In this personal blog, Professor Catherine Pope, reflects on inclusive values and wellbeing during difficult and polarised times.
Living and working in turbulent times is not easy. Protecting my own mental health takes extra effort. The current political situation in the USA makes me fearful and angry: I’ve made a difficult decision not to visit a new grandchild there, which makes family WhatsApp chats more precious and also painful. Conversations with trans and queer friends who say that they worry about which toilet to use make me sad and angry. A Ukrainian guest brings that war to my kitchen table and stirs up similar emotions of fear, anger and helplessness.
This blog grew out of a series of disparate conversations on a range of topics that loosely fall under my ‘equality, diversity, and inclusion’ brief as Deputy Head of Department. I had talked through these ideas with trusted colleagues, exploring what should/could be said, and reflecting on the line between my formal role and my personal values. What follows is very much a personal view, not a blueprint for what the department or the senior team thinks, but I hope it might provide a foundation for deeper reflection and more conversations about these matters.
I love this Department’s diversity. Many of our students and staff come from across the globe and we are committed to the University’s idea of ‘Belonging’. But as a diverse community we are increasingly affected by the turbulent politics of our times. The Lancet recently noted, growing concerns about the impact of xenophobia and extremism on the wellbeing of healthcare workers, scientists, and minority communities. Many of us have professional and familial ties to places affected by conflict, and the increasingly polarised debates about race, gender and disability hit close to home.
The university is clear that staff have the right, within the law, to express their views, as set out in its freedom of speech code of practice. Instinctively I want to defend these freedoms – what I do on my own time, within the law, is not the University’s concern (whether that be cooking vegetarian food or joining a weekend demonstration). At the same time, I know that some debates and political acts can be experienced as discriminatory or threatening. Our focus as a department, and my role leading the People strand of our strategy, is to ensure that students and staff are treated fairly, and that everyone is supported to contribute fully to our community.
Most of us recognise that medicine and science depend on collaboration across borders, cultures, and disciplines. We also know that diversity can deepen our work and extend the reach of what we do. While we may hold differing views, our departmental values speak to a shared commitment to respectfulness and kindness that sits in the context of the wider University of Oxford ‘Everyone Belongs’ Strategic Plan. In line with this commitment to inclusion, last month the department circulated an email restating that we stand against racism, and all forms of hatred, intimidation, and exclusion. The replies I received were warmly positive; one simply said “this means a lot”.
How else can we respond in these turbulent times? For me, conversations and learning feel more vital than ever. Talking with non-binary colleagues reminds me that heteronormativity pervades daily life, and helps me think about how we can address diversity better in our research. Our Head of Department’s powerful inaugural lecture included a reminder of the unchallenged racism faced particularly by Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and African and Caribbean people in the 1970s. This lecture, along with our ‘Anti-racism allies’ book group and the University’s anti-racism network events helps me understand racism and how to tackle it.
I am reassured that groups at the University are working to make a positive difference, the Oxford Refugee Health Initiative health advocacy work and humanitarian efforts directed to rebuilding healthcare and medical education in conflict-affected settings are welcome examples.
There are opportunities to try to influence too. Behind the scenes here, the Department has engaged with the Vice-Chancellor and Diversity Officer regarding national immigration policy changes affecting international students and scholars, raising concerns about the ‘visa brake’ affecting students from Sudan, Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Myanmar, and earlier made representations about restrictions on students bringing dependent family to the UK.
More recently several colleagues here have volunteered to help OxPal with an education initiative for medical students in Palestine. These activities make me feel proud to work here, and reflect our commitment to diversity.
At a personal level I look for ‘small wins’ such as donating to humanitarian or equality focused organisations. Locally, Asylum Welcome https://www.asylum-welcome.org/ is one organisation that can make good use of such donations. (As a UK tax payer the Gift Aid scheme means that the charity gets even more money from my donation). I try to balance my consumption of current news with feel-good stories, and share these when I can – as a trade union member I enjoyed passing on the story that the annual Durham Pride celebrations were ‘saved’ by local unions, making this year’s Pride bigger and better than ever before https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hXHxndg8lTY.
I know that turbulent times and fractured politics push me towards anger and despair but I believe we will continue to have brave conversations, learn together, and I hope, take care of ourselves and each other.
Photo: 28 March 2026, London (C Pope)