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The Athena SWAN Charter has seen some major changes for 2011,
namely the formal introduction of Bronze department awards ­– which
recognise those departments that have identified problem areas and are
beginning to implement strategies for change – and the implementation
of two awards rounds every year, in April and November. We are also
delighted that Professor Dame Julia Higgins agreed to be our first Athena
SWAN Charter patron, and we look forward to working with her to support,
promote and advance the Charter.
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•
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10 awards
7 Bronze awards
3 Silver awards
83 per cent success rate
The successful introduction of the Bronze department award is highlighted
in this booklet by the number of award holders from a wide range of
disciplines, each identifying and implementing good practices to support
and advance the careers of female academics in their departments.
We are pleased to see new institutions joining the Charter regularly,
achieving Bronze university awards and committing to driving forward
gender equality. We continue to see departments from the full range of
science, engineering and technology disciplines engaging with the agenda.
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Introduction
This booklet sets out some of the good practice from those successful
in the first round of awards for 2011. For more information about any of
the policies and practices outlined here, please contact the university
directly. Athena SWAN contact points are available at:
www.athenaswan.org.uk/html/athena-swan/membership/members-list
We look forward to
another inspiring awards
round in November 2011.
Sarah Hawkes
Senior Policy Adviser
Equality Challenge Unit
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We would like to thank the University of Nottingham for kindly hosting
the first Athena SWAN Charter awards ceremony for 2011, and in
particular Dr Tony Stevens for his help with the event organisation.
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Registration, refreshments and photographs
David Ruebain
Professor Sarah O’Hara:
welcome to the University of Nottingham
Professor Dame Julia Higgins:
launch of ‘Athena SWAN Charter: measuring success’
Sarah Hawkes:
key findings from ‘Athena SWAN Charter: measuring success’
Lunch
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Over the last 25 years Sarah has worked throughout Central America
and central Asia on a range of projects mainly focusing on humanenvironment interactions with her current research investigating
environmental politics of shale gas developments in Europe and
North America.
c ie
Professor Sarah O’Hara is Professor of Geography and Pro Vice-Chancellor
for Human Resources, Access and Community Engagement at the
University of Nottingham. She studied for a BSc in physical geography
and geology at the University of Liverpool before spending several years
in Canada at the University of Alberta. After completing her DPhil at the
University of Oxford, Sarah spent eight years as a lecturer at the University
of Sheffield before joining the University of Nottingham in 1998.
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School of Geography, University of Nottingham
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Speaker and award presenter:
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Dame Julia was chair of EPSRC from 2003 to 2007, and vice-president
and foreign secretary of the Royal Society 2001 to 2006. She currently
chairs the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education, and has
recently finished a term as chair of the awards committee and council
member of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Dame Julia was chair
of the Athena project during its first five years, as well as chair of the
academic opportunities committee at Imperial College London.
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Professor Dame Julia Higgins is Emeritus Professor of Polymer
Science in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial
College London. Her research career has focused on the application
of scattering techniques, notably neutron scattering, to the
understanding of polymer behaviour.
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Speaker and award presenter:
Professor Dame Julia Higgins, Athena SWAN Charter patron
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One key aim for the school over the next two
years is to develop new initiatives so that our
female students and early career researchers
have visible and positive role models. We want
to ensure that they are well-placed to make
informed decisions about their personal goals,
and are able see the ways in which these goals
can be met alongside their development as
successful independent scientists.
of Life Sciences, Impe
Considerations of fairness and equality of
opportunity underpin all school policies. We
continually monitor and reflect on our internal
procedures, so that our working practices ensure
all of our staff can balance their personal and
professional goals. We are committed to ensuring
that there is no gender bias in our working
practices, and our excellent record in promoting
women to higher academic grades attests to
We are also mindful of our responsibilities to
promote SET activities and to promote women
in science. We have nine STEM ambassadors
in the school, and we support a wide range
of outreach activities, including visit days for
local school children and members of the
public, public lectures, and participation in
national science fairs.
ment
this. We recognise the importance of a gender
balance on all decision-making bodies within the
school, as well as the need to receive input from
school constituents at all levels.
pa
rt
Cardiff University School of Psychology has an
excellent international reputation for influential
research and research-led teaching. The
school has been ranked consistently among
the top five in the UK in successive research
assessment exercises. Our research ranges from
‘synapse to society’, including the biological
and psychological foundations of human
behaviour across the lifespan, the causes of –
and treatments for – mental health problems,
and important social psychological issues,
such as prejudice, reproductive health and the
behaviours of marginalised groups.
rgh, Depar tment
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Bronze award
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Silver award
The School of Biomedical Sciences in the College
of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine is a large
department of 211 academic staff (45.6% women),
comprising five interdisciplinary research centres
that conduct basic and clinical research and the
Biomedical Teaching Organisation (BMTO). In
the RAE 2008, staff were entered under unit of
assessment 9, gaining 3*, and unit of assessment
4 gaining 3*/4* (first overall). The BMTO and
academic staff administer a wide range of
biomedically-themed courses for undergraduate
students, and each research centre has a PhD
programme and postgraduate taught courses
that span a range of onsite and distance learning
master’s options. The school was a pioneer in the
university in supporting an academic postdoc
forum, and successfully implemented the
Research Concordat in 2009.
