Equality - Mary Collins

LGBT This year I had the honour of being the Ally Officer on the LGBT committee here in UCC. In the role of equality officer, I will continue to advocate the equality of all people, regardless of orientation.

I intend to continue to advocate the importance of the heterosexual community in supporting LGBT rights. As the LGBT community make up only approx. 10% of the population, we need the support of everyone to ensure we achieve equality for all orientations.

I aim to combat the discrimination against those who identify as LGBT, and I hope to do this in a variety of ways. I will use events and campaigns to advocate legislation guaranteeing the LGBT community the same rights as people who identify as heterosexual, e.g. under the current system, there are 169 differences between a civil union and a traditional marriage.

This discrimination is unacceptable and must be overturned.

I will also aim to encourage a welcome, secure and safe environment here at UCC for people of all orientations, emphasising through education that homophobic bullying/behaviours are not acceptable and will not be tolerated.

Unfortunately, Trans rights are seen as being up to 30 years behind the rights of other orientations in the LGBT community. This needs to be addressed urgently. As equality officer, I will promote an environment or understanding and security for those who identify as trans, through education and raising awareness in conjunction with the LGBT and other societies.

Gender As a woman, I am keenly aware of the glass ceiling concept and I aim to combat this mentality with progressive campaigns designed not only to empower women and men equally but also to challenge the status quo in the workplace, e.g. women are pain on average 13.9% less than men in the same positions/levels of their career. This is unacceptable. Instead of pitting them against each other, we need to promote equality among the genders, and ensure that everyone, regardless of gender, receives the recognition deserved for their endeavours.

Too many people believe that the number of genders is limited to two. As my time with the LGBT has taught me, there are many people who identify as both or neither, and these people also need to be catered to/ made welcome here in UCC. This also brings us back to the issue of trans rights and transphobia. I mean to take a firm stance, ensuring that such attitudes are not promoted here in UCC. International Ireland, though stereotypically portrayed as being open and friendly, can seem daunting to international students. Integration is both the main barrier and the key to ensuring all international students have a happy and enjoyable experience during their time in UCC. I want to bring together all the societies associated with foreign culture and languages, e.g.

UCC Muslim Culture society, etc. to increase awareness of their characteristics/ values through big events and collaborations. The International Fest being held in UCC this year is a