UCL DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY
GOWER ST
LONDON
WC1E 6BT
UK
28 November 2014
UCL Physics & Astronomy submission for JUNO Champion status
Diversity and gender balance are clear priorities for UCL and for this Department, and there
is obviously much work to be done in physics, as a subject, to improve them. The statistics in
the application show that while in some ways we lead the UK average, we at UCL still have
far to go.
As Head of Department, I am very aware that the process of engaging with project JUNO has
been enormously beneficial to the Department as a whole. We have been able to examine
the alignment between policy and practice both at UCL and Departmental level in areas
affecting the JUNO principles. For example, one notable success was that during the process
we succeeded in changing overall UCL policy and practice regarding library access for
students on maternity leave. We have vastly improved our data-collection and monitoring
processes, so that we know how well (or poorly!) we are doing and can track the impact of
various future initiatives and changes. The JUNO panel is now a standing, active panel, fully
engaged with departmental management and providing vital input on policy formation and
implementation. This will continue for the foreseeable future as we advance along the
directions outlined in the application.
While there is still work to be done, many positive changes have already been implemented,
and some are already having visible impact – as detailed in the application. The advice from
the visiting panel in terms of formalizing existing good practice, in order to communicate it
better and preserve it for the future, was important and is already being acted upon. Again,
this is detailed in the application.
In short, I believe the whole department is well engaged with supporting and implementing
the JUNO principles. Our application provides further details of the work we undertake to
support and ensure gender equality and our plans to enhance this in the coming years. I
hope the panel will agree that we are ready to take on JUNO champion status.
Yours faithfully,
Jon Butterworth
Head, UCL Physics and Astronomy
University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT
Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 3444
J.Butterworth@ucl.ac.uk
www.hep.ucl.ac.uk/~jmb
Application for Juno Champion Award
Department of Physics & Astronomy
University College London
28th November 2014
Contact for application:
Dr Ryan Nichol
r.nichol@ucl.ac.uk
0207 679 7266
Project(Juno(
The!opening!paragraph!of!the!Institute!of!Physics!Project!Juno!website!states:!“Project!Juno!was!
established!by!the!Institute!of!Physics!in!2007!in!response!to!best!practice!identified!from!the!Institute's!
Women!in!University!Physics!Departments:!A!Site!Visit!Scheme,!which!ran!from!2003J05.!The!aim!of!Juno!
is!to!recognize!and!reward!departments!that!can!demonstrate!they!have!taken!actions!to!address!the!
underJrepresentation!of!women!in!university!physics!and!to!encourage!better!practice!for!both!women!
and!men.”!
!
UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!recognises!that!it!has!some!way!to!go!before!it!is!a!truly!inclusive!
representation!of!the!diversity!of!the!UK.!Project!Juno!provides!a!mechanism!for!the!department!to!
improve!its!working!practices:!both!by!recognising!the!good!practices!that!are!already!entrenched!and!by!
learning!from!the!best!practices!of!other!departments.!Improving!working!practices!will!not!only!benefit!
women!in!the!department,!but!should!positively!influence!all!members!of!the!department!regardless!of!
role.!
!
Juno!is!helping!to!establish!good!working!practices!by!promoting!five!principles.!In!brief!these!principles!
are!
1) Transparent!Organisation!
2) Fair!Appointment!
3) Supportive!Career!Development!
4) Inclusive!Culture!
5) WorkJLife!Balance!
!
The!Juno!scheme!has!similar!goals!and!is!closely!linked!to!the!Athena!SWAN!Charter,!a!scheme!that!
recognises!excellent!employment!in!higher!education!across!science,!engineering!and!technology.!
!
About(UCL((
Since!its!inception!in!1826,!UCL!has!placed!a!high!value!on!inclusivity!and!diversity.!It!was!the!first!English!
university!to!admit!students!regardless!of!their!race,!class!or!religion.!It!was!also!the!first!English!
university!to!admit!men!and!women!on!equal!basis,!although!admittedly!this!step!was!only!taken!in!1878.!!
!
To!this!day!UCL!is!committed!to!developing!and!maintaining!an!institution!where!students!and!staff!from!
all!backgrounds!can!flourish.!The!university!has!already!been!awarded!a!university!wide!Athena!SWAN!
Bronze!Award,!which!it!has!held!since!2006!and!was!most!recently!renewed!in!2012.!In!addition,!13!
departments!have!received!Athena!SWAN!Silver!Awards!and!9!hold!bronze!awards,!with!more!applying!
this!year.!The!university!is!actively!encouraging!departmental!engagement!with!the!Athena!SWAN!and!IOP!
Juno!schemes!and!has!a!dedicated!Policy!Advisor!for!Athena!SWAN!and!women!in!Science,!Engineering!
and!Technology.!Progress!and!improvements!are!overseen!by!the!University’s!50:50!Group.!This!group!is!
responsible!for!gender!equality!across!the!institution!as!well!as!the!university!Athena!SWAN!applications!
and!action!plan.!This!group!is!chaired!by!Provost;!illustrating!the!commitment!and!engagement!of!senior!
management!at!UCL.!
1
!
About(UCL(Physics(&(Astronomy(
UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!is!an!internationally!renowned!centre!for!research!and!teaching.!Currently!
there!are!over!400!undergraduates!studying!BSc!or!MSci!degrees!in!Physics,!Astrophysics!or!Theoretical!
Physics.!There!are!over!100!undergraduate!students!studying!Natural!Sciences!with!Physics!as!one!of!
their!streams.!At!the!postgraduate!level!there!are!approximately!20!students!taking!taught!courses!
(principally!MSc)!and!150!students!registered!for!research!courses!(principally!PhD).!
!
The!department!is!one!of!the!largest!in!the!country!with!85!academic!staff!and!71!research!staff.!The!
department!is!organised!into!four!research!groups:!Atomic,!Molecular,!Optical!and!Positron!Physics;!
Astrophysics;!Condensed!Matter!and!Material!Physics;!High!Energy!Physics;!and!Biological!Physics!which!
was!created!in!September!2014.!Each!of!the!research!groups!has!an!international!reputation!for!
excellence!in!research.!The!research!groups!operate!with!a!certain!amount!of!autonomy!and!organise!
independent!seminar!series,!group!meetings!and!social!events.!Each!one!of!the!research!groups!is!larger!
than!some!university!physics!departments,!and!due!to!space!limitations!the!groups!are!not!all!coJsited.!
The!sheer!size!and!separation!of!the!research!groups!provides!a!challenge!to!departmental!cohesion,!and!
in!recent!years!many!efforts!have!been!made!to!improve!the!sense!of!the!department!as!an!integrated!
whole.!The!Biological!Physics!group!is!very!new!the!remainder!of!this!document!will!discuss!the!four!
research!groups!that!existed!in!August!2014.!
!
The!department!utilises!the!research!group!structure!to!provide!line!management!for!research!and!
academic!staff.!Researchers!are!typically!line!managed!by!an!academic!with!academics!receiving!line!
management!from!the!head!of!research!group.!The!head!of!research!group!positions!rotate!on!an!
approximately!5Jyear!timescale.!All!of!the!senior!professors,!including!heads!of!groups,!are!line!managed!
by!the!head!of!department.!Technical!staff!members!are!typically!line!managed!by!an!academic!from!their!
research!group.!All!teaching!staff!members!are!line!managed!by!the!head!of!teaching,!whilst!the!
administrative!staff!members!are!line!managed!by!the!departmental!manager.!
!
In!comparison!with!other!physics!cost!centres!across!the!UK,!the!department!appears!to!be!successful!in!
recruiting,!retaining!and!promoting!women,!as!demonstrated!by!our!comparatively!high!percentage!of!
female!professors.!UCL!has!policies!of!paid!parental!leave!beyond!the!government!requirements,!and!in!
recent!years!there!have!been!an!increasing!number!of!parents!taking!this!leave.!However,!it!is!still!true!
that!not!everyone!is!aware!of!the!university!policy!and!more!effort!needs!to!be!placed!in!advertising!the!
options!available!for!flexible!working.!
!
The!past!few!years!have!seen!a!modest!increase!in!the!percentage!of!female!undergraduates!and!this!has!
returned!UCL!to!its!historical!position!of!attracting!a!higher!percentage!of!female!students!than!the!
national!average.!As!ever,!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!is!keen!to!attract!the!best!possible!undergraduates!in!
the!most!inclusive!fashion.!
Summary(of(document(
!
!
In!the!following!sections!we!will!show!that!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!have!made!significant!progress!in!
identifying!both!the!areas!of!good!practice!in!the!department!and!the!areas!in!which!there!is!some!room!
for!improvement.!This!document!is!structured!into!six!sections:!
!
A!–!Organisational!framework!
!!
B!–!Progress!since!Juno!Practitioner!
!
C!–!The!Juno!Principles!
!
D!–!Quantitative!Evidence!
!
E!–!Qualitative!Evidence!
!
F!–!Action!Plan!
!
!
2
!
Section(A:(Organisational(Framework(
UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!is!committed!to!developing!and!maintaining!a!department!where!staff!and!
students!from!all!backgrounds!can!flourish.!We!recognise!that!for!this!to!happen!we!must!take!a!proactive!
stance!in!both!creating!equality!of!opportunity!and!in!promoting!diversity,!with!a!robust!organizational!
framework!in!place!to!back!this!up.!The!department!is!a!keen!supporter!of!the!five!principles!of!Project!
Juno,!and!is!proud!to!have!been!recognised!as!a!Juno!Practitioner!since!October!2010.!
!
UCL!is!an!institutional!Athena!SWAN!Bronze!Award!holder,!and!currently!thirteen!departments!have!had!
their!good!practice!recognised!by!the!award!of!a!departmental!Athena!SWAN!Silver!Award.!This!
demonstrates!the!universityJwide!commitment!to!the!ideals!of!Project!Juno.!However,!commitment!to!
ideals!is!not!in!itself!sufficient!to!change!a!culture,!and!real,!practical,!measures!are!essential!to!see!a!
meaningful!change!in!the!representation!of!women!in!the!science,!engineering!and!technology!faculties.!
Fortunately,!UCL!is!committed!to!make!these!practical!changes!and!many!equalityJdriving!policies!and!
procedures!are!already!entrenched!at!UCL!(for!example,!regarding!parental!leave!and!flexible!working).!
!
The!Juno!committee!of!the!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!was!formed!in!January!2010,!tasked!with!reviewing!
current!practices!and!implementing!and!monitoring!the!five!principles!of!the!Juno!project.!The!committee!
includes!representation!from!all!four!of!the!research!groups!in!the!department!along!with!representatives!
from!the!technical!and!administrative!staff.!!There!is!a!notional!period!of!service!of!three!years!for!
ordinary!members!of!the!committee,!although!several!committee!members!have!provided!continuity!by!
serving!for!a!longer!period.!The!committee!membership!is!detailed!in!Table!1,!with!past!members!shown!
in!Table!2.!
Name
Group
Departmental Title
David Brooks
Astrophysics
Senior Experimental Officer
Emma Chapman
Astrophysics
Louise Dash
Teaching
Post-Doctoral Research
Fellow
Teaching Fellow
Dorothy Duffy
CMMP
Claire Jordan
Administrative
Nella Laricchia
AMOPP
Reader & Postgraduate
Teaching
Administrative support,
Secretary of Juno Committee
Professor
Laura Manenti
HEP
PhD student
James Millen
AMOPP
Research Associate
Ryan Nichol
HEP
Raman Prinja
Astrophysics
Nguyen TK Thanh
CMMP, Biological Physics
Reader, Chair of Juno
Committee
Professor, Deputy Head of
Department, Head of
Teaching
Professor
Robert Thorne
HEP
David Waters
HEP
Hilary Wigmore
Administrative
Professor, Postgraduate
Admissions
Professor, Undergraduate
Admissions
Departmental manager,
Equal Opportunities Officer
Table 1: Membership of Juno Committee
!
!
!
3
!
!
!
Name
Group
Departmental Title
Start Date
End Date
Janet Anders
AMOPP
Fellowship, Juno Chair
01/2010
09/2013
Derek Attree
HEP
10/2011
12/2013
Alan Aylward
Astrophysics
Senior Technical,
Safety Officer
Professor, Admissions
01/2010
12/2011
Mike Barlow
Astrophysics
Professor
01/2010
12/2012
Stephen Bieniek
HEP
PhD student
10/2011
12/2013
Tim Coughlin
HEP
Post-Doc
10/2010
12/2011
Ian Furniss
Astrophysics
01/2010
09/2013
Patrick Guio
Astrophysics
Reader,
Undergraduate Tutor
Research Fellow
11/2011
09/2014
Tony Harker
CMMP
Professor, Deputy HoD
09/2011
12/2013
Matthew Hoban
AMOPP
PhD Student
01/2010
12/2011
Donnacha Kirk
Astrophysics
PhD Student
01/2010
09/2011
Tania Monterio
AMOPP
Professor, Admissions
01/2010
12/2011
Andrew Morris
CMMP
Post-Doc
01/2010
09/2012
Alexandra
Olaya-Castro
Jennifer Smillie
AMOPP
Fellowship
01/2010
12/2011
HEP
Post-Doc
01/2010
09/2010
Jonathan
Tennyson
Martin Uhrin
AMOPP
Professor, HoD
01/2010
12/2012
CMMP
PhD student
06/2011
09/2014
Stan Zochowski
CMMP
Senior Lecturer,
01/2010
12/2011
Undergraduate Tutor
Table 2: Past members of the Juno Committee
!
The!composition!of!the!Juno!Committee!reflects!the!wide!support!for!good!working!practices!throughout!
the!department.!The!14!members!(8!women,!6!men)!represent!the!full!spectrum!of!the!department!from!
PhD!student!to!professor,!including!representatives!from!both!the!technical!and!administrative!staff.!The!
committee!includes!the!two!departmental!admissions!tutors,!the!equal!opportunities!officer!and!the!
deputy!head!of!department.!The!committee!meets!four!times!per!year,!with!one!meeting!dedicated!to!
monitoring!staff!and!student!data!collected!in!the!previous!academic!year.!In!addition!to!analysing!central!
collected!data,!the!committee!has!also!conducted!two!surveys!of!the!department!(2011!&!2013)!to!analyse!
qualitative!evidence!about!the!working!practices!of!the!department.!The!wider!departmental!body!are!
informed!about!the!activities!of!the!Juno!Committee!through!the!minutes!of!committee!meetings!that!are!
uploaded!to!the!staff!intranet,!through!presentations!at!the!twiceJyearly!allJstaff!meetings!and!in!the!
annual!Juno!Report!on!the!UCL!P&A!intranet.!
!
The!organisational!structure!of!the!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!department!is!shown!in!Figure!1.!Each!of!the!
organisational!entities!listed!in!the!chart!have!representation!on!the!Juno!Committee.!The!Juno!Committee!
report!is!a!standing!agenda!item!to!the!Departmental!Board!and!the!management!meetings!of!the!research!
groups.!
!
Over!the!last!four!years!the!Juno!committee!has!become!embedded!in!the!workings!of!UCL!Physics!&!
Astronomy,!and!has!begun!to!have!impact!on!the!staff!and!students!of!the!department!and!indeed!those!of!
the!wider!university.!The!committee!will!be!a!permanent!legacy!of!the!department’s!involvement!with!the!
Project!Juno,!and!will!continue!to!ensure!the!department!remains!an!open,!inclusive!place!of!work!and!
study!dedicated!to!scientific!excellence.!Beyond!this!application!round,!the!aim!of!the!department!is!to!
become!better!integrated!with!the!collegeJwide!equality!and!diversity!promotion!effort.!Specifically!the!
department!will!investigate!how!it!can!provide!support!to!its!affiliate!departments,!Space!and!Climate!
Physics!and!London!Centre!for!Nanotechnology,!who!are!progressing!on!their!Juno!and/or!Athena!SWAN!
journey.!Ultimately,!the!goal!of!the!department!will!be!to!aim!for!an!Athena!SWAN!Gold!Award.
4
!
Departmental!Board!
Support!Areas!
Technical!
Juno!Committee!
Research!
Administrative!
Astrophysics!
Atomic,!Molecular,!
Optical!&!Positron!
Physics!(AMOPP)!
Condensed!Matter!&!
Materials!Physics!
(CMMP)!
High!Energy!Physics!
(HEP)!
Bio!Physics!(October!
2014)!
Teaching!Areas!
Departmental!Teaching!
Committee!
(Undergraduate)!
Postgraduate!Teaching!
Committee!
!
Figure 1: The organisation of the UCL Physics & Astronomy department. The Juno Committee
includes representation from each of the other entities shown in the chart. The Juno
Committee reports at the departmental board and to each of the research groups.
!
(
5
!
Section(B:(Progress(since(Practitioner(
!
UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!was!awarded!Juno!Practitioner!status!in!2010;!the!status!was!renewed!in!2012.!
Our!application!for!progressing!to!Juno!Champion!status!relies!heavily!on!the!advances!we!have!made!
over!the!last!four!years.!These!advances!centre!on:!
• Embedding!the!Juno!Principles!within!the!working!of!the!department.!
• Restructuring!the!reporting!structure!of!the!department!and!research!groups!to!ensure!that!the!
Juno!Committee!can!effectively!communicate!with!department!and!group!management!
structures.!
• Significantly!improving!our!data!collection!procedures,!relying!heavily!on!the!support!provided!
by!UCL’s!Athena!SWAN!Policy!Advisor,!Harriet!Jones.!
• Improving!the!communication!within!the!department!through!the!instigation!of!biannual!all!staff!
meetings!(previously!there!were!annual!academicJonly!meetings).!
