Raising the Bar for
Gender Equality
Professor Yvonne Galligan
Queen’s University Belfast
Prior to SWAN
•Began with a listening exercise in 2000 that involved all
university women
•Women felt isolated
• An agenda for change: short, medium and long-term
•The Queen’s Gender Initiative created to act on this
agenda, actively championed by successive ViceChancellors
•QGI began to pilot, evaluate, mainstream and monitor
progress in all gender equality matters
University of Southampton
20 March 2013
Early Progress
•In addressing impediments to gender equality and
women’s leadership, QGI began:
•Mentoring scheme
•Childcare and maternity cover provisions
•Targets and timetables
•Awareness-raising of promotion process
•Equal Pay
•Piloting and mainstreaming policy change
University of Southampton
20 March 2013
Changing the Visual Culture
University of Southampton
20 March 2013
The importance of Athena SWAN
•Framework to make progress
•raise Institutional pride in achievements
•bring ownership to School level
•First Athena award for women in Science (2003)
•Opportunity Now Education sector Award (2006)
•Top 50 Employer for Women (2011)
University of Southampton
20 March 2013
Athena SWAN in Schools
‘Changes we have made in my School because they are fair
and supportive of women are also fair and supportive for all
staff, and have contributed substantially to an increasingly
open, friendly and welcoming working environment.’
Professor Keith Bennett,
Head of School of Geography, Archaeology & Palaeoecology
University of Southampton
20 March 2013
Some Measures of Success
•In 2000, women occupied 11% of all
professorial positions - today it is 22%
•In 2006, there was one female Head of
School, now there are five (25%)
•In 2000, women held 26% of academic-related
posts, now almost 50%
•In 2000, women held 26% Senate seats, now
they have 40%
•Of 181 women mentored, 51% promoted
University of Southampton
20 March 2013
Using inspirational women to
keep motivation going
Being an effective
researcher seminar
Leading Women conference
University of Southampton
20 March 2013
An Integrated Approach to Equality:
the experience
•Mainstream all policies and activities across the
University
•Employ a variety of strategies and tools that act
on multiple levels – in association with top-level
commitment and unit-level ownership
•Deepen partnerships with key professional,
service and business organisations in the wider
community.
University of Southampton
20 March 2013
A work in progress
University of Southampton
20 March 2013