{"id":1008,"date":"2019-05-23T09:24:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T09:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/?p=1008"},"modified":"2019-05-23T11:10:31","modified_gmt":"2019-05-23T11:10:31","slug":"meanwhile-at-the-professional-services-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/05\/23\/meanwhile-at-the-professional-services-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"MEANWHILE AT THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONFERENCE"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the exciting closing plenary of the 2018 Professional Services Conference, where the facilitators helped the audience to uncover the ‘implicit assumptions’ at the University, the overwhelming message was that Professional Services staff don’t feel as valued as academic staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

How could the organisers top this for the 2019 conference? Hmmm, let’s think: why not invite a keynote speaker who specialises in the kind of casual sexism that is the stock-in-trade of a 1970s comedian?<\/span><\/p>\n

Will Kintish, who spoke about how to become a better networker, and describes himself as ‘the UK’s leading authority on Business Networking Skills training’, spiced up his 58 minutes on the stage, with the following comedic gems:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) He asked a woman in the audience to smile. Think that’s a pathetic thing to complain about?\u00a0 Take a look at this https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/av\/magazine-35422966\/stop-telling-women-to-smile<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

2) He complimented his son-in-law for ‘taking his daughter off his hands’ and for producing his grandchildren. Presumably his son-in-law is part-seahorse.<\/span><\/p>\n

3) He compared the amount of time he has been married to his wife with the prison sentence for murder. Whilst this might (or might not) work as an in-joke between lifelong friends in a wedding speech, it’s pretty crap to talk about your spouse this way in a public forum.<\/span><\/p>\n

4) As part of his analysis of the kinds of groups people form in a networking situation, he asserted that women always stand in closed groups (thereby preventing others from talking to them) also stating that for women to open up these groups they will have to go ‘against your natural DNA’.\u00a0 In an academic institution that presumably values evidence-based claims, this seems to be a particularly stupid, as well as insulting, thing to say.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ha, you say, we’ve all heard worse down the pub, and these are certainly not the most sexist things a man on stage has ever said. What’s all the fuss about?<\/span><\/p>\n

Professional Services staff are largely women and amongst the lowest paid in the institution. This ‘top ten’ university has one of the worst gender pay gaps in the sector and recently failed to get an Athena Swan Bronze award for the institution. A current ‘pause’ on recruitment and regrades for Professional Services roles means that there will be more work dumped on fewer shoulders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year this section of the University said ‘we don’t feel valued’. And the University said, hold my coat, I’ll find you a mother-in-law joke.<\/span><\/p>\n

Portal news story on professional services conference (staffwall):<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/portal.lancaster.ac.uk\/intranet\/news\/article\/what-happened-at-this-years-professional-service-conference<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Link to Will Kintish presentation:<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/lancaster.box.com\/s\/xdh6zzekokzpsrsmzbpn2a6zsl370q3q<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

You can hear the quotes relevant to the points made above at:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) 18:08-18:20<\/span>
\n2) 19:00-19:20<\/span>
\n3) 23:40-23:52<\/span>
\n4) 39:09-39:21 and 40:38-41:06<\/span><\/p>\n

Will Kintish is on twitter. subtext does not recommend the use of the hashtag #ivebeenkintished to let him know what you think about his attitude to women.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the exciting closing plenary of the 2018 Professional Services Conference, where the facilitators helped the audience to uncover the ‘implicit assumptions’ at the University, the overwhelming message was that Professional Services staff don’t feel as valued as academic staff. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[518,507,508,509],"class_list":["post-1008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-issue-188","tag-professional-services-conference","tag-sexism","tag-will-kintish"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p99sHo-gg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1015,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/05\/23\/running-out-of-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":1008,"position":0},"title":"RUNNING OUT OF MONEY","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"May 23 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Reports of a curious chill emanating from D Floor have reached the subtext inbox. Apparently, Professional Services roles that are vacant are likely to, err... stay vacant, at least for the foreseeable future. Staff have reported to us that they have been told that new or replacement roles that have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":925,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/03\/01\/what-was-that-all-about-then\/","url_meta":{"origin":1008,"position":1},"title":"WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT, THEN?","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 1 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Once in a while something amazing happens. The University decides to engage with its Professional Services (PS) staff (albeit mainly those located in the Faculties) about their working lives in a way that's pretty good: a huge consultative exercise about how things can be made better, a listening exercise where\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":775,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/10\/11\/doctorin-the-pay-gap\/","url_meta":{"origin":1008,"position":2},"title":"DOCTORIN’ THE PAY GAP","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"October 11 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Following the recent rescue of her three new friends from the deadly vacuum of space, and her recollection of who she is, the Doctor is looking forward to new faces, new worlds and new times. Her trusty ship, the TARDIS, whirls through time and space, swerving exploding supernovae and sliding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1071,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/06\/28\/letters-24\/","url_meta":{"origin":1008,"position":3},"title":"LETTERS","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 28 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear subtext, It was very interesting to read your article 'Running out of money' in subtext Issue 188 regarding the vacancy management control. It was even more interesting that two weeks later there was much fanfare on the Staff Intranet announcing that Edward Roberts Court is to undergo a remodelling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "letters"","block_context":{"text":"letters","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/letters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":526,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/04\/26\/never-mind-the-gap\/","url_meta":{"origin":1008,"position":4},"title":"NEVER MIND THE GAP","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"April 26 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Lancaster, the University of the Year 2018, has come near the top of yet another league table: the gender pay gap rankings, that is. According to its own recently published figures (http:\/\/www.lancaster.ac.uk\/media\/lancaster-university\/content-assets\/documents\/edi\/GenderPayGapReport.pdf), Lancaster's gender pay gap of mean 27.7%, median 26.5%, against a sector average of mean 17.8% and median\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1146,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/06\/28\/subtext-189-imaginative-thinking-subtext\/","url_meta":{"origin":1008,"position":5},"title":"subtext 189 – ‘imaginative thinking subtext’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 28 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Every so often during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments:\u00a0subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/\u00a0 In this issue: editorial,\u00a0recruitment drive,\u00a0VC swan song,\u00a0pensions,\u00a0bailrigg fm,\u00a0dundee,\u00a0overheard on the spine,\u00a0art degree show review,\u00a0letters. ***************************************************** And so, we are almost at the end of our sixth VC's tenure. Professor Mark E Smith, CBE (as of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1008"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1026,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1008\/revisions\/1026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}