• Progress!in!understanding!the!issues!affecting!PhD!students,!through!the!implementation!of!a!
panJdepartment!postgraduate!student!society,!which!reports!issues!directly!to!the!postgraduate!
tutor.!
• The!initiation!of!the!bimonthly!PostJdoctoral!forum,!which!reports!issues!affecting!the!PostJDocs!
directly!to!the!Head!of!Department.!
• Improvements!in!our!qualitative!data!gathering,!through!the!biannual!departmental!Juno!survey!
• Significant!progress!against!our!Juno!Practitioner!Action!Plan.!
!
The!Juno!Practitioner!application!contained!a!great!deal!of!statistical!and!survey!information!about!the!
department.!However,!at!that!time!our!procedures!for!collecting!data!were!not!very!efficient!and!much!of!
the!data!collection!required!laborious!work!to!piece!together!an!incomplete!picture!of!the!department.!In!
the!intervening!years!UCL!has!become!much!committed!to!addressing!the!issues!affecting!women!in!
science,!engineering!and!technology!–!thanks!in!a!large!part!to!the!stance!of!funding!agencies!in!the!life!
sciences.!This!collegeJwide!commitment!has!greatly!streamlined!our!data!collection!procedures,!and!we!
now!have!annual!access!to!gender!disaggregated!data!on:!the!staff!profile;!the!student!body;!student!
applications;!staff!turnover;!staff!promotions;!staff!recruitment!and!training.!This!is!discussed!in!Section(
C:(Quantitative(Evidence.!
!
In!May!2012,!an!IOP!Juno!Panel!visited!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!to!discuss!our!progression!towards!Juno!
Champion!status.!The!visit!was!invaluable!as!the!panel!identified!a!number!of!areas!in!which!the!
department!could!improve!on!its!journey!towards!Champion!status.!The!panel!particularly!noted!some!
weaknesses!regarding!the!reporting!structure!of!the!Juno!committee!to!the!Head!of!Department!and!the!
Head!of!Groups.!Following!this!visit!a!number!of!changes!were!made!to!the!structure!of!the!Juno!
Committee,!including:!
• Appointing!named!representatives!of!each!research!group!to!serve!on!both!the!Juno!committee!
and!the!research!group!management!board,!ensuring!there!is!direct!communication!between!the!
Juno!Committee!and!the!research!groups.!
• Appointing!the!chair!of!the!Juno!Committee!to!the!departmental!board,!which!oversees!the!
running!of!the!department.!This!provides!a!direct!line!of!communication!between!the!Juno!
Committee!and!the!“executive!branch”!of!the!department.!The!Departmental!Board!consists!of!the!
Head!and!Deputy!Head!of!Department,!Heads!of!Group,!Directors!of!PostJ!and!UnderJgraduate!
Studies,!Enterprise!Czar!and!the!Chair!of!the!Juno!Committee.!The!Juno!Committee!report!is!a!
standing!action!item!on!the!agenda!during!each!termly!meeting!of!the!Departmental!Board.!!
• The!appointment!of!Claire!Jordan!as!secretary!of!the!Juno!Committee,!to!provide!the!necessary!
administration!support!for!the!work!of!the!committee.!Her!time!and!skills!have!added!a!muchJ
needed!degree!of!professionalism!to!the!committees!working.!
• The!appointment!of!Raman!Prinja!to!the!Juno!Committee,!replacing!Tony!Harker!who!retired,!
meant!that!during!the!weekly!departmental!management!meetings!two!of!the!three!participants!
(Raman!Prinja!and!Hilary!Wigmore)!are!members!of!the!Juno!Committee.!This!ensures!that!at!the!
highest!level!the!department!is!invested!in!the!Juno!Process.!
These!changes!have!helped!cement!the!Juno!Committee!within!the!department’s!upper!management!
structures,!ensuring!that!there!is!effective!communication!between!all!parts!of!the!department.!!
.!!
!
!
!
!
!
6
!
Progress!against!Juno!Practitioner!Action!Plan!
!
Our!Juno!Practitioner!application!included!a!23Jpoint!action!plan!aimed!at!improving!procedures!within!
the!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!department!and!improving!our!understanding!of!the!issues!affecting!all!
members!of!the!department.!There!has!been!significant!progress!on!the!vast!majority!of!the!actions:!
• Principle!1!–!The!actions!concentrated!on!improving!our!ability!to!collect!quantitative!and!
qualitative!data!about!the!staff!and!student!body,!as!discussed!above!we!have!made!great!strides!
in!this!area.!
• Principle!2!–!The!actions!were!focussed!on!improving!the!departmental!induction!policies.!Whilst!
significant!improvements!have!been!made!to!the!welcome!pack!and!staff!handbook,!the!aim!that!
all!new!staff!should!be!introduced!to!key!members!of!the!department!has!not!yet!been!achieved!
(Action(2.1ABC).!
• Principle!3!–!This!is!an!area!in!which!our!actions!have!not!had!as!significant!an!impact!as!we!were!
hoping!for.!Progress!has!been!made!in!improving!the!knowledge!of!academic!promotion!
procedures,!but!we!have!not!made!a!significant!improvement!to!the!perception!of!appraisals!
amongst!the!technical!staff!and!our!postJdocs!have!yet!to!significantly!engage!with!the!
postdoctoral!mentoring!scheme!(Action(3.1A,(3.1B).!!
• Principle!4!–!The!actions!in!this!area!have!seen!some!significant!progress!(publishing!committee!
membership!on!the!website,!better!promotion!of!staff!handbook,!collection!of!data!on!seminar!
and!colloquia!speakers),!although!we!still!have!an!onJgoing!effort!to!improve!the!awareness!of!
formal!and!informal!procedures!when!things!go!wrong!(see!harassment!and!bullying!discussion!
in!Section(D:(Qualitative(Evidence).!(Action(4.1J,(4.1K)!
• Principle!5!–!Our!actions!in!this!area!have!resulted!in!improved!understanding!of!the!takeJup!of!
flexible!working!and!we!are!beginning!to!formalise!some!of!the!longJstanding!informal!
arrangements!that!the!department!operates.!(see!Section(D:(Qualitative(Evidence).!
• Other!actions!–!We!have!made!significant!strides!in!this!area,!improving!our!admissions!
procedures!which!has!resulted!in!an!increase!in!our!female!undergraduate!intake,!changing!
college!policy!on!students!on!maternity!leave!and!ensuring!nonJacademic!staff!are!included!in!the!
departmental!staff!meetings.!
!
!
!
!
7
!
Section(C:(The(Five(Principles(
!
In!this!section!we!will!discuss!how!the!department!is!committed!to!the!five!principles!of!Juno.!At!some!
level!this!can!be!viewed!as!an!executive!summary!of!the!application.!
Principle!1:!Robust!organisational!framework!
!
The!senior!management!of!the!department!are!clearly!committed!to!the!Juno!process.!The!department!
management!have!worked!hard!to!ensure!that!there!are!the!necessary!communication!and!reporting!
mechanisms!that!are!critical!to!allow!good!practice!to!flow!to!and!from!all!areas!of!the!department.!Some!
of!the!highlights!of!the!department’s!effort!to!establish!a!robust!organisational!framework!include:!
• The!establishment,!in!2010,!of!the!Juno!Committee,!with!its!broad!membership!including!
professors,!graduate!students,!postJdocs,!administrative!staff,!technical!staff!and!representatives!
of!all!of!the!research!groups.!
• The!fact!that!twoJthirds!of!the!departmental!management!(the!departmental!administrator!and!
the!deputy!head!of!department)!serve!as!exJofficio!members!of!the!Juno!Committee.!
• The!successful!rotation!of!the!chair!of!the!committee,!with!the!chair!serving!for!a!notional!
application!cycle!of!three!years!(the!current!chair!will!be!replaced!in!2015,!having!served!since!
2012).!
• The!appointment!of!the!chair!of!the!Juno!Committee!to!the!Departmental!Board,!which!is!charged!
with!overseeing!the!running!of!the!department.!
• The!appointment!of!research!group!Juno!representatives!who!serve!on!both!the!group!
management!committees!and!the!Juno!Committee.!
• The!establishment!of!a!postJgraduate!student!committee,!reporting!issues!affecting!the!
postgraduate!student!body!to!the!postgraduate!tutor.!
• The!start!of!a!postdoctoral!forum!to!provide!the!postJdocs!in!the!department!a!direct!reporting!
route!to!the!head!of!department.!
• Providing!funding!for!catering!and!organisational!costs!for!the!postgraduate!student!social!
meetings,!the!postdoctoral!forum!meetings!and!a!monthly!“women!in!physics”!lunch!meeting.!
• The!allocation!of!administration!support!for!the!Juno!Committee.!
!
The!Juno!Committee!continues!to!monitor!genderJdisaggregated!quantitative!and!qualitative!data!on!an!
annual!basis.!Sections(C&D!contain!a!detailed!discussion!of!this!data,!a!few!highlights!include:!
• We!currently!have!a!slightly!higher!percentage!of!female!undergraduates!than!the!national!
average!for!physics.!
• Almost!25%,!21!out!of!85,!of!our!academic!staff!(lecturer!and!above)!are!women!including!nearly!
19%,!6!out!of!32,!at!the!professor!grade.!Both!of!these!are!significantly!above!the!national!
average,!showing!we!are!successful!in!both!recruiting!and!promoting!talented!female!scientists.!It!
is!very!encouraging!that!our!percentage!of!women!academics!has!grown!over!the!last!three!years!
during!which!time!the!department!has!grown!from!67!academics!to!85.!
• The!introduction!of!a!biannual!departmental!staff!survey,!which!has!shed!light!on!staff!views!over!
a!range!of!subjects!from!appraisals,!harassment!and!bullying,!to!stress!levels!due!to!long!working!
hours.!This!has!resulted!in!a!number!of!new!actions!and!initiatives!that!are!discussed!in!Section(
D.!
!
!
Principle!2:!Appointment!and!selection!
!
The!department!benefits!from!a!number!of!college!policies!that!are!designed!to!ensure!UCL!recruits!a!
diverse!workforce!in!a!fair!manner.!The!department!has!built!on!these!college!requirements!to!ensure:!
• All!job!adverts!explicitly!state!that!UCL!is!committed!to!equality!and!diversity!and!link!to!feature!
the!college!Athena!SWAN!bronze!award.!
• Mandatory!equality!and!diversity!online!training!for!all!staff.!At!the!last!department!staff!meeting!
this!point!was!stressed!and!all!staff!were!reminded!that!completion!of!the!equality!and!diversity!
would!be!viewed!as!a!prerequisite!for!successful!probation,!promotion!and!appraisal.!UCL’s!policy!
on!equality!and!diversity!training!only!covers!new!staff,!the!extension!of!this!to!cover!existing!
staff!is!a!new!departmental!policy.!
• A!mandatory!requirement!that!at!least!25%!of!each!appointment!committee!is!female.!The!
department!strictly!adheres!to!this!requirement.!
8
!
•
•
•
•
!
•
A!mandatory!requirement!that!all!staff!serving!on!appointment!panels!have!taken!the!recruitment!
trainingJcourse,!which!covers!the!legal!implications!of!the!2010!Equality!Act!and!discusses!
unconscious!bias.!
The!use!of!the!college!online!application!system!for!all!jobs,!allowing!for!monitoring!any!gender!
bias!in!the!recruitment!process.!The!department!has!analysed!the!recruitment!data!from!the!last!
four!years!and!have!found!no!significant!gender!bias,!beyond!the!initial!gender!balance!of!
applicants.!!
A!number!of!our!actions!are!aimed!at!addressing!the!gender!imbalance!of!applicants!for!research!
and!academic!jobs.!
Revamping!the!welcome!pack!for!all!new!staff,!including!an!induction!checklist!to!ensure!that!all!
staff!are!suitably!inducted!into!the!department.!
The!September!annual!staff!meeting!includes!and!introduction!to!the!department,!
Principle!3:!Career!progression!and!promotion!
!
The!department!is!committed!to!creating!an!environment!in!which!all!staff!are!valued!and!are!able!to!
progress!on!their!career!path,!whether!that!is!progressing!at!UCL!or!outside!of!the!department.!Some!of!
the!ways!in!which!the!department!is!ensuring!this!include:!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The!implementation!of!the!college!appraisal!policy,!which!is!designed!to!identify!career!
development!opportunities!for!staff.!!
The!provision!of!mentors!for!all!new!members!of!academic!staff.!
Preliminary!discussions!about!the!implementation!of!a!suitable!and!sustainable!mentoring!
scheme!for!postJdocs!and!PhD!students.!Our!initial!attempts!at!setting!up!a!postJdoctoral!
mentoring!scheme!was!not!successful!due!to!a!lack!of!engagement!from!the!postJdocs,!we!will!
attempt!to!revitalise!this!scheme!and!improve!our!promotion!of!the!scheme.!
Annual!research!group!career!days!at!which!exJgroup!members!are!invited!back!to!discuss!their!
career!path!since!leaving!UCL!for!academic!or!nonJacademic!jobs.!This!was!an!initiative!set!up!by!
the!astrophysics!group!that!has!since!been!adopted!by!the!other!research!groups.!
The!consideration!of!all!eligible!teaching!and!academic!staff!for!senior!promotion!(to!grades!9!&!
10)!at!the!September!meeting!of!the!Departmental!Board.!The!department!has!instituted!a!
requirement!that!there!is!a!gender!balance!on!the!Departmental!Board!when!it!is!acting!as!the!
Promotions!Board;!although!to!date!there!have!always!been!sufficient!women!members!of!the!
board!to!avoid!emergency!conscription.!
Announcements!of!the!annual!senior!promotion!and!professorial!payJbanding!in!the!
departmental!email!newsletter!in!the!four!weeks!before!meeting!of!the!Departmental!Board.!
The!Juno!committee!has!an!action!to!review!any!gender!bias!in!the!staff!put!forward!for!
promotion!by!the!department,!particularly!as!in!2012/13!there!were!8!men!promoted!to!Reader!
but!no!women!(although!two!women!were!promoted!to!Professor!in!2012/13,!and!in!the!last!
round!there!were!two!women!and!two!men!promoted!to!Reader).!!
!
Principle!4:!Open!and!inclusive!culture!
!
The!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!is!relatively!large!department!in!which!the!individual!research!groups!are!
larger!than!many!of!the!physics!departments!around!the!country.!This!presents!specific!challenges!when!
trying!to!ensure!that!there!is!an!open!and!inclusive!culture!throughout!the!department,!since!it!is!not!
possible!to!interact!with!everyone!in!the!department.!Some!of!the!ways!that!the!department!is!promoting!
an!inclusive!culture!include:!
• The!establishment!of!the!twice!yearly!staff!meetings!to!which!all!staff!members!(academic,!
administrative,!research!and!technical)!are!invited.!
• Standing!Juno!slots!at!the!departmental!staff!meetings,!the!departmental!board!meetings!and!all!
research!group!management!meetings.!
• Increasing!the!number!of!department!colloquia!and!ensuring!that!there!is!an!opportunity!for!
socialising!after!each!colloquium.!!
• The!institution!of!the!postgraduate!student!“pizza!and!talk”!evenings!to!which!all!PhD!students!in!
the!department!are!invited.!
• Last!year!saw!the!reinstatement!of!a!departmental!Christmas!party,!which!may!become!an!annual!
social!gathering.!
9
!
•
•
•
The!setting!up!of!a!postdoctoral!forum!to!enable!the!young!researchers!in!the!department!to!
interact!more!easily!with!the!peers!in!different!research!groups.!
Changing!the!student!prize!giving!ceremony!into!the!Physics!&!Astronomy!gala!dinner,!an!event!
to!celebrate!the!achievements!of!student,!staff!and!alumni.!
Monitoring!the!gender!of!speakers!at!departmental!colloquia!and!group!seminars,!identifying!a!
lack!of!female!speakers!and!instituting!goals!that!have!already!led!to!an!increase!in!the!number!of!
female!speakers.!
!
The!department!operates!an!exemplar!workload!distribution!model!that!ensures!that!the!teaching!and!
administrative!roles!in!the!department!are!distributed!in!a!fair!and!transparent!manner.!The!model!is!
described!in!detail!in!Section(D,!but!some!of!the!key!features!are:!
• A!points!allocation!for!every!teaching!and!administrative!role!in!the!department,!including!Chair!
of!the!Juno!Committee.!
• The!point!allocation!for!all!teaching!and!enabling!loads!is!viewable!from!the!departmental!
intranet!web!pages.!
• An!opportunity!to!volunteer!for!specific!teaching!and!enabling!duties.!
• A!list!on!the!departmental!intranet!of!all!staff!and!their!allocation!and!reason!for!any!reduced!
load,!e.g.!probation,!fellowship,!sabbatical,!buyout,!etc.!
!
Principle!5:!Flexible!working!
!
The!department!supports!flexible!working,!and!realises!that!in!the!21st!century!world!an!employer!needs!
to!be!flexible!to!ensure!that!staff!are!allowed!to!flourish.!UCL!has!a!number!of!excellent!policies!that!the!
department!has!implemented!to!ensure!flexible!working!is!a!reality!for!many.!Some!of!the!ways!the!
department!support!flexible!and!partJtime!working!include:!
• Offering!18Jweeks!of!full!paid!maternity!leave!plus!governmental!leave;!there!have!been!at!least!
six!women!on!maternity!leave!in!the!last!3!years.!
• Women!returning!from!maternity!leave!have!a!nil!teaching!load!for!the!first!term!(UCL!policy).!
• Offering!4Jweeks!of!fully!paid!paternity!leave,!and!ensuring!that!the!department!arranges!
teaching!and!administrative!cover!for!this!period,!there!have!been!at!least!five!men!who!have!
taken!paternity!leave!in!the!last!3!years.!
