Maria Exall (born August 1960[1]) is the current President of the Trades Union Congress for 2022–23, being appointed for her work in the Communication Workers Union.

Education

Maria Exall has a PhD in Philosophical Theology from King’s College London.[2]

Trade unionism

Exall was a care worker, and joined the Confederation of Health Service Employees. In 1988, she moved to work for the BT Group as a communications engineer, and joined the Communication Workers' Union.[3][4] She became active with the Trades Union Congress (TUC), specialising on equality in the workplace and liaising with the affiliated Labour Party.[5] Exall supported Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election.[6]

Exall chairs the TUC LGBT+ Committee, and serves on the General Council of the TUC. She is also a vice president of the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom.[7] In 2022, she was elected as President of the TUC, the first out LGBT+ person to serve in the post.[4]

Other work

Exall is an honorary fellow of Catholic Social Thought and Practice in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University.[2] She was a founder member of the Cutting Edge Consortium, which argued that various exemptions for religious groups should be removed from the Equality Act 2010.[8]

Personal life

Exall is a Catholic.[2] She is also a lesbian and has been in a civil partnership with Angela Eagle since 2008.[3][9][10][11]

References

  1. "Maria Exall". Companies House. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Dr Maria Exall". Blackfriars Hall. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  3. 1 2 "Minister marries her lesbian partner". The Observer. 28 September 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Maria Exall has today (Thursday) been elected as the new President of the TUC at the union body's annual conference in Brighton". Trades Union Congress. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  5. Exall, Maria. "Trade unionists need a party on our side, and a government for working people". LabourList. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  6. Swerling, Gabriella (12 July 2016). "Eagle's partner spoke up for her rival". The Times.
  7. "TUC General Council members". Trades Union Congress. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  8. "Coalition opposes wide religious exemptions from the Equality Bill". Ekklesia. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  9. "A history of Christmas scandal past". BBC News. 22 December 1998. Archived from the original on 24 February 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  10. "Angela Eagle's partner backed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader". The Independent. 2016-07-12. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  11. "Angela Eagle: My pride at being first lesbian MP to 'marry'". Liverpool Daily Post. 11 September 2008. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008.
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