In 2008 we identified several issues in supporting
women in SET and produced a document
as a basis towards changing the academic
environment for women, which the new head
of school quickly moved to implement. Key
initiatives included directly supporting academic
women who had been identified to have
potential for excellence in academia by additional
mentoring, frequent review meetings with their
line manager and by offering participation and
leadership in school responsibilities.
Our recent review and survey identified further
areas for improvement. Plans include: setting
up an academic opportunities committee to
enhance transparency and academic careers;
including more women in positions of
responsibility (such as school decision-making
committees and interview panels); reviewing
school policy for women and academic appraisals;
additional mentoring, especially for women taking
family leave; and more active monitoring of the
outcome of the changes we are implementing.
M
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Our action plan includes initiatives aimed at
maximising the field for appointments, ensuring
female representation on all elective committees
and recruitment panels, publicising support for a
healthy work-life balance within the department,
as well as developing an induction pack for all
new staff and enhancing mentoring activities.
ment
8
it meets regularly to monitor and progress action
and started work on its SWAN application in
autumn 2010. Prior to this, the AOC carried out
a staff survey to help inform the self-assessment
process. Issues identified during the survey
have resulted in various actions within the
department, including increasing the frequency
of staff meetings to improve communication
and adopting a more formalised approach to
career development. The AOC also initiated
the establishment of a departmental postdoc
committee, which has already run a day-long
postdoc symposium and plans to establish a
buddy scheme which will partner new and
experienced postdocs together to provide
support and guidance for new staff.
pa
rt
Our departmental academic opportunities
committee (AOC) was established in 2008;
c ie
Life Sciences is the ninth department at Imperial
to win an Athena SWAN award. We have
campuses in South Kensington and Silwood Park,
Ascot, with approximately 100 academics, 200
research fellows and postdoctoral researchers,
over 250 PhD students, more than 200 MSc/MRes
students and over 900 undergraduates.
i en
Sc
ife
of L
al S
Bronze award
Imperial College London is a founder member
of the Athena SWAN Charter and received
its first award in 2006. One of the world’s top
universities for SET, Imperial has a long history
of championing women. The college academic
opportunities committee was established in
1998 to ensure a level playing field for women,
and by doing so, improving opportunities for all.
Notable initiatives include the faculty academic
ambassadors for women, a group that was
established in 2007, who work to promote
change, raise awareness and provide support
to female academics.
Ma
l of M a t h e m a t i c
Department of Life Sciences,
Imperial College London
e Lond
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iversity of S
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t o f C he m is t r y
,
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sity of Edi burgh, DepEadri tm ty of
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of
n, ent of Chemistr y, Uni
ic Depadrotm
n rsei
niver
ver
t
es, U
n
e
n,
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ll eg
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Bronze award
The University of Manchester is one of the largest
universities in the UK and positively supports
equality and diversity policies. The School of
Chemistry has the largest first-year intake of
undergraduate chemistry students in the UK
and our research spans the traditional disciplines
within chemistry and with strong interdisciplinary
themes. We participate in the Manchester
Materials Science Centre, the Manchester
Interdisciplinary Biocentre, the Photon Science
Institute and the Dalton Nuclear Institute.
A key feature in creating a positive spiral for
change in the roles and proportion of women
in science, engineering and technology is at the
school to university interface. To assist with this
objective we have a major outreach programme.
Secondly, our family friendly practices include
sensitive structuring of work around family
caring requirements, as well as mentoring
and personal development reviews being
embedded in our culture, which allows female
specific issues to be raised and addressed. Our
contract research and early career staff are two
key groups in which female representation has
shown a significant increase. Their own postdoc
forum is also actively included in our school
board and safety committee.
For the future we will continue to pursue
policies that enhance the role of women in
science and engineering. We now have women
at all levels of academic staff up to and including
professor; nevertheless we need to improve on
this and are pursuing a more active equality
and diversity training programme aimed at
our recruitment processes. We aim to further
develop our outreach programme, with two
new teaching fellows recently appointed, and
we will also build on our excellent postdoc
forum activities to include mentoring for
female students.