• One!term!in!seven!can!be!taken!as!sabbatical!leave,!and!it!is!possible!to!stay!at!UCL!during!this!
period.!
• Allowing!and!encouraging!the!use!of!partJtime!working!(currently!there!are!four!members!of!staff!
who!are!working!partJtime).!
• UCL!policy!states!that!the!coreJhours!are!10:00J16:00,!the!majority!of!meetings!are!arranged!
during!this!time.!Staff!social!events,!such!as!colloquia!receptions!are!advertised!weeks!or!months!
in!advance!to!provide!a!chance!for!parents!and!carers!to!make!any!necessary!arrangements.!
• The!department!is!in!the!process!of!solidifying!its!informal!arrangements!for!flexible!working!to!
ensure!that!all!members!of!the!department!understand!that!this!is!a!right!that!they!have.!These!
new!rules!will!be!advertised!in!the!newsletter!and!documented!in!the!departmental!staff!
handbook,!which!is!updated!annually.!
!
!
!
!
10
!
Section(D:(Quantitative(Evidence(
Undergraduate!Data!
Figure!2!shows!the!gender!breakdown!of!undergraduate!students!studying!Physics!at!UCL!and!in!the!UK!
as!a!whole!over!the!past!9!years.!The!dip!in!2008/09!is!an!anomalously!low!year!with!marginal!statistical!
significance,!although!since!that!time!the!fraction!is!a!relatively!stable!3J4%!higher!than!the!UK!average.!
The!longJterm!aim!is!to!increase!this!percentage!to!30%!(Action(1.2B).!Over!the!last!four!years!there!have!
been!an!average!of!450!enrolled!students,!of!which!111!were!female.!!
30%!
25%!
20%!
15%!
UCL!
10%!
UK!
5%!
0%!
Figure 2: The percentage of female students on the Physics undergraduate roll at
UCL (blue) and the total in the UK (red). The UK numbers are taken from HESA’s
Students in UK Higher Education Institutes publication 2012/13.
175!
508!
877!
164!
448!
701!
142!
402!
769!
202!
484!
648!
179!
430!
529!
140!
397!
184!
158!
50!
188!
161!
67!
195!
157!
70!
227!
119!
39!
215!
145!
58!
240!
138!
64!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
Male!
Applicants!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
511!
!
Figure!3!summarises!the!undergraduate!admissions!data.!Figure!4!shows!the!female!percentage!of!
students!with!firm!acceptances!for!a!place!on!a!physics!degree,!the!data!are!plotted!for!UCL!and!UK!where!
available.!Other!than!the!slight!dip!in!2011/12!(a!time!of!great!uncertainty!in!UK!higher!education!given!
the!changes!to!university!fees,!which!is!replicated!across!the!UK)!the!data!look!consistent!with!no!
significant!trend.!The!percentage!of!firm!acceptances!held!by!females!is!consistently!around!5%!higher!at!
UCL!compared!to!the!national!average,!the!UK!data!are!from!HESA:!“Students!in!UK!Higher!Education!
Institutes!2012/13”.!
Figure!5!shows!the!application!conversion!data!for!the!last!five!years:!the!percentage!of!male!and!female!
applicants!who!are!made!an!offer!is!shown;!the!percentage!of!firm!acceptances!from!male!and!female!
students!holding!offers!is!also!shown.!It!is!perhaps!encouraging!that!there!is!no!significant!bias!between!
the!genders!in!this!data,!so!it!appears!applicants!are!treated!equally.!The!most!significant!trends!in!the!
data!are!common!to!both!genders!and!largely!reflect!a!significant!increase!in!application!numbers!to!UCL!
and!hence!declining!offer!rates!in!order!to!achieve!the!same!intake.!Figure!6!shows!the!percentage!of!
UCAS!Physics!applicants!who!apply!to!UCL,!it!is!interesting!that!UCL!is!more!attractive!to!female!students.!
!
2008/09!
2009/10!
2010/11!
2011/12!
2012/13!
2013/14!
Female!
!
Figure 3: Summary of undergraduate application data.
11
!
!
!
28%!
26%!
24%!
UCL!
22%!
UK!
20%!
18%!
16%!
2008/09!
!
!
!
2009/10!
2010/11!
2011/12!
2012/13!
2013/14!
!
Figure 4: The female percentage of students holding a firm acceptance for the last six
years compared to UK data from IOP “Accepted Applicants
to Degree Courses in UK
Higher Education Institutions” and UCAS data tables.
96.0%!
86.0%!
76.0%!
66.0%!
56.0%!
46.0%!
36.0%!
Offers!Male!
Offers!Female!
Acceptance!
female!
Acceptance!male!
26.0%!
16.0%!
!
Figure 5: The conversion rate of applications-to-offers and offers-to-acceptances for
undergraduate students, separated by gender.
12
!
Percentage(of(UK(Applicants(
35%!
30%!
25%!
20%!
Female!
15%!
Male!
10%!
5%!
0%!
2008/09! 2009/10! 2010/11! 2011/12! 2012/13!
Figure 6: Percentage of UCAS Physics applicants who apply to UCL,
separately
for males and females.
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
Male!
30%!
Female!
20%!
10%!
0%!
2008/09!
2009/10!
2010/11!
2011/12!
2012/13!
2013/14!
!
Figure 7: Percentage of female and male students obtaining a First.(
Female
Male
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
14
50
17
61
11
65
20
70
12
48
19
64
Table 3: The number of male and female students receiving an undergraduate award
by year of award
!
Table!3!and!Figure!7!show!the!number!of!undergraduates!receiving!a!degree!each!year,!and!the!
percentage!obtaining!a!first,!separated!by!gender.!There!are!no!significant!trends.!
Domicile(
!The!Juno!Committee!consulted!with!the!Mathematics!department!at!UCL,!who!recently!received!a!Bronze!
Athena!SWAN!award.!They!had!found!that!there!was!a!large!difference!in!the!proportion!of!female!
students!when!split!by!UK,!EU!and!International!domicile!–!with!a!sizable!proportion!of!female!students!
being!international.!This!helped!to!explain!the!drop!in!proportion!of!female!students!from!undergraduate!
to!PhD!as!many!international!female!students!did!not!apply!to!study!a!PhD.!In!Figure!8!the!undergraduate!
application,!offer!and!acceptance!numbers!are!shown!for!UK!domiciled!students.!Since!these!students!
make!up!the!majority!of!our!intake!it!is!perhaps!unsurprising!that!the!trends!are!similar!to!those!of!Figure!
3.!!The!corresponding!data!for!EU!(nonJUK)!and!overseas!(nonJEU)!students!are!shown!in!Figure!9!and!
Figure!10.!On!average!the!EU!and!overseas!students!have!a!marginally!larger!female!percentage!than!the!
UK!applicants.!
!
13
!
!
2009/10!
2010/11!
11!
4!
26!
16!
5!
29!
15!
7!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
6!
Accept!
38!
12!
Offer!
2011/12!
2012/13!
20!
49!
2012/13!
117!
13!
45!
2011/12!
82!
10!
32!
93!
21!
53!
78!
9!
!
Figure 8: The undergraduate applications, offers and acceptances for UK domiciled students
separated by gender.
2010/11!
Applicants!
23!
5!
Accept!
37!
2009/10!
Applicants!
15!
Offer!
54!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
20!
51!
134!
111!
48!
151!
82!
30!
126!
81!
40!
161!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Accept!
49!
93!
118!
Offer!
Offer!
135!
Applicants!
137!
339!
584!
122!
300!
475!
104!
287!
555!
160!
337!
448!
148!
326!
384!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
Applicants!
!
!
Male!
2013/14!
Female!
2013/14!
Male!
Female!
Figure 9: The undergraduate applications, offers and acceptances for EU (non-UK) students,
separated by gender.
!
(
14
36!
130!
182!
29!
102!
139!
27!
82!
119!
23!
96!
121!
23!
68!
91!
2010/11!
2011/12!
15!
Female!
Accept!
36!
Offer!
13!
Accept!
57!
48!
Offer!
2012/13!
Applicants!
63!
Applicants!
5!
26!
Offer!
Accept!
38!
Applicants!
16!
Accept!
34!
Offer!
11!
Accept!
38!
28!
Offer!
2009/10!
Applicants!
33!
Male!
Applicants!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
2013/14!
!
Figure 10: The undergraduate applications, offers and acceptances for overseas (non-EU)
students, separated by gender.
Discussion(
Although!there!have!been!no!abrupt!changes!in!admissions!processes!over!the!last!several!years,!there!has!
been!a!gradual!move!away!from!adversarial!interviews!and!towards!“oneJtoJone!discussions”!during!
UCAS!Open!Days.!In!the!last!few!years!we!have!made!clear!to!Open!Day!attendees!our!desire!to!increase!
female!representation!in!the!undergraduate!population,!and!we!strive!to!have!a!good!proportion!of!female!
interviewers,!speakers!and!undergraduate!tour!guides!participating!in!recruitment!events.!The!fact!that!in!
the!last!two!cycles!we!have!seen!the!fraction!of!female!offer!acceptances!systematically!higher!than!the!
fraction!of!offers!made!is!an!encouraging!sign,!although!not!yet!very!statistically!significant.!!
!
We!need!to!do!more!to!ensure!that!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!projects!a!positive!image!for!female!
applicants!both!online!and!through!printed!material!such!as!flyers!that!are!used!to!promote!our!degree!
programmes!(Action(4.1C).!However,!as!seen!in!Figure!6,!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!is!already!attracting!a!
slightly!larger!share!of!the!female!nationwide!applicants!for!physics!undergraduate!degrees!(215!of!808!in!
2012/13)!in!comparison!with!male!applicants!(701!of!3440!in!2012/13).!
!
!
15
!
Postgraduate!Data!
27!
40!
211!
30!
37!
171!
33!
34!
163!
32!
42!
162!
26!
29!
117!
27!
34!
2011/12!
13!
Accept!
15!
Offer!
12!
Accept!
54!
12!
Offer!
2012/13!
Applicants!
62!
Applicants!
8!
64!
Applicants!
Accept!
16!
Accept!
9!
17!
Offer!
2010/11!
Offer!
52!
4!
Accept!
2009/10!
Female!
Applicants!
6!
Offer!
9!
Accept!
43!
12!
Offer!
2008/09!
Applicants!
34!
Male!
Applicants!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
102!
The!details!of!PhD!and!MSC!admissions!for!the!past!few!years!are!presented!in!Figure!11!and!Figure!12,!
and!in!the!tables!in!the!appendix.!For!each!academic!year!from!2007/8!to!2013/14!the!number!of!
applications,!offers!and!acceptances!are!shown!for!both!PhD!and!MSc!admissions,!broken!down!into!
number!of!male!and!female!in!each!case.!!Also!shown!for!PhD!students!is!the!total!number!studying!at!UCL!
in!each!year,!though!this!is!a!slightly!variable!number!for!PhDs!as!students!are!completing!their!PhD!and!
leaving!at!all!times!through!the!year,!and!it!is!not!very!unusual!for!students!to!begin!at!some!point!other!
than!the!start!of!the!academic!year.!For!MSc!students!the!number!arriving!each!year!is!shown,!e.g.!the!
number!arriving!for!2011/12!is!the!number!starting!at!the!beginning!of!the!academic!year!in!2011.!!
2013/14!
23!
45!
68!
30!
45!
61!
20!
42!
89!
20!
42!
67!
24!
50!
71!
18!
33!
14!
27!
18!
11!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
8!
Accept!
Accept!
18!
Offer!
22!
36!
Applicants!
Offer!
10!
Accept!
2011/12!
29!
19!
Offer!
2010/11!
Applicants!
34!
5!
Accept!
2009/10!
Female!
Applicants!
13!
Offer!
28!
4!
Accept!
2008/09!
Applicants!
8!
Offer!
16!
Male!
Applicants!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
49!
Figure 11: PhD applications, acceptances and offers separated by gender
2012/13!
2013/14!
Figure 12: MSc application, offer and acceptance data separated by gender.(
!
!
In!terms!of!total!numbers!the!most!apparent!trend!is!a!general!increase!with!time!in!the!number!of!
applications!for!PhD!places.!This!is!only!accompanied!by!a!slower!growth!in!offers!and!in!students!at!UCL.!
However,!2013/14!has!the!largest!number!of!offers.!!The!number!of!MSc!applicants!and!particularly!
acceptances!is!much!smaller!and!more!subject!to!fluctuations,!but!there!is!no!clear!overall!trend.!
!!
16
!
The!female!proportion!in!each!category!is!also!shown!in!Figure!13!for!PhD!applications!and!in!Figure!14!
for!MSc!applications.!By!far!the!clearest!trend!is!that!all!proportions!fluctuate!around!an!average!figure!of!
about!20J30%,!being!generally!a!little!higher!for!MSc!students.!For!PhD!applicants!the!proportion!of!
applicants!was!a!little!higher!than!offers!for!2009/10!and!2011/12,!and!similarly!for!MSc!students!for!
2008/9!and!2009/10.!In!both!cases!this!feature!is!no!longer!true!in!the!most!recent!years,!where!there!is!
no!obvious!disparity!between!categories.!
!
!
!
Figure 13: Female percentages for PhD Admissions
!
!
!
!
Figure 14: Female percentages for MSc Admissions
!
!
!
17
!
The!same!breakdown!into!female!and!male!applications,!offers,!acceptances!and!students!at!UCL!is!shown!
in!the!numerical!appendix!for!the!years!2009/10!until!2013/14,!broken!down!into!UK,!EU!(nonJUK)!and!
overseas!(nonJEU)!students.!The!most!clear!point!is!that!the!female!proportions!are!a!little!lower!on!
average!for!UK!students!than!for!EU!and!particularly!overseas,!though!the!absolute!numbers!are!quite!low!
for!the!last!two.!There!is!no!clear!trend!with!time,!and!no!obvious!case!where!the!proportions!of!female!
students!are!different!in!one!category!compared!to!another.!For!the!EU!and!overseas!students!the!
numbers!are!very!low!for!offers!and!acceptances,!and!for!MSc!students,!for!numbers!at!UCL,!which!can!
lead!to!some!large!fluctuations!in!percentages.!!For!example,!the!difference!between!2011/12!and!
2012/13!for!number!of!EU!students!at!UCL!for!the!MSc!is!2!male!and!1!female!in!the!former!and!2!male!
and!0!female!in!the!latter.!!
72!
18! 17!
112! 28! 24! 117! 23! 23! 122! 29! 24! 121! 25! 24!
2009/10!
2011/12!
7!
7!
27!
6!
6!
Offer!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
5!
Female!
42!
Applicants!
6!
Accept!
Accept!
2010/11!
32!
Offer!
8!
Applicants!
32!
Offer!
2!
8!
Applicants!
2!
Accept!
21!
Offer!
Male!
Applicants!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
2012/13!
2013/14!
Figure 15: Application, offer and acceptance data for PhD students with a UK domicile.
!
!
5!
26!
8!
12!
40! 14!
Male!
2010/11!
2011/12!
3!
19!
8!
8!
Accept!
Applicants!
Offer!
Accept!
1!
3!
Offer!
1!
11!
Applicants!
21!
Accept!
Accept!
2009/10!
Offer!
2!
2!
6!
7!
11!
Applicants!
10!
Offer!
7!
6!
8!
Offer!
7!
24!
20!
Applicants!
8!
4!
Accept!
31!
Applicants!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
!
2012/13!
Female!
2013/14!
!
Figure 16: Application, offer and acceptance data for PhD students with EU (non-UK) domicile.
!
18
!
19!
4!
3!
32! 11!
6!
24!
4!
3!
25!
6!
4!
49!
10!
3!
2009/10!
2011/12!
7!
2012/13!
4!
2!
Female!
Accept!
2!
Offer!
2!
Applicants!
9!
Accept!
2!
Offer!
3!
Applicants!
Accept!
2010/11!
12!
Accept!
2!
Offer!
3!
Applicants!
10!
Offer!
2!
Accept!
3!
Offer!
12!
Applicants!
Male!
Applicants!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
2013/14!
!
Figure 17: Application, offer and acceptance data for PhD students from overseas, separated
by gender.
!
!
!
19
!
Staff!and!Hiring!
!
UCL!Human!Resources!provides!significant!support!in!the!form!of!data!collection!for!both!Juno!and!Athena!
SWAN.!To!simplify!the!data!analysis!of!staff!posts!UCL!has!devised!a!staffJgrading!scheme!for!SWAN!data,!
see!Table!4.!To!ease!confusion!when!discussing!staff!grades!we!will!use!a!descriptive!term!rather!than!
SWAN!grade!in!this!document,!e.g.!Professor!will!refer!to!posts!at!SWAN!grade!1.!These!data!are!presented!
annually!at!the!allJstaff!meeting!and!in!the!Juno!Report!(Action(1.2D).!
!
SWAN(Grade(
Description(
Professor or equivalent
1(
Reader or equivalent
2(
Senior Lecturer / Principal Researcher / Principle Teaching Fellow or equivalent
3(
Lecturer / Senior Researcher / Teaching Fellow or equivalent
4(
Post Doc / Researcher or equivalent
5(
Research Assistant or equivalent
6(
Table 4: UCL SWAN Grades
!
Please!note!that!UCL!staff!data!are!presented!‘as!of!1st!October’!each!year!–!therefore,!the!2014!data!has!
only!very!recently!been!circulated!and!the!Juno!Committee!have!not!had!time!to!analyse!and!present!the!
data!for!this!application.!Therefore,!all!data!below!is!up!to!1st!October!2013.!However,!the!data!are!
presented!annually!in!the!January!Juno!Committee!meeting!and!highlights!shown!at!the!staff!meeting.!
