Dr Dawn Burnham

The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) is a large research group within the Department of Biology, with staff and students from a wide diversity of backgrounds and countries. We are extremely proud of our diversity, but we acknowledge that everyone can do better to ensure inclusivity, including tackling implicit bias and giving space for everyone to be themselves. During the LGBT+ Allies workshop we discussed the negative consequences of ‘editing’, when people change their personal narrative because they don’t feel comfortable to be themselves in the workplace, and we identified actions to take forward to promote LGBT+ inclusion. In my role at WildCRU I hope that my Allies logo will provide some reassurance to my colleagues that I am aware of these issues and that I value their individuality, and by doing so, help amplify an atmosphere of support and trust across the University.