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Maria Exall (born August 1960 [1] ) was the President of the Trades Union Congress for 2022–23, being appointed for her work in the Communication Workers Union.
Maria Exall has a PhD in Philosophical Theology from King's College London. [2]
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]
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]
Exall is a Catholic. [2] She is also a lesbian and has been in a civil partnership with Dame Angela Eagle since 2008. [3] [9] [10] [11]