Current(Staff(Profile(
!
The!gender!breakdown!of!the!staff!of!the!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!department!is!shown!in!Figure!18.!
Senior!Lecturer!and!Reader!are!at!the!same!point!on!the!pay!scale!at!UCL,!so!the!division!is!not!as!
significant!as!at!some!other!UK!higher!education!institutions.!It!is!particularly!encouraging!that!currently!
almost!20%!(6!of!32)!of!the!professors!are!female,!which!is!significantly!above!the!national!average!(7%!in!
2011,!from!Figure!3!of!the!IOP!“Academic!physics!staff!in!UK!higher!education!institutions”!published!
December!2013).!Although,!obviously!given!the!smallness!of!the!number!of!female!professors!there!are!
significant!yearJtoJyear!fluctuations!in!this!percentage.!!
!
!
!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
26!
50%!
14!
21!
3!
46!
11!
11!
3!
Post!Doc!
Research!
Assistant!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
6!
0%!
!
2!
Reader!
Professor!
12!
1!
Senior!
Lecturer!
Female!
Lecturer!
Male!
!
Figure 18: The staff numbers and gender breakdown of UCL Physics & Astronomy as of 1st
October 2013.
!
!
20
!
!
!
!
Over!the!past!four!years!the!evolution!of!the!staff!body!of!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy,!compared!to!the!UK!
average,!is!shown!in!Figure!19.!The!UK!average!is!only!included!for!those!staff!categories!that!have!data!in!
the!IOP!publication.!For!most!years!in!the!academic!categories!(Professor,!Reader!and!Lecturer/Senior!
Lecturer),!UCL!has!significantly!higher!female!representation!than!the!UK!average.!This!appears!to!show!
that!UCL!is!very!good!at!recruiting!and!promoting!talented!female!academics.!The!reduction!in!the!
number!of!female!readers!in!the!most!recent!year!was!due!to!the!promotion!of!two!women!to!professor.!
One!potential!area!of!concern!is!the!slight!downwards!trend!in!the!percentage!of!female!researchers.!This!
is!an!area!that!we!will!monitor!in!the!coming!years!to!determine!if!this!is!a!significant!trend!or!a!
downward!fluctuation.!There!has!been!a!large!increase!in!the!number!of!female!Lecturers!in!2013,!and!we!
have!plans!in!place!to!support!this!group!in!working!towards!promotion!to!Senior!Lecturer,!Reader!and!
Professor!(Actions(3.2ABF).!
!
!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
8!
6!
7!
26!
25! 27! 25!
14!
22! 25! 30!
24!
37! 41! 44! 46!
40%!
30%!
Professor!
Female!
Lecturer!(incl.!SL)!
Male!
2013!
2012!
2011!
2012!
Reader!
12! 13! 13! 11!
2010!
7!
2013!
5!
2011!
2013!
2!
13!
7!
2010!
2012!
4!
2013!
6!
4!
2012!
4!
2010!
3!
2011!
0%!
3!
2010!
10%!
4!
2011!
20%!
Researcher!
UK!
!
Figure 19: Proportion of the staff that is female at UCL compared to UK average. UK data taken
from IOP publication: "Academic physics staff in UK higher education institutions”, December
2013.
!
Professorial(PayBBanding(
UCL!has!introduced!a!system!of!three!pay!bands!for!Professors!with!different!achievementJbased!criteria!
for!each!level.!Along!with!the!payJbanding!UCL!introduced!a!biennial!salary!review!with!salary!increases!
based!on!exceeding!expected!performance.!!As!of!1st!October!2013!the!distribution!of!Professorial!payJ
bands!in!UCL!P&A!is!shown!in!Figure!20.!Currently!no!women,!and!only!4!of!26!men,!are!in!the!highest!pay!
band.!In!October!2014,!a!fourth!pay!band!was!added.!!
21
!
100%!
90%!
80%!
70%!
60%!
50%!
40%!
30%!
20%!
10%!
0%!
14!
8!
4!
Male!
Female!
4!
2!
10.1!
10.2!
0!
10.3!
!
Figure 20: Professorial pay band distribution
Recruitment(
UCL!has!a!policy!of!open!and!fair!recruitment!at!all!grades.!All!vacancies!must!be!advertised!on!the!UCL!
website!and!include!information!highlighting!the!importance!of!equality!and!diversity!at!UCL.!All!
applications!must!be!processed!through!the!UCL!online!recruitment!system!(ROME),!which!allows!
reasonably!easy!analysis!of!potential!gender!bias!in!the!department’s!recruitment!process!(Action(2.2A).!
In!principle!it!is!impossible!to!serve!on!a!recruitment!committee!if!you!have!not!taken!the!mandatory!
recruitment!training,!the!department!will!create!a!database!to!check!if!this!is!true,!to!monitor!the!gender!
balance!of!committees!and!monitor!recruitment!training!completion!(Action(2.1D).!Positive!action!
statements!are!added!to!adverts!for!senior!roles,!specifically!encouraging!women!and!members!of!other!
underrepresented!groups!to!apply.!We!will!also!ensure!there!is!a!gender!balance!of!the!people!featured!on!
our!website!and!publications!(Action(4.1C).!
!
Figure!21!shows!the!gender!of!applicants,!interviewees!and!appointments!at!the!postJdoctoral!level!over!
the!last!4!full!academic!years!(2009/10!–!2012/13).!There!is!a!clear!gender!bias!in!the!applicants!with!
slightly!less!than!one!in!five!applicants!identifying!themselves!as!female;!only!a!tiny!proportion!of!
applicants!chose!to!withhold!information!about!their!gender.!The!percentage!of!female!applicants!is!
slightly!lower!than!the!percentage!of!female!PhD!graduates!(~23%!from!IOP,!“Physics!Students!in!UK!
Higher!Education!Institutions”,!March!2012)!although!comparable!to!the!national!average!for!physics!
researchers!(~19%!from!IOP,!“Academic!physics!staff!in!UK!higher!education!institutions”,!December!
2013).!!To!improve!our!understanding!of!the!issues!that!may!prevent!women!from!applying!for!PostDoc!
positions,!we!will!commission!an!exit!survey!of!UCL!P&A!PhD!students!(Action(2.2).!!There!is!no!clear!
gender!bias!in!the!recruitment!phases!from!application!to!appointment;!over!the!fourJyear!period!24%!of!
appointments!were!to!women.!There!are!significant!fluctuations!in!the!percentage!of!female!appointments!
each!year;!in!2010,!31%!of!new!postJdocs!were!women!and!this!dropped!to!14%!in!2011!when!only!14!
postJdocs!were!appointed!in!the!department.!
!
Figure!22!shows!the!gender!breakdown!of!applicants,!interviewees!and!appoints!at!the!lecturer!level!for!
the!same!time!period.!Over!this!time!period!17%!of!applications!were!from!female!candidates,!which!is!
slightly!below!the!proportion!of!female!postJdocs!in!the!country.!However,!the!recruitment!process!
appears!to!be!efficient!in!attracting!and!selecting!excellent!female!candidates!as!25%!(3!of!12)!of!the!
appointments!made!during!this!period!were!to!females.!This!is!slightly!higher!than!the!national!average!
for!lecturers!(~20%!female!from!IOP,!“Academic!physics!staff!in!UK!higher!education!institutions”,!
December!2013).!!
!
During!this!fourJyear!period!the!department!also!appointed!four!teaching!fellows!(2!females),!and!eight!
administrative!staff!(6!females).!Due!to!the!low!numbers!of!appointments!each!year!the!data!for!these!
grades!is!not!disaggregated!by!year.!In!terms!of!applications!30!of!the!138!(22%)!applicants!for!teaching!
fellow!positions!were!female,!whilst!168!of!291!(58%)!applications!for!administrative!roles!came!from!
women.!
!
22
!
35%!
Female(Percentage(
30%!
25%!
20%!
15%!
10%!
5%!
0%!
2010!
2011!
2012!
2013!
Resarcher!Applied!
18%!
18%!
16%!
21%!
Resarcher!Interviewed!
24%!
7%!
23%!
20%!
Resarcher!Appointed!
31%!
14%!
13%!
21%!
Total!Applied!
305!
275!
291!
644!
Total!Interviewed!
38!
54!
84!
99!
Total!Appointed!
26!
14!
24!
29!
!
Figure 21: Percentage of female applicants and appointments at post-doctoral level.
!
!
45%!
Female(Percentage(
40%!
35%!
30%!
25%!
20%!
15%!
10%!
5%!
0%!
2010!
2011!
2012!
2013!
Lecturer!Applied!
23%!
14%!
18%!
13%!
Lecturer!Interviewed!
0%!
13%!
22%!
25%!
Lecturer!Appointed!
0%!
0%!
20%!
40%!
Total!Applied!
48!
80!
298!
105!
Total!Interviewed!
2!
8!
27!
16!
Total!Appointed!
1!
1!
5!
5!
Figure 22: The percentage of female applicants and appointments at lecturer level.
!
(
Promotions(
The!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!promotion!procedure!is!described!in!more!detail,!along!with!a!description!
of!actions!planned,!in!the!qualitative!evidence!section!of!this!report.!In!Figure!23!the!gender!breakdown!of!
successful!applicants!for!promotions!to!Professor!and!Reader!are!shown!for!the!past!five!promotion!
rounds.!The!most!striking!anomaly!is!that!in!the!last!round!there!were!8!men!promoted!to!Reader!but!no!
women!(Action(2.2B),!however!in!the!same!promotion!round!two!women!were!promoted!from!Reader!to!
Professor.!The!effect!of!these!promotions!can!also!be!seen!in!Figure!19,!with!the!number!of!female!
Readers!reduced!to!just!two.!However,!there!are!now!13!female!Lecturers!in!the!department!and!it!is!
expected!that!many!of!these!will!be!promoted!to!Reader!during!the!next!three!years.!In!the!2015!Juno!
23
!
Report!we!will!include!an!analysis!of!the!average!time!to!promotion!to!Reader!and!Professor,!separated!
for!men!and!women!(Action(2.2C),!
!
9!
8!
7!
Number(
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
0!
Prof.! Reader! Prof.! Reader! Prof.! Reader! Prof.! Reader! Prof.! Reader!
2009/10!
2010/11!
2011/12!
2012/13!
2013/14!
Male!
0!
1!
3!
1!
2!
1!
1!
1!
1!
8!
Female!
0!
1!
0!
1!
0!
0!
1!
1!
2!
0!
!
Figure 23: The gender breakdown of promotions to Reader and Professor over the past five
years.
Turnover(
Over!the!past!four!years!the!academic!staff!body!had!been!remarkably!stable.!The!turnover!of!staff,!
separated!by!grade!and!gender!is!shown!in!Figure!24.!During!this!period!there!have!been!no!Professors!
who!have!left!the!department,!and!only!a!single!Reader.!The!leaving!Reader!was!a!female!member!of!staff!
who!was!offered!a!Professorship!at!the!University!of!Manchester.!!
!
At!the!researcher!(PostJDoctoral)!level!there!is!a!relative!high!turnover!of!staff!due!in!large!part!to!the!
fundingJlimited!nature!of!the!positions.!The!majority!of!research!council!funded!grants!are!for!three!years,!
although!some!European!funded!grants!are!for!five!years.!End!of!contract!meetings!are!held!
approximately!four!months!before!the!provisional!termination!date!and!possibilities!for!extensions!are!
explored.!It!is!common!for!postJdocs!to!seek!a!wide!range!of!experiences,!and!they!often!wish!to!move!
elsewhere.!Within!this!group!the!rate!turnover!of!females!was!somewhat!higher!than!for!males,!with!50%!
of!the!female!postJdocs!leaving!the!department!in!the!year!to!2013!compared!to!only!16%!of!male!postJ
docs.!The!year!to!2013!is!somewhat!anomalous,!since!in!the!preceding!years!(2010,!2011,!2012)!the!
percentage!of!female!leavers!(26%,!16%,!16%)!was!similar!to!that!of!the!male!leavers!(16%,!15%,!14%).!
This!higher!turnover!of!females!is!clearly!a!potential!area!of!concern!and!if!the!trend!continues!in!2014!we!
will!have!to!investigate!potential!causes!and!mitigations,!perhaps!through!an!exiting!staff!survey.!In!
addition!we!will!hold!a!focus!meeting!with!the!researchers!in!the!postJdoctoral!networking!group!(Action(
4.1I)!!
!
24
!
9!
Number(of(Leavers(
8!
7!
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
0!
Male!
Female!
Male!
Researcher!
Female!
Male!
Lecturer!
Female!
Reader!
Male!
Female!
Professor!
2009J10!
6!
4!
0!
0!
0!
0!
0!
0!
2010J11!
6!
2!
2!
0!
0!
0!
0!
0!
2011J12!
6!
2!
1!
0!
0!
0!
0!
0!
2012J13!
8!
6!
1!
0!
0!
1!
0!
0!
!
Figure 24: Staff turnover by grade and gender
Maternity(&(Paternity(Leave(
UCL!has!transparent!and!fair!maternity!and!paternity!leave!policies;!these!are!discussed!in!more!detail!in!
Section!D.!The!number!of!members!of!staff!that!have!taken!maternity!or!paternity!leave!in!each!of!the!past!
four!academic!years!is!shown!in!Table!5.!These!statistics!are!included!in!the!yearly!Juno!Report!to!
promote!the!take!up!of!maternity!and!paternity!leave!in!the!department!(Action(5.1F).!In!April!2013,!the!
UCL!policy!on!paternity!leave!changed!to!allow!fathers!up!to!20!days!(4!weeks)!of!paid!paternity!leave.!!
!
(
Maternity(Leave(
Paternity(Leave(
2
3
Oct(2013(–(Sep(2014(
3
1
Oct(2012(–(Sep(2013(
3
1
Oct(2011(–(Sep(2012(
0
0
Oct(2010(–(Sep(2011(
3
1
Oct(2009(–(Sep(2010(
Table 5: Number of staff taking maternity or paternity leave during each of the last four
academic years
!
Research(Group(Analysis(
UCL!P&A!has!a!strong!group!structure!and!many!decisions!are!taken!at!the!group!level.!To!identify!if!there!
are!any!anomalies!in!the!research!group!practices,!by!2016!we!plan!to!analyse!the!staff!and!postgraduate!
student!data!disaggregated!by!research!group!(Action(1.2E).!!
!
!
!
25
!
Section(E:(Qualitative(Evidence(
The!information!presented!in!this!section!was!obtained!from!a!mixture!of!sources:!departmental!and!
college!staff!surveys,!Juno!committee!discussions,!departmental!data!collection!and!some!case!studies.!
Perhaps!the!most!illuminating!information!comes!from!the!two!departmental!surveys,!in!March!2011!and!
in!June!2013,!which!have!been!carried!out!during!our!time!as!Juno!Practitioner.!We!plan!to!carry!out!the!
next!survey!in!Spring!2015.!One!of!the!department’s!goals!is!to!improve!the!response!rate!for!the!2015!
survey!by!streamlining!the!survey,!moving!it!into!term!period!and!better!promotion!of!the!survey!(Action(
1.2F).!
March!2011!Departmental!Survey!responses!
In!March!2011!we!circulated!a!survey!to!all!members!of!staff!to!investigate!their!perceptions!and!
experiences!of!working!in!the!department.!!There!were!28!questions!in!the!survey!and!they!aimed!to!
explore!the!level!of!satisfaction!of!technical,!administrative,!research!and!academic!staff.!A!copy!of!the!
questions!included!in!the!survey!is!included!in!the!Appendix.!103!staff!members!(approximately!50%)!
responded!to!the!survey.!
On!the!whole!the!survey!responses!indicated!a!high!level!of!job!satisfaction!and!a!supportive!and!inclusive!
working!environment.!Many!questions!received!fairly!balanced!responses!with!no!discernible!trend!and!
no!clear!need!for!action.!A!clear!positive!response!was!received!for!the!following!statements:!
Positive(
“I#am#treated#with#fairness#and#respect#in#the#department.”#
79#(76.7%)#agree;#17#(16.5%)#neither#agree#nor#disagree;#7#(6.8%)#disagree!
“Overall,#there#is#a#friendly#working#atmosphere#within#the#department”#
82#(80.4%)#agree;#17#(16.7%)#neither#agree#nor#disagree;#3#(2.9%)#disagree!
“I#am#adequately#informed#of#events/happenings#within#the#department.”#
82#(76.6%)#agree;#17#(16.5%)#neither#agree#nor#disagree;#4#(3.9#%)#disagree!
“I#am#motivated#to#do#my#job#well.”#
76#(73.8%)#agree;#18#(17.5%)#neither#agree#nor#disagree;#9#(8.7%)#disagree#
“I#am#satisfied#with#the#following#aspects#of#my#job:#opportunities#to#do#interesting#work.”#
93#(91.2%)#agree;#7#(6.8%)#neither#agree#nor#disagree;#2#(2.0%)#disagree(
Negative(
A!tendency!to!negative!responses!was!received!for!the!statements!below.!It!was!felt!that!these!responses!
indicated!the!need!to!formulate!actions!that!address!and!resolve!possible!issues.!
