s someone with an academic/professional interest in sexualities and/or LGBT issues, we wondered if you could please help us with some research that we are currently conducting. In the first national survey of its kind, the Equality Challenge Unit has commissioned research into the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) staff and students in higher education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The results from this survey will be important because they will help the ECU to understand what issues, if any, adversely affect the career progress and experiences of LGBT staff and students in higher education. The findings will be used to identify issues that need to be addressed by the sector and will be published on the ECU website.

We are currently running an online survey http://www.equalsurvey.co.uk/ <https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.equalsurvey.co.uk/> for LGBT staff and students in higher education. We would be grateful if you could please take the time to fill in the survey, if you are eligible, and/or forward this email onto any LGBT colleagues (academic and support staff), students, or friends who work in HE. The survey will be available to complete until 14th November 2008. All responses will be treated in the strictest of confidence and no information given as an individual will be released by the ECU.

Thanks for your time,

Nichola Wood and Gill Valentine