#genderpay – The Orbital

You’ve probably heard or read about Orbital’s breaking story on the comments made by Principal Paul Layzell about the gender pay gap recently. But, the question is what can you do as a fellow student to combat this problem as you move ever closer to a career yourself? In late March, a group called RHOccupy camped outside the Principal’s office, campaigning against the lack of support for Royal Holloway’s lecturing staff during the UCU strikes. The outcome was incredible - not only did the Principal agree to sign their list of demands and meet with them to discuss their concerns, but this reflected a wider idea of how a demonstration of students can affect university politics. This does not just apply to the strikes. This is our university which means we have the power to instil as much ...

Royal Holloway Principal, Professor Layzell has claimed the university has a “transparent and fair pay system” despite having the seventh worst gender pay gap in the country at professorial level. Speaking at his last Staff Open Meeting in November, he claimed the problem was instead rooted in the fact there are not enough women going for promotion. In a recording of the meeting obtained by Orbital Magazine, the Principal claimed that “there are certain protected groups where there is a natural tendency to not have a go and put themselves in for promotion - sometimes that’s gender, sometimes it’s the BAME group”. The Principal is facing backlash from his “natural tendency” comments, with one member of staff in the Geography Department telling Orbital that it was “an example of ev...

Tag: #genderpay

The Gender Pay Gap: What Can You Do?

Sexism Storm Surrounds Royal Holloway Principal