“I#feel#involved#in#decisions#that#are#made#in#the#department,#particularly#decisions#that#are#likely#to#
affect#me.”#
36#(34.9%)#agree;#28#(27.2%)#neither#agree#nor#disagree;#38#(36.9%)#disagree#
The!percentage!of!respondents!who!disagreed!with!this!statement!was!significantly!higher!
amongst!research!staff!than!other!staff!(52%).!In!response!to!this!we!implemented!a!number!of!measures,!
primarily!to!ensure!involvement!of!research!staff!but!also!administration!and!technical!staff:#
1. It!was!agreed!that!an!allJstaff!meeting!would!be!held!at!least!once!a!year.!The!first!of!these!
was!held!in!September!2011!and!extremely!positive!feedback!was!received!about!this!
initiative.!The!participation!at!the!meeting!was!so!high!that!a!larger!venue!was!arranged!and!
many!members!of!the!research,!administrative!and!technical!staff!appreciated!that!they!were!
explicitly!included!and!heard!in!the!meeting.!#
2. A!member!of!the!research!staff!was!invited!to!participate!in!the!departmental!teaching!
committee.#
3. It!was!decided!that!each!research!group!is!to!identify/elect!at!least!one!research!staff!
representative!who!will!be!invited!to!the!(otherwise!academic!staff)!groupJmeetings.!This!
will!allow!research!staff!to!have!their!word!in!group!decisions!and!be!informed!of!plans!in!the!
group.#
4. A!website!with!information!on!what!departmental!committees!exist,!what!their!role!is!and!
who!to!contact!to!become!part!of!the!committee!is!now!on!the!physics!staff!webpage.#
#
“I#am#experiencing#stress#levels#that#I#find#unreasonable#because#I#have#to#work#excessive#hours”#
28#(27.7%)#agree;#23#(22.8%)#neither#agree#nor#disagree;#42#(41.6%)#disagree;#8#(7.9%)#NA#
!
The!positive!responses!were!mainly!from!the!academic!staff!(21!agree;!8!neither#agree#nor#
disagree;!12!disagree).!This!question!also!received!a!high!response!rate!in!the!2013!survey!(see!below).!!
26
!
!
“I#find#appraisals#useful”#
34#(33.0%)#agree;#33#(32.0%)#neither#agree#nor#disagree;#29#(28.2%)#disagree;#7#(6.8%)#NA(
The!level!of!dissatisfaction!with!appraisals!was!relatively!high!amongst!all!types!of!staff.!The!
appraisal!system!is!standardised!across!UCL!therefore!we!are!limited!in!how!much!influence!we!have!on!
the!process.!However!in!response!to!the!survey!we!decided!to!take!the!following!actions!to!improve!the!
effectiveness!of!appraisals:!
1. When!an!email!is!sent!to!a!member!of!staff!inviting!them!to!an!appraisal!the!purpose!of!the!
appraisal!will!be!clarified!and!the!potential!benefits!highlighted.!
2. All!members!of!staff!that!carry!out!appraisals!will!be!encouraged!to!attend!a!UCL!run!training!
course.!!
“I#am#currently#subject#to#harassment#and/or#bullying#in#the#department.”#
1#(yes);#100#(no)#
#
Although!the!number!is!low,!this!result!caused!concern!and!possible!actions!were!heavily!debated.!
At!the!allJstaff!meeting!staff!were!informed!that!the!department!has!a!zero!tolerance!policy!to!harassment!
and!bullying,!and!that!UCL!as!a!whole!has!a!clear!procedure!for!reporting!and!dealing!with!bullying!and!
harassment.!Staff!were!also!made!aware!that!the!department!has!a!member!of!staff!(and!how!to!contact!
them)!who!is!a!first!contact!to!discuss!any!bullying!and!harassment!issues,!and!how!to!contact!them.!See!
the!section!on!bullying!and!harassment!later!in!this!section.!!
Departmental!Survey!2013!
In!June!2013,!a!similar!survey!was!circulated!to!all!members!of!staff,!in!order!to!investigate!their!
perceptions!and!experiences!of!working!in!the!department!
!
There!were!79!responses!to!the!survey,!compared!with!103!in!2011.!The!fallJoff!in!response!rate!was!
thought!to!be!due!to!the!time!of!year!the!survey!was!carried!out,!and!possibly!also!due!to!an!increase!in!
the!number!of!questions!on!the!survey.!However,!the!responses!to!the!survey!were!generally!positive,!and!
in!many!cases!indicate!an!improvement!when!compared!to!the!2011!results.!
!
Of!the!respondents,!34!indicated!they!were!academic!staff,!17!research!staff,!4!administrative!staff!and!5!
technical!staff.!The!remainder!of!the!respondents!did!not!reply!to!this!question.!The!respondents!were!
also!spread!reasonably!evenly!across!the!different!research!groups,!taking!into!account!their!relative!size.!!
!
Of!the!79!respondents,!41!indicated!they!were!male,!11!female.!The!proportion!of!administrative!staff!
amongst!the!women!who!responded!to!the!survey!and!identified!themselves!as!female!is!relatively!high,!
so!the!comparison!between!male!and!female!answers!to!some!of!the!questions!is!not!straightforward.!The!
other!respondents!either!responded!that!they!preferred!not!to!reveal!their!gender!(8!replies)!or!did!not!
answer!that!question!at!all!(19).!Because!of!this,!it!is!difficult!to!analyse!the!gender!breakdown!of!the!
survey,!however!we!note!that!of!those!that!were!willing!to!reveal!their!gender,!21%!were!female,!broadly!
in!line!with!the!overall!departmental!population.!For!a!few!questions,!there!was!a!striking!difference!
between!the!overall!response!and!those!identifying!as!female,!and!we!have!noted!these!below.!!
!
In!some!cases,!results!are!broken!down!by!staff!area,!but!due!to!the!small!number!of!respondents!from!the!
administrative!and!technical!staff,!specific!issues!relating!to!them!have!not!been!included!in!these!
breakdowns.!
!
Positive(
!The!following!statements!received!a!markedly!improved!response!when!compared!to!the!2011!results.!
“I#have#the#opportunity#to#be#involved#in#departmental#decisions#which#are#likely#to#affect#me”:!
42%!of!respondents!either!agreed!or!strongly!agreed!with!this!statement,!while!34%!either!disagreed!or!
strongly!disagreed.!This!compares!with!35%!agreeing!/!37%!disagreeing!in!2011,!a!noticeable!
improvement.!Moreover,!amongst!research!staff,!the!percentage!disagreeing!decreased!from!53%!in!2011!
to!35%!this!year.!This!is!good!evidence!that!the!measures!implemented!following!the!2011!survey!have!
had!a!positive!effect.!
“I#find#appraisals#useful”:!In!2011!33%!of!staff!agreed!with!this!statement—this!year!the!proportion!has!
risen!significantly!to!54%.!Although!this!is!a!significant!improvement!and!suggest!the!changes!made!to!the!
appraisal!process!following!the!2011!survey!(see!above)!have!improved!the!situation,!there!is!still!
significant!number!of!respondents!who!do!not!find!appraisals!useful.!We!will!investigate!those!
27
!
departments!in!the!college!which!have!implemented!an!appraisal!cover!sheet;!making!it!clear!to!
appraisers!that!they!should!have!clear!discussions!around!working!towards!promotion,!career!
development,!workload!and!flexible!working!to!see!if!we!can!import!the!best!practice!from!around!the!
college!(Action(3.1A)!
Meanwhile,!the!following!questions!also!received!generally!positive!responses.!
“Overall,#there#is#a#friendly#working#atmosphere#within#the#department”:!77%!of!respondents!
agreed!with!this!statement!(against!80%!in!2011),!with!only!10%!disagreeing.!
“Overall,#there#is#a#friendly#working#atmosphere#within#my#group#(research#or#non>academic#
team)”:!79%!of!respondents!agreed!with!this!statement,!which!was!not!included!in!the!2011!survey.!
Negative(
Unfortunately!some!questions!received!a!worse!response!this!year!than!when!the!same!question!was!
posed!in!2011.!
!
#“I#am#experiencing#stress#levels#that#I#find#unreasonable#because#I#have#to#work#excessive#hours”:!
This!question!was!noted!as!an!area!requiring!improvement!in!the!2011!survey,!with!28%!of!respondents!
agreeing.!However,!the!2013!survey!yielded!37%!agreeing!with!this!statement,!with!only!33%!disagreeing!
compared!to!42%!in!2011.!Moreover,!of!the!respondents!identifying!themselves!as!female,!81%!agreed,!
with!no!staff!disagreeing.!Data!from!the!workload!management!system!(see!later)!has!been!analysed!to!
check!for!unfair!loading!and!potential!gender!bias!in!the!workload!allocations!(Action(4.2A).!
There!are!also!other!areas!of!concern,!revealed!in!responses!to!the!following!questions.!
“I#have#attended#equality#and#diversity#training#in#respect#of#race,#gender,#disability#etc.”:!A!
worrying!40%!of!respondents!indicated!that!they!had!not!received!any!equality!or!diversity!training,!
despite!this!being!a!requirement!for!new!starters!and!large!numbers!of!staff!attending!a!workshop!
organised!by!Hilary!Wigmore.!The!college!maintains!a!database!of!which!members!of!staff!have!attended!
the!mandatory!equality!and!diversity!training.!At!the!most!recent!staff!meeting!Jon!Butterworth!and!Ryan!
Nichol!stressed!to!the!staff!that!it!was!essential!that!they!take!this!training!and!reminded!staff!that!it!
would!be!seen!as!a!prerequisite!for!promotion,!probation!and!appraisal!(Action(4.1K).!
#“I#am#aware#of#the#College#promotion#and#reward#procedures”:!This!question!was!broken!down!into!
subsections.!Only!52%!of!staff!said!they!were!aware!of!the!promotions!procedure,!dropping!to!25%!
indicating!they!were!aware!of!the!procedure!for!bonus!or!discretionary!increments.!The!department!has!
mounted!a!sustained!campaign!to!ensure!members!of!academic!staff!are!aware!of!promotion!procedures,!
see!discussion!later!in!this!section!(Actions(3.2ABF).!
“I#am#satisfied#with#the#support#provided#by#the#department#towards#my#long>term#career#
development”:!While!68%!of!academic!staff!agreed!or!strongly!agreed!with!this!statement,!only!31%!of!
research!staff!agreed,!with!none!strongly!agreeing.!Only!one!of!the!11!respondents!identifying!themselves!
as!female!agreed!with!this!statement,!with!two!disagreeing!and!the!others!neither!agreeing!nor!
disagreeing.!This!question!is!clearly!associated!with!the!below!question!below!regarding!job!insecurity.!
I#am#experiencing#stress#levels#that#I#find#unreasonable#because#of#the#insecurity#of#my#job”:!It!
might!be!expected!that!research!staff!find!job!insecurity!to!be!an!issue,!but!a!massive!71%!of!research!staff!
reported!experiencing!unreasonable!levels!of!stress!due!to!insecurity,!compared!with!only!6%!of!
academic!staff.!Clearly!this!is!a!wider!issue!with!the!nature!of!fixedJterm!research!jobs!in!academia.!
However,!it!is!still!the!responsibility!of!the!department!to!ensure!all!research!staff!in!the!department!have!
sufficient!career!support!to!flourish!inside!or!outside!of!academia.!See!later!discussion!on!career!
development!provision!(Actions(3.1B,(3.1C,(4.1I).!
28
!
Most!worryingly,!there!were!answers!to!several!questions!addressing!areas!of!bullying,!harassment!and!
discrimination!indicating!that!there!were!some!incidents!of!these!practices!in!the!department.!
“I#am#treated#with#fairness#and#respect#in#the#department”:!In!2011!77%!of!respondents!agreed!with!
this,!but!this!year!only!66%!agreed,!with!12%!disagreeing!and!21%!neither!agreeing!nor!disagreeing.!
“I#have#been#subject#to#harassment#and/or#bullying#in#the#department#in#the#last#3#years”:!In!2011!
this!question!was!posed!as!“I#am#currently#subject#to#harassment#and/or#bullying#in#the#department”,!
to!which!only!one!respondent!agreed.!This!year,!however,!10%!of!the!respondents!to!this!question!(6!
people)!indicated!that!they!had!been!harassed!or!bullied.!One!respondent!indicated!that!they!had!reported!
the!situation!but!that!they!did!not!feel!that!the!situation!was!dealt!with!effectively.!
“I#have#seen#harassment#and/or#bullying#in#the#department#in#the#last#3#years”:!This!was!a!new!
question!for!2013,!to!which!21%!(13!people)!of!the!respondents!answered!that!they!agreed.!Of!these!13!
cases,!5!were!reported,!but!again!only!2!felt!that!the!situation!was!dealt!with!effectively.!
“Do#you#believe#you#have#been#unfairly#discriminated#against#in#the#department#in#the#last#three#
years?”:!5!respondents!answered!“yes”!to!this!question,!indicating!they!had!been!discriminated!against!
by!reason!of!age,!sexuality,!race,!and/or!gender.!
The!department!(and!college)!have!a!zeroJtolerance!policy!on!harassment!and!bullying.!This!is!an!issue!
that!Jon!Butterworth!(HoD)!takes!extremely!seriously!and!the!department!are!working!to!eradicate!any!
instances!of!this!nature.!Both!Jon!Butterworth!and!Ryan!Nichol!repeatedly!stressed!this!during!the!staff!
meeting!in!September!2014.!The!department’s!policy!and!action!items!are!discussed!later!in!this!section!
(Actions(4.1G,(4.1J,(4.1L,(4.1M).!
Workload!Management!System!
!
The!UCL!Physics!and!Astronomy!Department!has!been!motivated!to!establish!an!effective,!fair!and!
transparent!mechanism!for!the!allocation!of!staff!teaching!and!teachingJrelated!administrative!duties!
through!its!workload!management!system!(WMS).!The!department!uses!the!WMS!to!allocate!teaching!
assignments.!Each!teaching!duty!is!assigned!a!specific!tariff.!By!monitoring!the!individual!accumulated!
WMS!loads!the!Department!is!better!able!to!track!workloads!and!equitably!assign!tasks.!Our!policy!is!that!
the!WMS!should!be!highly!transparent.!The!Director!of!Teaching!in!consultation!with!the!DTC!makes!
teaching!allocations.!Each!member!of!staff!is!emailed!an!individual!summary!of!their!WMS!at!three!points!
during!the!academic!year!(Action(4.2B).!
!
Staff!teaching!loads!and!enabling!duties!are!allocated!according!to!the!Department’s!WMS.!!All!duties!
across!the!Department!are!assigned!a!nominal!number!of!tariff!points,!which!has!a!correspondence!to!the!
number!of!accumulated!hours.!!One!of!the!principles!of!the!WMS!is!that!it!should!serve!as!an!equable!and!
transparent!mechanism!for!allocating!staff!workload,!and!to!this!end!details!of!allocations!for!each!
member!of!staff!are!published!on!the!Departmental!web!pages!along!with!an!explanation!of!any!reduced!
load.!!Staff!may!be!recorded!as!being!on!a!reduced!(fractional)!teaching!load!for!various!reasons,!including!
probation,!buyout!from!a!Fellowship,!maternity!leave,!paternity!leave,!and!sabbatical!leave.!The!general!
department!policy!is!that!all!academic!staff!should!make!a!contribution!to!the!teaching!delivery,!and!
typically!only!members!of!staff!who!are!on!maternity!leave!or!sabbatical!would!have!a!zero!teaching!load.!
The!WMS!system!of!the!department!was!highly!commended!in!the!2013!University!Internal!Quality!
Review!as!a!very!effective!management!tool.!Efforts!are!made!each!year!to!refine!and!improve!the!scheme.!
The!WMS!has!gained!acceptance!amongst!staff!and!is!on!the!whole!considered!to!be!a!system!that!is!
visible,!well!balanced,!flexible!and!fair.!The!department!believes!this!to!be!an!exemplar!workload!
management!system!that!could!be!adopted!across!the!Faculty!and!college!(Action(4.2C)!
!
The!data!from!the!current!year!of!the!WMS!system!has!been!analysed!to!identify!if!there!is!any!evidence!of!
gender!bias!in!the!assignment!of!teaching!or!administrative!roles!within!the!department!(Action(4.2A).!In!
total!70!(15!of!which!are!female)!academic!and!8!(3!female)!teaching!fellows!are!included!in!the!system.!
The!average!load!for!a!female!academic!was!279!points,!whilst!the!average!load!for!a!male!academic!was!
307!points.!If!only!those!members!of!staff!that!are!on!a!full!teaching!load!are!included!these!averages!rise!
to!362!points!for!the!7!fullJload!female!academics,!and!447!points!for!the!28!fullJload!male!academics.!
There!is!no!evidence!that!the!female!members!of!staff!are!being!burdened!with!an!excessively!high!
workload!in!comparison!with!their!male!colleagues.!
29
!
!
Survey!of!Technical!Staff!on!Appraisals!
In!the!Juno!practitioner!application!an!action!was!raised!to!improve!the!“severe!lack!of!motivation!for!
technical!staff!to!participate!in!the!appraisal!process”.!The!initial!action!was!to!write!to!UCL!HR!to!raise!
our!concerns!about!the!collegeJwide!appraisal!process,!and!its!applicability!for!the!technical!staff.!
However!it!was!decided!that!a!better!course!of!action!would!be!to!survey!the!technical!staff!regarding!how!
the!appraisal!process!was!viewed!and!how!it!could!be!improved.!In!early!2012!a!questionnaire!was!
circulated!about!how!to!improve!the!scheme!for!technical!appraisals.!Of!the!13!technical!staff!in!the!
department,!11!replied.!The!main!findings!of!the!survey!were:!
• 7!people!thought!the!appraisal!was!pointless,!whilst!4!thought!it!helped!
• The!majority!thought!that!incentivising!the!appraisal!system!would!improve!the!process!
• 50%!of!the!respondents!said!that!the!further!training!recommended!in!the!appraisal!was!not!
carried!out!due!to!high!workload.!
