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Policy on gender segregation

12 December 2013

UCL welcomes the announcement by Universities UK that it is withdrawing the case study on gender segregation published in its recent guidance "External Speakers in Higher Education Institutions", pending clarification of the legal position with regard to events on university campuses.

Quad in Autumn  

UCL's policy on gender segregation at events and meetings is as follows:

  • UCL's general expectation is that any event or meeting held in UCL premises will be open to all, regardless of gender. There are exceptions to this (for example training sessions of men's and women's sports clubs), but events should be open to all unless they are specifically designed for one gender or another.
  • There should be no enforced segregation by gender at events. Pre-allocation of seats by gender, and the use of stewards to direct persons attending a meeting to gender segregated seating are unacceptable.
  • It is acceptable for individuals attending events to choose to sit with members of their own gender. If individuals attending an event wish to segregate themselves on a voluntary basis, it is not acceptable for other members of the audience to compel them to mix, and to do so may constitute harassment.

Links:

IERA event at UCL on 9 March 2013

Universities UK