tea and Talk

On Tuesday 27 September, 1-2pm, Gendered Intelligence will deliver a session called Trans Awareness: Top Tips. This will be 60 minute entry-level session that introduces some key ideas and information about trans-related matters and offers top tips for allyship. The session will:

• Explain what ‘trans’ means and describe the diversity of those who might use the term
• Introduce key concepts crucial to understanding trans people
• Offer some simple, practical approaches to managing terms and language
• Touch on the legislation relating to trans identities
• Outline ways to be a trans ally
• Provide links to further resources and help

Trans Awareness – Top Tips