• The!majority!thought!that!there!was!a!communication!problem!regarding!the!expectations!for!the!
appraisal!process.!
• Several!training!courses!of!interest!to!the!technical!staff!were!identified.!
!
It!was!widely!recognised!by!the!committee!and!the!technical!staff!that!many!of!these!problems!were!UCLJ
wide!problems!relating!to!the!lack!of!a!clear!career!path!for!technical!staff.!A!couple!of!actions!were!
identified!to!try!to!improve!the!way!the!appraisal!system!was!viewed!by!the!technical!staff.!Firstly,!the!
appraisal!email!was!reworded!to!explicitly!state!that!the!appraisal!system!is!a!career!development!process!
designed!to!aid!the!staff!in!terms!of!selecting!appropriate!training!courses.!In!order!to!assist!with!this!
process!the!Juno!committee!assembled!a!list!of!those!training!courses!that!have!been!taken!by!technical!
staff!over!the!last!few!years.!The!Juno!Committee!is!consulting!with!colleagues!from!other!UCL!
departments!about!the!implementation!of!a!new!appraisal!coverJsheet!and!check!list!(Action(3.1A).!The!
department!is!also!attempting!to!initiate!an!apprentice!scheme!for!technical!staff.!
!
Flexible!Working!Practices!
Almost!all!members!of!staff!appear!to!be!fully!aware!of!their!options!for!working!flexibly,!as!highlighted!by!
the!87%!of!P&A!staff!who!responded!positively!about!this!point!in!the!last!UCL!survey.!To!help!ensure!that!
all!new!staff!are!aware!of!the!possibilities!of!flexible!working,!particularly!if!they!are!or!become!parents!or!
carers,!the!UCL!leaflet!“Guidance!on!supporting!working!parents!and!carers”!is!included!in!the!welcome!
pack!(Action(5.1I).(
(
The!UCL!policies!are!posted!clearly!on!the!HR!web!pages!and!there!is!constant!media!coverage.!There!is!
awareness!amongst!female!staff!as!to!who!has!taken!maternity!leave.!All!staff!that!have!requested!flexible!
working!in!the!last!three!years!have!been!granted!their!request.!This!includes!staff!of!both!genders,!in!all!
positions!and!at!all!levels.!Flexible!working!patterns!may!be!required,!not!only!for!parental!leave,!but!also!
for!other!family!commitments,!health!reasons!or!to!undertake!training.!
!
However,!there!is!a!disparity!between!academic!staff!and!administrative!staff!whose!option!for!flexibility!
is!mainly!for!shorter!working!hours!with!their!workload!is!adjusted!accordingly.!In!very!few!
administrative!posts!is!it!possible!to!work!from!home,!as!the!nature!of!the!job!usually!requires!their!
presence!in!the!department!and!access!to!the!physical!files!stored!there,!and!to!provide!a!service!to!all!
staff!in!the!department.!However,!in!the!last!three!years!there!has!been!considerable!flexibility!in!working!
day!start!and!end!times!for!administrative!and!technical!staff,!which!can!improve!domestic!arrangements.!
!
UCL!has!a!transparent!and!fair!maternity!leave!policy!that!is!applied!to!all!staff,!be!it!permanent!academic,!
on!research!contract!or!support!staff.!The!policy!allows!18!weeks!of!full!pay!leave!plus!governmental!leave,!
or!up!to!12!months!partial!pay!leave.!The!committee!have!contributed!to!the!college!white!paper!on!this!
issue!that!Harriet!Jones!is!writing!for!consideration!by!the!50:50!Group.!
!
At!UCL,!women!holding!academic!posts!who!have!taken!maternity!leave!have!a!nil!teaching!load!for!the!
first!term!after!their!return!(UCL!policy).!Their!hours!worked!on!return!from!maternity!leave!can!be!a!
mixture!of!formal!and!informal!flexibility;!for!example!they!may!return!at!a!formal!80!per!cent!FTE!but!
part!of!that!may!be!informally!worked!from!home.!Whilst!on!a!full!time!or!partJtime!salary,!they!can!make!
their!own!flexible!working!arrangements.!They!can!work!from!home!as!much!as!they!require,!whilst!
giving!consideration!to!their!duties!in!the!department.!This!flexibility!is!very!beneficial!to!their!domestic!
and!financial!arrangements.!
!
30
!
Departmental!records!show!that!between!2004!and!2008!no!women!in!the!department!took!maternity!
leave,!but!between!2008!and!2010!six!women!took!maternity!leave!and!between!2011!and!2014!six!
women!took!maternity!leave.!This!increase!is!primarily!due!to!the!increase!in!the!number!of!young!
women!employed!in!the!department!and!the!confidence!that!they!will!be!able!to!reintegrate!into!the!
workplace!and!recommence!their!research!on!returning!to!work.!UCL!HR!have!started!to!include!take!up!
of!maternity!leave,!paternity!leave!and!partJtime!working!in!the!annual!Athena!SWAN!report!which!
should!improve!the!department’s!ability!to!monitor!take!up!(Action(5.1A).!
!
In!2013,!UCL!changed!its!paternity!leave!policy.!Fathers!are!now!entitled!to!20!days!(four!weeks)!paid!
paternity!leave!that!can!be!taken!in!the!six!months!surrounding!the!birth!of!the!child.!Prior!to!2013,!
fathers!were!entitled!to!two!weeks!paid!paternity!leave.!The!department!have!instituted!a!system!for!
arranging!cover!for!the!teaching!duties!of!men!on!paternity!leave.!This!system!requires!notifying!the!Head!
of!Teaching!of!upcoming!paternity!leave!(at!the!same!time!that!the!line!manager!is!notified,!at!least!15!
weeks!before!the!Expected!Week!of!Childbirth!or!adoption).!Men!have!the!same!freedom!as!women!to!
adjust!their!informal!arrangements!and!have!overall!flexibility!as!to!the!hours!worked!from!home,!whilst!
working!on!a!fullJtime!basis.!Between!2006!and!2008!there!were!two!instances!of!paternity!leave,!
between!2008!and!2010!there!have!been!at!least!six!men!on!paternity!leave,!between!2011!and!2014!
there!have!been!five!men!on!paternity!leave.!Again!the!increase!seems!to!be!related!to!the!increase!in!the!
numbers!of!young!men!in!the!department,!!support!from!the!department!in!taking!leave,!and!the!
increasing!awareness!of!parental!rights!by!the!general!public.!A!new!system!for!arranging!teaching!or!
administrative!cover!for!members!of!staff!on!paternity!leave!has!been!introduced!and!will!be!described!
clearly!on!the!staff!webpages!and!in!the!handbook!(Action(5.1H)!
!
All!members!of!academic!staff!that!have!requested!sabbatical!leave!have!been!granted!this,!for!the!time!
schedules!they!requested,!which!do!not!necessarily!follow!academic!years.!On!occasions,!the!department!
has!permitted!additional!sabbatical!leave!in!return!for!buying!out!of!teaching!duties.!Administrative!staff!
who!are!willing!to!be!flexible!and!work!an!evening!shift!for!the!department,!are!given!time!off!in!lieu!at!
times!that!suit!them.!
!
The!departmental!procedures!for!maternity!leave,!paternity!leave,!sabbatical!leave!and!flexible!and!partJ
time!working!will!all!be!documented!in!the!staff!handbook!and!on!the!staff!intranet!(Actions(5.1C,(5.1H,(
5.1J,(5.1K).!The!department!maintains!a!web!page!for!staff!with!young!children.!The!information!on!this!
page!is!updated!annually!(Action(5.1E)!and!links!to!college!policy!websites.!
!
The!core!hours!for!the!department!are!10:00J16:00!and!the!department!aims!to!arrange!all!departmental!
meetings!during!these!times!(Action(5.1B).!When!departmental!events!take!place!outside!of!core!hours!
they!are!advertised!sufficiently!in!advance,!weeks!or!months,!to!allow!staff!members!with!caring!
responsibilities!an!opportunity!to!make!suitable!arrangements.!!
Female!Representation!on!Departmental!Committees!
!
It!is!now!departmental!policy!that!the!membership!of!all!departmental!committees!is!published!on!the!
internal!staff!website!(Action(4.1B)!The!percentage!of!female!staff!on!departmental!committees!seems!to!
be!roughly!in!line!with!the!female!representation!in!the!department.!
•
•
•
•
•
•
Departmental!Board:!8!men,!3!women!
Departmental!Computing!and!IT!Steering!Group:!7!men,!2!women!
Departmental!Teaching!Committee:!9!men,!2!women!(+2!female!administrators)!
Standing!Committee!of!Strand!Leaders!8!men,!2!women!
Postgraduate!teaching!committee:!5!men,!4!women!
Staff!Student!Consultative!Committee:!2!men,!1!woman!
!
Currently!none!of!the!group!heads!are!female,!although!until!2013!one!of!the!groups!had!a!female!head!of!
group.!The!department!is!committed!to!the!ideal!of!gender!balance!across!all!its!committees.!The!current!
departmental!board!has!a!reasonable!gender!balance,!reflecting!the!gender!imbalance!in!the!field,!since!
this!board!discusses!promotions;!it!is!particularly!essential!that!the!Departmental!Board!is!always!gender!
balanced!(Action(3.2B).!!
Female!Representation!in!Departmental!Colloquia!
!
31
!
The!department!has!four!named!Departmental!Colloquia!and!additional!2J3!unJnamed!colloquia!each!year.!
Some!of!these!colloquia!series!are!recent!innovations.!The!gender!breakdown!of!the!speakers!at!the!
departmental!colloquia!is:!
• The!Bragg!lecture!–!Condensed!matter!(10!males,!1!female)!
• The!Massey!lecture!(7!males,!0!females)!
• The!Spreadbury!lecture!–!High!Energy!Physics!/!Astrophysics!(22!males,!2!females)!
• The!Wilson!lecture!(2!males,!0!females)!
• Other!colloquia!(3!males,!4!female)!
!
The!overall!proportion!of!female!speakers!(7!out!of!51)!is!increasingly!positive!when!viewed!alongside!the!
proportion!of!female!physics!professors!in!the!country!(currently!~7%).!However,!the!lack!of!a!female!
speaker!in!any!of!the!named!colloquia!for!several!years!until!recently!was!clearly!poor.!Since!the!
colloquium!organisers!were!asked!earlier!this!year!to!attempt!to!make!future!colloquia!speakers!more!
representative!of!the!wider!community!of!physicists,!this!has!improved,!with!four!upcoming!female!
colloquia!speakers!this!academic!year.!The!Department!is!committed!to!maintaining!the!momentum!of!
this!programme!of!fair!representation!and!will!continue!to!monitor!the!situation!(Actions 3.2E, 3.2F).!
!
Female!Representation!in!Group!Seminars!
!
During!term!times!weekly!seminars!are!organised!by!each!of!the!research!groups!(though!the!London!
Centre!for!Nanotechnology!runs!the!CMMP!seminar!series).!Figure!25!and!Table!6!show!the!percentage!of!
female!speakers!in!each!of!the!four!seminar!series!since!2011.!In!2012,!we!noticed!that!the!proportion!of!
female!seminar!speakers!across!all!of!the!seminar!series!was!not!reflective!of!the!diversity!of!active!
researchers!in!the!field.!The!group!seminar!organisers!were!asked!to!select!seminar!speakers!that!
represented!the!diversity!of!the!community.!A!target!of!30%!was!set!for!the!Astrophysics!group!seminar!
organisers,!although!it!was!made!clear!that!this!was!a!target!rather!than!a!rigorous!quota.!For!the!HEP!
group!a!target!of!25%!was!set!based!on!the!percentage!of!PhD!students!attending!the!STFC!summer!school,!
which!all!1st!year!PhD!students!in!the!country!attend.!It!has!proved!harder!to!determine!the!correct!target!
to!set!for!the!CMMP/LCN!and!AMOPP!seminar!series,!since!the!gender!proportion!of!the!community!is!not!
as!easy!to!determine.!Female!representation!in!the!group!seminar!series!have!been!improving!for!most!
groups!with!Astrophysics!and!AMOPP!reaching!44%!&!40%!female!speakers!respectively!in!2014!so!far!
(Action 3.2E).!
50%!
45%!
40%!
35%!
AMOPP!
30%!
25%!
Astro!
20%!
CMMP/LCN!
15%!
HEP!
10%!
5%!
0%!
2011/12!
2012/13!
2013/14!
2014/15!
!
Figure 25: The proportion of female seminar speakers in each of the group seminar series.
32
!
!
AMOPP
Male
Female
Female %
2011/12
19
1
5%
2012/13
23
1
4%
2013/14
13
0
0%
2014/15
12
8
40%
Astrophysics
Male
Female
Female %
21
3
13%
23
1
4%
13
6
32%
9
7
44%
HEP
Male
Female
Female %
15
4
21%
20
2
9%
8
3
27%
11
1
8%
CMMP/LCN
Male
Female
Female %
28
4
13%
41
3
7%
18
4
18%
24
8
25%
Male
1
Biophysics
Female
0
(new October 2014) Female %
0%
Table 6: Number of seminar speakers in each of the research group seminar series by gender(
PhD!Engagement!Strategy!!
After!noting!the!apparent!lack!of!communication!between!PhD!students!in!different!groups!a!PhD!society!
was!set!up!in!October!2013.!This!monthly!event!has!been!well!attended!across!the!research!groups!with!
approximately!40!students!in!attendance!at!any!one!session.!The!group!is!exclusively!organised!by!PhD!
students,!with!no!staff!allowed!to!attend.!There!are!two!20Jminute!talks!given!by!PhD!students!on!
research!within!the!group,!or!even!just!a!student’s!perspective!of!an!interesting!topic.!Previous!talks!have!
included!“Quantum!Computing:!A!sales!pitch”!and!”Bitcoin:!How!does!it!work?”!There!is!then!a!social!pizza!
and!drinks!event!to!encourage!discussion!between!the!students.!There!is!a!window!in!each!session!for!
students!to!air!any!issues!they!may!have.!These!issues!are!discussed!by!the!postgraduate!representatives!
at!monthly!meetings!and,!if!deemed!necessary,!brought!to!the!attention!of!the!Director!of!Graduate!Studies!
for!the!Department!of!Physics!and!Astronomy.!Examples!of!issues!that!are!currently!active!include!
demonstrator!pay!and!hours,!and!office!space.!!
!
The!PhD!society!has!been!an!extremely!successful!venture!with!anecdotal!evidence!abounding!of!
increased!cohesion!within!the!groups!and!department!and!the!society!is!capitalizing!on!their!success!by!
planning!a!UCL!physics!PhD!summer!conference!on!all!research!areas!as!well!as!skills!development!(for!
example!paper!writing,!presenting,!data!analysis!methods).!The!department!will!continue!to!fund!the!PhD!
society!(Action(4.1D).!There!is!also!a!continuing!effort!to!support!career!progression!with!groupJspecific!
careers!seminars.!For!example!within!astrophysics!there!is!a!biennial!careers!afternoon!during!which!
speakers!are!invited!from!several!different!career!paths,!for!example!academia!and!finance.!This!good!
practice!is!being!rolled!out!to!the!other!research!groups!(Action(3.1C).!
PostJDoctoral!Researcher!Engagement!Strategy!
We!have!identified!a!lack!of!a!discussion!and!support!forum!for!our!PostJDoctoral!Researchers!(“PostJ
Docs”).!There!are!many!issues!that!are!especially!pertinent!for!PostJDocs,!including!but!not!limited!to!
firstJtime!applications!for!grants!and!fellowships,!support!with!childcare,!living!on!shortJterm!contracts,!
pressure!to!relocate!and!the!need!to!gain!independent!exposure!in!the!scientific!community.!
!
There!are!currently!80!PostJDocs!in!the!Physics!&!Astronomy!department!at!UCL,!with!little!or!no!
opportunity!to!mix!between!research!groups.!We!are!implementing!a!biJmonthly!meeting!to!which!all!
PostJDocs!will!be!invited.!This!will!take!place!at!lunchtimes,!to!avoid!clashes!with!family!commitments.!
PostJDoctoral!Research!representatives!will!be!chosen!at!the!first!meeting!(to!be!organised!by!the!Juno!
committee),!they!will!organise!future!meetings!(Action(4.1I).!The!meetings!will!serve!a!dual!role:!as!an!
informal!forum!for!PostJDocs!to!air!their!issues!and!gain!peer!support;!and!also!include!short!formal!
invited!talks!from!members!of!the!research!community!with!relevant!experiences!to!share.!These!invited!
speakers!could!include!people!who!have!recently!had!grants!funded,!staff!returning!from!maternity!leave!
etc.!The!PostJDoctoral!Research!representatives!will!report!issues!arising!directly!to!the!Head!of!
Department.!
!
!
33
!
Gender!balance!in!Departmental!Prizes!!
!
The!Department!of!Physics!&!Astronomy!offers!14!undergraduate!prizes!(with!2J3!additional!sessional!
prizes!awarded!for!merit)!and!5!postgraduate!prizes!(with!an!additional!postgraduate!Astronomy!prize!
awarded!on!an!ad!hoc!basis).!These!prizes!are!awarded!on!a!purely!academic!basis,!with!highest!marks!
the!criteria!for!undergraduate!and!quality!of!research!the!criteria!for!postgraduate.!Prizes!are!occasionally!
divided!when!more!than!one!strong!candidate!is!apparent,!especially!amongst!the!postgraduates!when!the!
award!can!be!slightly!more!subjective.!We!have!been!monitoring!how!the!gender!balance!of!student!prizes!
relates!to!the!gender!balance!within!the!wider!student!population!of!Physics!&!Astronomy!since!2012.!The!
gender!of!the!prize!winners!is!summarised!in!Table!7!and!Figure!26.!
!
(
UG!Male!
UG!Female!
PG!Male!
PG!Female!
Staff!Male!
Staff!Female!
2010/11(
2011/12(
2012/13(
2013/14(
TOTAL(
16!
15!
13!
13!
57(
1!
2!
3!
3!
9(
5!
6!
5!
6!
22(
1!
0!
1!
4!
6(
1!
1!
1!
1!
4(
0!
0!
0!
0!
0(
Table 7: The breakdown of Departmental prizes for Undergraduate (UG) & Postgraduate (PG)
students and the Departmental Teaching Prize for staff
!
In!the!2012/13!academic!year,!females!accounted!for!23%!of!the!undergraduate!population!and!27%!of!
the!postgraduate!population!–!in!comparison,!females!received!19%!of!the!undergraduate!prizes!and!17%!
of!the!postgraduate!prizes.!In!the!2013/14!academic!year,!females!again!accounted!for!23%!of!the!
undergraduate!population!but!a!slightly!lower!25%!of!the!postgraduate!population!–!females!received!
again!19%!of!undergraduate!prizes!but!a!much!higher!40%!of!the!postgraduate!prizes.!Without!wishing!to!
unduly!influence!prize!awards!which!are!awarded!purely!on!academic!merit,!those!selecting!prize!awards!
were!not!explicitly!informed!that!the!gender!balance!of!prizes!were!being!monitored!by!the!Department.!
As!such,!we!can!only!hypothesise!the!reasons!behind!this!greater!proportion!of!female!prize!winners!at!
postgraduate!level,!but!we!believe!that!the!advice!given!regarding!representative!seminar!speakers!has!
prompted!a!degree!of!cultural!awareness!within!the!research!groups!and!this!may!well!have!influenced!
subsequent!decisions!such!as!prize!winners.!We!also!hope!that!this!represents!a!greater!degree!of!support!
for!females!within!the!Department!as!a!whole.!The!Department!will!continue!to!monitor!the!gender!
balance!of!prizes!in!future!and!raise!this!as!an!issue!if!it!fails!to!align!with!the!overall!gender!balance!of!the!
student!population.(
!
18!
16!
14!
12!
UG!M!
10!
UG!F!
8!
PG!M!
6!
PG!F!
4!
2!
0!
2010/11!
2011/12!
2012/13!
2013/14!
!
!
Figure 26: The student prize data, separated by gender, for the last four years.
!
34
!
Section!F:!Action!Plan!
!
The!UCL!Physics!&!Astronomy!Juno!Action!Plan!follows.!In!the!action!plan!we!lay!out!our!strategy!for!
improving!our!working!practices!through!promoting!the!five!principles!of!the!Juno!Process.!For!each!of!
the!principles!we!will!briefly!discuss!the!planned!actions.!
Principle#1:#Robust#organisational#framework#
!
The!organisational!framework!of!the!Juno!Committee!is!now!well!established!at!UCL,!and!the!current!
practices!are!becoming!enshrined!in!departmental!policy.!The!Juno!Committee!will!continue!to!regularly!
monitor!diversity!and!equality!issues!and!report!to!the!department!at!the!annual!staff!meetings.!One!of!the!
challenges!for!the!next!three!years!is!to!take!this!monitoring!to!the!research!group!level!and!investigate!
any!anomalies!in!group!practices.!
!
Principle#2:#Fair#appointment#
!
The!department!is!continually!striving!to!ensure!it!appoints!the!best!candidates!in!the!fairest!manner.!One!
area!that!still!needs!to!be!improved!is!to!ensure!we!have!a!uniform!induction!process,!enabling!all!new!
staff!to!excel!in!their!new!environment.!!
!
Principle#3:#Career#progression#and#promotion#
!
The!department!is!working!hard!to!ensure!that!all!staff!have!the!opportunity!to!develop!during!their!time!
at!UCL,!this!is!particularly!important!and!challenging!for!research!staff!on!short!term!contracts.!By!
devoting!time!and!money!to!supporting!initiatives!such!as!the!postdoctoral!society!and!mentoring!scheme,!
the!department!hopes!to!fully!integrate!shortJterm!researchers!into!the!department.!The!adoption!of!good!
practice,!such!as!the!astrophysics!career’s!day!across!the!department!will!also!help!with!this!effort.!The!
planned!promotions!workshop!will!help!ensure!that!the!academic!promotion!process!is!more!transparent.!
!
Principle#4:#Open#and#inclusive#culture#
!
The!department!has!a!clear!zero!tolerance!policy!towards!bullying!and!harassment,!ensuring!that!all!staff!
members!understand!this!and!treat!colleagues!with!the!respect!and!consideration!they!deserve.!The!
department!is!working!hard!to!address!its!poor!record!of!attracting!prominent!women!scientists!to!
deliver!department!colloquia!and!seminars.!
!
!
Principle#5:#Flexible#working#
!
The!department!has!a!number!of!good!informal!policies!relating!to!the!provision!and!availability!of!
flexible!working.!We!are!in!the!process!of!formalising!these!policies!to!ensure!all!members!of!the!
department!are!aware!of!the!opportunities!to!work!flexibly.!!
!
!
35
!
Appendix(
!
Postgraduate!Student!Tables!
!
(
Applications!
Offers!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
(
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
2007/8(
118!
33!
37!
8!
31!
7!
86!
39!
2008/9(
102!
34!
34!
12!
27!
9!
87!
32!
2009/10(
117!
43!
29!
6!
26!
4!
80!
25!
2010/11(
162!
52!
42!
17!
32!
16!
94!
34!
2011/12(
163!
64!
34!
9!
33!
8!
101!
35!
2012/13(
171!
62!
37!
12!
30!
12!
96!
39!
2013/14(
211!
54!
40!
15!
27!
13!
115!
39!
Table 8: PhD Admissions 2007-2014(
(
(
Applications!
Offers!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
(
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
2007/8(
32!
18!
27!
14!
18!
8!
13!
3!
2008/9(
49!
16!
33!
8!
18!
4!
13!
4!
2009/10(
71!
28!
50!
13!
24!
5!
15!
4!
2010/11(
67!
34!
42!
19!
20!
10!
10!
7!
2011/12(
89!
36!
42!
18!
20!
8!
10!
4!
2012/13(
61!
29!
45!
22!
30!
14!
15!
5!
2013/14(
68!
27!
45!
18!
23!
11!
14!
4!
Table 9: MSc Admissions 2007-2014(
(
(
(
Applications!
PhD!
MSc!
Offers!
PhD!
MSc!
Acceptances!
PhD!
MSc!
Number!at!UCL!
PhD!
MSc!
2007/8(
21.8!
36.0!
17.8!
34.1!
18.4!
30.8!
31.2!
18.7!
2008/9(
25.0!
40.2!
26.0!
19.5!
25.0!
18.1!
26.9!
23.5!
2009/10(
26.9!
28.3!
17.1!
20.6!
13.3!
17.2!
23.8!
21.0!
2010/11(
24.3!
33.7!
28.8!
31.1!
33.3!
33.3!
26.6!
41.1!
2011/12(
28.2!
28.8!
20.9!
30.0!
19.5!
28.6!
25.7!
28.6!
2012/13(
26.6!
32.2!
24.5!
32.8!
28.6!
31.8!
28.9!
25.0!
2013/14(
20.4!
28.4!
27.3!
28.6!
32.5!
32.3!
25.3!
22.2!
Table 10: Female Percentage of MSc and PhD applicants, offers and acceptances 2007-2014.
!
!
36
!
!
!
!
(
Applications!
Offers!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
(
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
2009/10(
72!
21!
18!
2!
17!
2!
58!
17!
2010/11(
112!
32!
28!
8!
24!
8!
66!
19!
2011/12(
117!
32!
23!
6!
23!
5!
70!
18!
2012/13(
122!
42!
29!
7!
29!
7!
75!
19!
2013/14(
121!
27!
25!
6!
25!
6!
80!
19!
!
Table 4: PhD Admissions for UK students 2009-2014(
!
!
(
Applications!
Offers!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
(
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
2009/10(
33!
7!
26!
5!
13!
1!
10!
1!
2010/11(
35!
7!
23!
5!
13!
3!
8!
3!
2011/12(
36!
15!
21!
7!
11!
3!
8!
2!
2012/13(
30!
10!
23!
9!
13!
5!
10!
5!
2013/14(
21!
5!
18!
2!
8!
2!
8!
3!
!
Table(5:(MSc(Admissions(for(UK(students(2009B2014(
(
(
Applications!
Offers!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
(
PhD!
PhD!
MSc!
PhD!
MSc!
PhD!
MSc!
MSc!
2009/1 22.6!
17.5!
10.0!
16.1!
10.5!
7.1!
22.7!
9.1!
0(
2010/1 22.2!
16.7!
28.6!
17.8!
25.0!
18.7!
22.4!
27.3!
1(
2011/1 21.5!
29.4!
20.7!
25.0!
17.8!
21.4!
20.5!
20.0!
2(
2012/1 25.6!
25.0!
19.4!
28.1!
19.4!
27.8!
20.2!
33.0!
3(
2013/1 18.2!
19.2!
19.4!
10.0!
19.4!
20.0!
19.2!
27.3!
4(
(
Table(6:(Female(Percentage(of(MSc(and(PhD(UK(applicants,(offers(and(acceptances(2009B
2014(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
37
!
(
(
(
(
(
Applications!
Offers!
(
M!
F!
M!
2009/1
0(
2010/1
1(
2011/1
2(
2012/1
3(
2013/1
4(
31!
10!
20!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
8!
2!
7!
2!
17!
2!
11!
5!
7!
4!
7!
19!
9!
24!
21!
8!
1!
8!
1!
23!
11!
26!
11!
6!
3!
6!
3!
15!
15!
40!
19!
14!
8!
12!
8!
28!
15!
!
Table 7: PhD Admissions for other EU students 2009-2014(
!
!
(
Applications!
Offers!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
(
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
2009/1
0(
2010/1
1(
2011/1
2(
2012/1
3(
2013/1
4(
14!
6!
11!
3!
5!
2!
3!
1!
9!
11!
8!
9!
3!
5!
2!
3!
16!
9!
12!
5!
6!
3!
2!
1!
10!
6!
9!
5!
6!
3!
2!
0!
15!
6!
13!
6!
7!
3!
5!
0!
!
Table(8:(MSc(Admissions(for(other(EU(students(2009B2014(
(
(
Applications!
Offers!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
(
PhD!
PhD!
MSc!
PhD!
MSc!
PhD!
MSc!
MSc!
2009/1 24.4!
30.0!
20.0!
21.4!
22.2!
28.6!
10.5!
25.0!
0(
2010/1 35.5!
55.0!
58.3!
52.3!
63.6!
62.5!
32.1!
60.0!
1(
2011/1 46.7!
36.0!
11.1!
29.4!
11.1!
33.3!
32.4!
33.3!
2(
2012/1 29.7!
37.5!
33.3!
35.7!
33.3!
33.3!
50.0!
0.0!
3(
2013/1 32.2!
28.6!
36.4!
31.6!
40.0!
30.0!
34.9!
0.0!
4(
(
Table(9:(Female(Percentage(of(MSc(and(PhD(other(EU(applicants,(offers(and(acceptances(
2009B2014(
(
(
(
38
!
(
(
Applications!
Offers!
(
M!
F!
M!
2009/1
0(
2010/1
1(
2011/1
2(
2012/1
3(
2013/1
4(
19!
12!
32!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
4!
3!
3!
2!
6!
6!
10!
11!
3!
6!
2!
9!
6!
24!
12!
4!
3!
3!
2!
9!
6!
25!
9!
6!
2!
4!
2!
7!
5!
49!
7!
10!
4!
3!
2!
8!
5!
!
Table 10: PhD Admissions for overseas students 2009-2014(
!
!
(
Applications!
Offers!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
(
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
M!
F!
2009/1
0(
2010/1
1(
2011/1
2(
2012/1
3(
2013/1
4(
23!
15!
13!
5!
6!
2!
4!
2!
23!
16!
11!
5!
4!
2!
2!
1!
37!
12!
9!
6!
3!
1!
2!
1!
21!
13!
13!
8!
11!
6!
5!
1!
30!
16!
16!
13!
9!
8!
4!
2!
!
Table(11:(MSc(Admissions(for(overseas(students(2009B2014(
(
(
Applications!
Offers!
Acceptances!
Number!at!UCL!
(
PhD!
PhD!
MSc!
PhD!
MSc!
PhD!
MSc!
MSc!
2009/1 38.7!
49.5!
42.8!
27.8!
40.0!
25.0!
50.0!
33.3!
0(
2010/1 23.8!
41.0!
21.4!
31.2!
25.0!
33.3!
40.0!
33.3!
1(
2011/1 33.3!
24.5!
42.8!
40.0!
40.0!
25.0!
40.0!
33.3!
2(
2012/1 26.4!
38.2!
25.0!
38.1!
33.3!
35.3!
41.7!
16.7!
3(
2013/1 12.5!
34.8!
28.6!
44.8!
40.0!
47.1!
38.5!
33.3!
4(
(
Table(12:(Female(Percentage(of(MSc(and(PhD(overseas(applicants,(offers(and(acceptances(
2009B2014(
(
(
(
(
(
39
!
Principle 1: A robust organisational framework to deliver equality of opportunity and reward
Action already taken
and outcome
Action Further Action
The JUNO committee
will continue to report
The UCL JUNO
quantitative and
committee was
A)
qualitative evidence at
formed in January
the yearly Physics
2010. The committee
and Astronomy staff
has members from
meetings.
academic, technical,
Juno Chair to contine
administration and
to report to the
research staff and
Departmenal Board
meet at least termly. B)
meetings, which are
1.1.1 Evidence of
scheduled termly.
Appointing the Juno
senior management
Chair to the
commitment
departmental board to
enable a direct line of
1.1.2 Effective
feedback from the
Juno representatives
consultation,
Juno committee to the
to continue to attend
communication,
1.1 Establish
HoD and HoGs
research group
monitoring, evaluation
organisational
management
and reporting
framework
Appointment of Juno
meetings and provide
mechanisms
C)
representatives on
information conduit
each of the research
from the Juno
1.1.3 Clear
group management
Committee to and
accountability for
teams
from the research
implementation and
groups
resources allocated
Minutes of past Juno
(time and money)
Committee meetings
are available on the
UCL P&A staff website
Juno committee
representation during
the weekly
D
departmental
management
meetings
Ensure Juno
Committee meeting
minutes are on the
staff intranet
Responsibility
Accountability (Juno
committee member)
Timescale
Success Measure
Jon Butterworth (HoD) Ryan Nichol (Chair)
Annually since
September 2012.
>80% of staff
responding favourably
that they are informed
of department
events/happenings in
2015 Juno survey
Jon Butterworth (HoD) Ryan Nichol (Chair)
Description of the
work of the
Termly since January
departmental board in
2013
the annual Juno report
and application
HoGs: Mike Barlow
(Astro), Peter Barker
(AMOPP), Mark
Lancaster (HEP), Neil
Skipper (CMMP)
Claire Jordan
Group Reps: Dorothy
Duffy (CMMP), Nella July 2012 group
Laricchia (AMOPP), representatives
Ryan Nichol (HEP),
appointed
Raman Prinja (Astro)
Improved ability of the
Juno committee to
influence group policy
and share and
disseminate best
practice amongst the
groups.
Ryan Nichol (Chair)
Minutes of all Juno
meetings on website
as a record of the
Juno process in the
department.
Termly since 2010
1.2 Monitoring and
evidence base
A)
JUNO committee to
report annually on
findings
B)
Establish annual
1.2.1 Monitor over
review of student data
time, quantitative data
by gender for staff and
C)
Improved staff data
students.
collection using
central UCL
1.2.2 Obtain
computung systems
qualitative data from
staff.
Improve qualitative
data gathering
1.2.3 Identify any
through two-yearly
D)
discrepancies in
departmental survey
gender representation
and/or progression
Monitor
and identify factors
undergraduate and
that might be causing
postgraduate student
them.
data by domicile
E)
Annual document and
improved >90% of
staff aware of Juno in
2015 departmental
survey.
Increase the number
of female
undergraduates
studying at UCL, with
a goal of 30% by
2018.
Ryan Nichol (Chair)
Annually since
September 2012.
Set target of 30% for
female undergraduate David Waters
recruitment by 2018
Ryan Nichol (Chair)
September 2018
Annual report on the
staff profile,
promotion, recruitment Harriet Jones
and turnover by
gender
Claire Jordan
Annually since
September 2012.
Information included
in the annual Juno
report.
September 2016
Increased information
about research
groups, ability to
idenitfy and promote
good working
practices between the
groups.
April 2015
>60% of staff
responding in the
2015 survey. >80% in
the 2017 survey
Juno Committee
Tania Monterio
Analyse staff and
(PostGrad), Dorothy
postgraduate research
Duffy (CMMP), Nella
data by research
Robert Thorne
Laricchia (AMOPP),
group, identify any
Ryan Nichol (HEP),
anomalies
Raman Prinja (Astro)
Improve the response
rate for the 2015
survey by: Moving the
survey to during term
Claire Jordan
time. Streamlining the
survey. Promoting the
survey by email and
newsletter.
Ryan Nichol (Chair)
Principle 2: Appointment and selection processes and procedures that encourage men and women to apply for academic posts at all levels
Action already taken
and outcome
Action Further Action
Responsibility
Accountability
Group Reps: Dorothy
Improve induction in
Ensure that new
Duffy (AMOPP), Nella
the department
department members are
Laricchia (AMOPP),
through requiring
A)
introduced to support staff. Line managers
Ryan Nichol (HEP),
personal introduction
Include on new starters
Raman Prinja (Astro),
of new members of
check list
Hilary Wigmore
2.1.1 Ensure career
staff
(Admin)
breaks are taken into
consideration
Rewrite the UCL
Regularly revise the
Physics and
B)
welcome pack with update Claire Jordan
Hilary Wigmore
2.1.2 Gender
Astronomy welcome
information and personnel
2.1 Ensure that
awareness included in pack to be more
processes and
training for all staff
welcoming (c.f.
procedures are fully who interview
Imperial welcome
inclusive
pack)
Include research group
2.1.3 Provide
C)
welcome page introducing HoGs
Hilary Wigmore
induction for all new
the group to new members
staff, including
UCL already has a
research assistants, policy of mandatory
on appointment
diversity training for all
new staff.
Monitor the (mandatory)
25% female
D)
recruitment training
Hilary Wigmore
Ryan Nichol
representation on
requirement.
interview panels
A)
UCL already has a
policy of ensuring that
it is an equal
opportunities
employer and that
2.2.1 Monitor
career breaks are
B)
applications, shortlists taken into
and appointments,
consideration in the
looking at the
recruitment process.
proportion of women
(internal and external) All academic and
at each stage.
teaching fellow
promotions are
2.2.2 Identify any
discussed by the
2.2 Take positive
discrepancies and
departmental board.
action to encourage
investigate why this
The Juno chair is a
under-represented
might be the case,
member of the board
groups to apply for
taking action as
and uses this position
jobs
necessary.
both for monitorinbg
the process and
2.2.3 Identify any
implementing changes
Monitor the diversity
statistics of the recruitment
process in terms of
Claire Jordan
applications/interviews
and appointments
Hilary Wigmore
Invesitigate if the last
promotions round
disfavoured females since Jon Butterworth (HoD) Ryan Nichol
8 men and 0 women were
promoted to Reader.
Timescale
Success Measure
>80% of new staff to
Immediate, with
report they have been
annual email reminder suitably inducted into
to line managers
the department in the
2015 Juno survey
Yearly since summer
2012
An up to date
welcome pack for
each new memebr of
staff, also visible on
the website.
Summer 2016
>90% of new research
staff saying they have
been appropriately
inducted in to the
department in 2017
survey
September 2015
An up to date
database showing
100% of staff on
interview panels have
taken recruitment
training.
Annualy starting
October 2014
Data included in the
annual Juno report
April 2015
Potential impact on
future promotions
policies
policy of ensuring that
it is an equal
opportunities
employer and that
2.2.1 Monitor
career breaks are
applications, shortlists taken into
and appointments,
consideration in the
looking at the
recruitment process.
proportion of women
(internal and external) All academic and
at each stage.
teaching fellow
C)
promotions are
2.2.2 Identify any
discussed by the
2.2 Take positive
discrepancies and
departmental board.
action to encourage
investigate why this
The Juno chair is a
under-represented
might be the case,
member of the board
groups to apply for
taking action as
and uses this position
jobs
necessary.
both for monitorinbg
the process and
2.2.3 Identify any
implementing changes
discrepancies in
that support the Juno
gender representation principles.
and/or progression
and identify factors
All academic and
that might be causing senior job adverts
them.
include a postive
D)
action statement
inviting applications
from women and other
under represented
groups
Monitor time before
promotion to Reader and
Professor by gender
Exit survey of UCL P&A
PhD students, trying to
understand issues
preventing female
students from applying for
PostDoctoral postions
Ryan Nichol
Tania Monterio
(Postgraduate Tutor)
Ryan Nichol
Lousie Dash
April 2015
October 2015
Ensure any anomalies
are discussed at the
annual Promotions
Board meeting
Understanding issues
that might prevent
women form applying
for PostDoc positions.
Aim to increase
applications from
women to at least
match the PhD gender
ratio.
Principle 3: Departmental structures and systems which support and encourage the career progression and promotion of all staff and enable men and women to progress and continue
Action already taken
and outcome
Action
Further Action
Responsibility
Accountability
Timescale
Success Measure
Contact departments
who have produced
>60% of staff
an updated appraisal
October 2014 contact, responding they are
cover sheet or
checklist available in satisified with the
A)
checklist to import
Ryan Nichol
Hilary Wigmore
trial mode in April appraisal process in
best practice from
2015.
2015 survey, >75% in
across the University.
All staff are appraised
2017 survey
Implement a checklist
at least every two
for P&A appraisals.
years.
3.1.1 Appraise all
staff, including
researchers and
PDRAs.
3.1 Transparent
appraisal and
development
Surveyed technical
staff to understand
lack of motivation for
involvement with the
appraisal process.
B)
Introduction of a
mentoring scheme for
PDRAs and post
graduates. The
3.1.2 Mentoring
scheme was
scheme in place with
introduced and ran for
training and guidance
18 months with limited
available for both
take up, has now
mentors and mentees.
fallen in to disrepair
following the
3.1.3 Ensure all staff,
departures of Andrew
including PDRAs,
Morris and Janet
have access to
Anders.
impartial career
guidance.
Rewrote appraisal
announcement letter
to focus on the career C)
development aspects
of the appraisal and
produce a list of
training courses
relevant and useful to
technical staff
Advertise for
researchers to revive
the mentoring scheme
and discuss the
scheme at a focus
meeting of the
postdocs
Introduce annual
careers day in each
research group,
copying the
Astrophysics group's
good practiice.
Kate Heyworth
(Newsletter editor)
Emma
Chapman/James
Millen
HoGs: Peter Barker
Group Reps: Dorothy
(AMOPP), Mark
Duffy (CMMP), Nella
Lancaster (HEP), Neil Laricchia (AMOPP),
Skipper (CMMP)
Ryan Nichol (HEP)
Summer 2015
More than zero active
mentors in the
scheme, increasing
year on year.
Summer 2015
>60% of PostDocs
responding they are
satisified with career
development in 2017
staff survey
A)
Annual email about
promotion
opportunities
3.2.1
Ensure
promotions process is
transparent and fair to
all staff at all levels,
including those who
have had a career
break.
Ensure all staff eligible B)
for promotion,
including teaching and
research staff, are
discussed at the
annual meeting of the
Promotions Board
3.2.2
Ensure all
C)
3.2
Transparent
staff are aware of
Include Juno Chair in
promotion
promotion criteria and departmental board
processes and
process and the
meeting at which
procedures
support available to
academic promotions
them throughout the are discussed
process.
D)
Report grade
3.2.3
Take steps distribution of UCL
to identify and
P&A academics at
encourage potential
annual meeting and in
candidates for
annual report
promotion
Improved the gender
E)
balance of the
departmental board.
F)
Announcing the
upcoming promotion
and rebanding
opportunities in the
newsletter.
Kate Heyworth
(Newsletter editor)
Ensure that there is
always female
representation on the
Jon Butterworth (HoD)
Promotions Board,
even if conscription is
necessary
Wider publicity of the
professorial pay
banding, which is
available on the HR
website, include link
from P&A website
Include breakdown of
the professorial
banding in the annual
Juno Reports
Describe promotions
procedure in Juno
report and on staff
intranet
Annual promotions
workshop where
successul recent
candidates can talk to
potential future
candidates
Kate Heyworth
(Webmaster)
Ryan Nichol
Hilary Wigmore
Thanh Nguyen
Hilary Wigmore
>70% of academic
staff responding that
September 2014, then
they are aware of
annual
promotions procedure
in 2015 staff survey
Ryan Nichol
More than one female
September 2014, then participating in the
annually
promotions board
discussion.
Hilary Wigmore
Hilary Wigmore
Ryan Nichol
Nella Larrichia
January 2015
>50% of academic
staff aware of
professorial pay
banding in 2015
survey
>50% of academic
First included in this
staff aware of
juno application
professorial pay
(which is posted to the
banding in 2015
P&A intranet)
survey
>70% of academic
First included in this
staff responding that
juno application
they are aware of
(which is posted to the
promotions procedure
P&A intranet)
in 2015 staff survey
Summer 2015
>70% of attendees
judge that the
workshop provides
useful support (postevent survey)
Principle 4: Departmental organisation, structure, management arrangements and culture that are open, inclusive and transparent and encourage the participation of all staff
Action already taken
Action Further Action
Responsibility
Accountability
Timescale
Success Measure
and outcome
4.1.1
Ensure
Yearly review of staff
The JUNO committee
>90% of staff
departmental
handbook and
will continue to report
surveyed in 2015
processes,
publication of
A)
on the Juno process Jon Butterworth (HoD) Ryan Nichol
Annually since 2012
aware of the Juno
procedures and
availability on
at departmental and
process.
practices are fully
webpage
group staff meetings.
inclusive
Ensure committee
All committee
Clear publication of
lists on website are up
September 2014, then
B)
Committee chairs
Ryan Nichol
membership listed on
4.1.2
Gender
departmental
to date with a yearly
yearly
staff intranet
awareness included in committees on staff
revision
the training for all staff web pages
Increase in
and demonstrators.
Add student and staff
applications from
Overhaul of UCL
case studies and
female students to
4.1.3
Promote
Physics website
increase the number
30% by 2020.
inclusive social
of photographs of
Increase in
C)
Kate Heyworth
David Waters
Summer 2016
activities and other
Setup the
departmental
percentage of female
opportunities for
PostGraduate Studentmembers ensuring a
applicants for PDRAs
mutual support and
Staff Consultative
gender balance to the
and academic
interaction.
Committee
images
positions taking 20122014 as a baseline.
4.1.4
Use
Institute a new crossImprove the feeling of
Continue to financially
positive, inclusive
resarch-group
departmental
support the
images in both
postgraduate
cohesion. >60% of
PostGraduate student
internal and external committee to promote
Postgraduate Tutor
Annually since
PhD students
D)
committee through
Robert Thorne
communications.
interaction between
(Tania Monterio)
December 2013
answering that there
funding events such
research groups at
is a good cooperation
as the PhD talks
4.1.5
Encourage the postgraduate level
in the department in
evenings
and support female
the 2015 staff survey
seminar speakers.
Set targets for the
Monitor the seminar
Greater than 25% of
fraction of female
and colloquia gender
female speakers in
speakers in research
representation and
October 2014, then
E)
Claire Jordan
Ryan Nichol
group seminars in
group seminar series
provide feedback to
annually
2015 (30% for
organisers comparing
Astrophysics)
Monitored gender of
to targets
speakers in
departmental
colloquia and
identified a clear
Greater than 25% of
under-represenation
Improve the gender
female speakers in
of female scientists.
balance of
F)
Colloquium organisers Claire Jordan
September 2017
departmental
Contacted the
departmental
collouquia in 2015colloquium organisers
colloquia
2017 period
and invited to try
harder to represent
the diversity of the
scientific community in
their choice of
speakers.
Clear documentation
of the departmental
and college
complaints channels
on website and in
handbook
Instituted a
departmental
under-represenation
of female scientists.
Contacted the
colloquium organisers
and invited to try
harder to represent
the diversity of the
scientific community in
their choice of
speakers.
Clear documentation
of the departmental
and college
complaints channels
on website and in
handbook
4.1 Promote an
inclusive
culture
Instituted a
departmental
Christmas social
event in 2013
G)
Continue to advertise
departmental and
college complaints
Kate Heyworth
procedures on the
(Webmaster)
webpage and in the
staff handbook.
H)
Continue the policy of
yearly Christmas
Jon Butterworth (HoD) Hilary Wigmore
social meetings
I)
Set up a postdoctoral
forum based on the
highly successful PhD
society. To include
talks with topics such
as fellowship
application writing and
combining family and
academia, a social
element, and a forum
to discuss
departmental conerns.
Issue arising can be
taken up with HoD.
J)
Design a poster
advertising the name
of departmental equal
Lee Bebbington
opportunities liasion
officer and promoting
respect
K)
Monitor that the online
diveristy training is
being undertaken
through UCL HR
records. Remind staff Jon Butterworth (HoD) Ryan Nichol
at staff meeting and
via monthly emails
that this training is
mandatory.
Hilary Wigmore
Annually updated
The departmental and
college complaints
procedures and
contact names clearly
stated on the P&A
intranet.
Yearly since 2013
>80% of staff
responding there is a
friendly working
atmosphere in the
department
Emma Chapman and
James Millen for first
Emma Chapman and
meeting. then elected
Christmas 2014
James Millen
Post-Doctoral
representatives.
Hilary Wigmore
Increased morale of
postdoctoral cohort to
be measured by
>60% PostDocs
answering there is
good cooperation in
the department in the
2015 survey.
January 2015
Visible Juno presence
in the P&A corridor
October 2014 and
Action 3.1A
>80% of staff taken
online diversity
training by October
2015.
Biweekly since
October 2014
Biweekly meetings
with attendance
growing year on year
M)
Make clear the
department's zero
tolerance policy on
harrassment and
Jon Butterworth (HoD) Ryan Nichol
bullying, both publicly
(staff meeting) and
privately (HoD
intervention)
Immediate, ongoing
Fewer reports of
incidents of this type
in the 2015 and 2017
surveys. If there are
incidents, reports the
incidents were
handled adeuqately.
A)
Monitor the work
allocation by gender
Summer 2015, then
annually
Equal balance of work
by gender
Raman Prinja
Yearly
>80% of academic
staff responding that
the department
operates a fair and
transparent workload
allocation model.
Ryan Nichol
September 2016
Practice adopted in
one or more
departments by 2017
L)
4.2.1 Recognise the
full range of types of
contributions and
departmental role,
including
administration,
welfare and outreach
4.2 Transparent workactivities.
allocation model
4.2.2 Ensure all staff
are aware of the
criteria used to
develop the model
and that the allocation
is transparent
Start a Women in
Physics lunch for
academic, research
staff and PhD
students
Emily Milner
Jo Davies (Teaching
Administrator)
Implemented a
transparent and open
monitoring of the
B)
departmental work
load management
system for academic
staff covering
administration and
teaching loads
Ensure individual
teaching and
administrative
summaries are
emailed to all staff
before the start of
term
A workload summary
is emailed to every
member of academic
C)
staff at three times
during the year.
Promote the
departments workload
Raman Prinja, Robb
allocation model to
McDonald (Faculty
other dpeartments in
Athena SWAN)
the faculty and
college.
Jo Davies (Teaching
Administrator)
Dorothy Duffy
Raman Prinja
Principle 5: Flexible approaches and provisions that enable individuals, at all career and life stages, to optimise their contribution to their department, institution and SET
Action already taken
Action
Further Action
Responsibility
Accountability
Timescale
Success Measure
and outcome
5.1.1
Clear
Adopt family friendly
>60% of staff saying
support from Head of times for departmental
Improve reporting of
they are aware of
Department for
meetings
flexible working
Harriet Jones, Ryan
Summer 2014,
flexible working
A)
Hilary Wigmore
flexible and part-time
opportunities in the
Nichol
ongoing
practices in the 2015
working
Allow staff to to attend
department
survey (new
Departmental Board
question).
5.1.2
Consistently meetings with their
Record timings of all
>70% of
applied policy on part- children, if necessary
departmental and
Jon Butterworth,
Review in September meetings/seminars
time and flexible
to allow flexible
B)
group meetings,
Ryan Nichol
Heads of Groups
2015
held during core
working
childcare provision
colloquia and
hours.
seminars
5.1.3
Promote the Raise concerns with
>90% of staff
benefits of flexible
provost regarding the
Update staff
responding they are
working for both men policy of denying PhD
handbook with
C)
Jon Butterworth
Hilary Wigmore
Summer 2015
aware of provisions
and women,
students on maternity
specific section on
for maternity leave in
particularly for those leave access to the
maternity leave
the next staff survey
with caring
physical and online
responsibilities
resources of UCL.
Resulted in a change
Continue to monitor
5.1.4
Explicit
of UCL policy
the provision of
support for those
Ensure PhD students
services to PhD
returning from career Create web page on
Tania Monterio
on maternity retain
D)
students
on
maternity
Robert
Thorne
May
2013,
Ongoing
breaks or maternity
the UCL P&A intranet
(Postgraduate tutor)
access to the building
leave, to check new
leave
containing useful
and library.
policy
is
correctly
information for staff
implemented.
5.1.5
Encourage with young children.
take up of paternity
and other caring leave Promote IoP Carers
Fund in association
with conference
Increased awareness
announcements
5.1 Support and
of the support
Review the
promote flexible
provided by UCL, and
information on the
working practices
suggestions for how
E)
staff with young
Claire Jordan
Ryan Nichol
Annual
to avoid or overcome
children webpage
previously
annually
encountered
problems.
working practices
H)
I)
J)
K)
Update staff intranet
and handbook with a
page describing
procedure for applying
for paternity leave,
ensuring the
department arranges
any necessary
teaching cover.
Include copy of the
UCL "Guidance on
supporting working
parents and carers"
leaflet in the welcome
pack
Update the staff
handbook with
specific section on
flexible and part-time
working
Update staff
handbook with
specific section on
sabatical leave
Jon Butterworth
Claire Jordan
Hilary
Wigmore/Raman
Prinja
Hilary Wigmore
Apr-15
Increase in the take
up of paternity leave
in the department
Immediate
>90% of staff
responding they are
aware of provisions
for flexible working in
the next staff survey
Jon Butterworth,
Heads of Groups
Hilary Wigmore
Summer 2015
Jon Butterworth
Ryan Nichol
Summer 2016
Increase in the take
up of flexible and parttime working relative
to a baseline of the
last four years.
Increase in the take
up of sabatical relative
to a baseline of the
last four years.