M
at h
em
a tic
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nc e s , U n i ve
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School of Chemistry,
University of Manchester
of
9
and P
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ma
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Ma
of
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Sc
ife
of L
rgh, Depar tment
nb u
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oln
ive urg t of Li
Lond Enge Lo
fe Sci
h,
Un
gi
ences, Imperial College
De
es,
l l e ne
e
nc
r
Co
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, Un i
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ty
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10
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, Ca
versity College Lo
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rial
chemical Engineer
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,U
niv
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of Life Sciences, Impe
Our self-assessment process identified the
need for leadership training for women entering
senior positions. In addition to supporting staff
members to attend external courses, we are
currently designing a leadership training course
internally. The training will identify particular
issues that have arisen in the institute for senior
managers and may lead to one-to-one coaching
sessions. Similar training will then be rolled out
to others, such as management training for
recently appointed senior lecturers, and training
for more junior staff to support academic
career development.
ment
by the FMS to pilot its mentoring programme and
a number of staff have now had the opportunity
to be trained as mentors. Both schemes have
proved successful for all staff grades.
pa
rt
The institute has initiated and designed a training
course for principal investigators which has been
adopted by the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS)
as a beacon of best practice. We were also chosen
c ie
Newcastle University’s mission is to be a worldclass research-intensive university, to deliver
teaching and facilitate learning of the highest
quality and to play a leading role in the economic,
social and cultural development of the northeast of England. The Institute of Health and
Society has long benefited from an enlightened
leadership which recognises that staff are entitled
to security of employment, investment in career
development and a satisfactory work-life balance.
This is reflected in the number of women who
have been promoted to personal chairs while
balancing family commitments.
al S
Silver award
l of M a t h e m a t i c
Institute of Health and Society,
Newcastle University
e Lond
me
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oll
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on d
o n , Un
t
iversity of S
rath
c
e, S
d
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l
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ce
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ho I m p
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al
Co
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t o f C he m is t r y
,
l Sciences, Univer
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n
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am, D
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f
D
n
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e
m
sity of Edi burgh, DepEadri tm ty of
ooff St
of
n, ent of Chemistr y, Uni
ic Depadrotm
n rsei
niver
ver
t
es, U
n
e
n,
it y
ll eg
nt
Bronze award
With over 300 staff, the School of Community
Health Sciences is one of the largest schools in
the University of Nottingham with recognised
excellence in health research. In the RAE 2008 our
division of primary care was ranked fourth in the
primary care unit of assessment across the country.
Through both teaching and research we have
strong links with the NHS and many colleagues
hold honorary NHS contracts. The school offers
a range of postgraduate taught courses, two
professional doctorates, and contributes to the
undergraduate medical course. Approximately
70% of last year’s intake of 270 medical students
are women and a higher proportion of women
than men can be seen in both postgraduate
students and staff. We are committed to providing
a supportive and nurturing working environment
for all staff and ensuring that gender is never a
barrier to selection or progression for both staff
and students.
Two of our recent initiatives have proven both
popular and successful. The first was raising
awareness of the promotion process and the
introduction of promotion planning workshops
to provide guidance and an opportunity for staff
to ask questions. The second was the development
of transparent workload models appropriate
to each division to ensure a fair distribution of
responsibilities between staff.
Although we have more women than men within
the school, the ratio of women to men reduces at
the higher salary levels so our future plans are to
explore ways of addressing this discrepancy. As a
school we wish to ensure good practice applies
to all staff as we pursue our aims of carrying out
internationally recognised research that will
benefit health and wellbeing, and delivering
evidence-based teaching to the next generation
of health scientists and applied psychologists.
M
at h
em
a tic
a l S c ie
nc e s , U n i ve
fN
r s it y o
ott
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in g
,Un
am ive
rs
i ty
,D
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r t me n t o f B io m
al S
edic
c ie
e
nc
s, U
it
School of Community Health Sciences,
University of Nottingham
of
11
and P
tm cie n
dtptiaicral S
ng
c hoo
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t i cs
ma
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t
ham
,S
Ma
of
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i en
Sc
ife
of L
rgh, Depar tment
nb u
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oln
ive urg t of Li
Lond Enge Lo
fe Sci
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Un
gi
ences, Imperial College
De
es,
l l e ne
e
nc
r
Co
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, Un i
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r s ve r s i
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, Ca
versity College Lo
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chemical Engineer
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of Life Sciences, Impe
We will continue to focus on improving our
support for women. In the short term a particular
priority will be the development of induction and
mentoring schemes for postdoctoral staff, as this
was the largest deficit identified during our work
to prepare for the Athena SWAN application.
ment
12
academic posts. It is pleasing that one element
of this developing strategy, namely our drive
to increase the number of externally-funded
summer bursaries enabling undergraduates to
sample research activity, has had a positive effect.
The majority of these bursaries (five out of nine in
the current year) have been secured by women
and the scheme is contributing to a positive
increase in applications for postgraduate research
places from our own female undergraduates.
It is also anticipated that the development
of postgraduate taught programmes will lead
to more students staying on to undertake a
PhD, and the undergraduate tutoring system
is being strengthened to promote relationshipbuilding and encourage our talented female
undergraduates to take research degrees.
pa
rt
The school continues to develop a plan for
promoting the progression of female
undergraduate students right through to
c ie
The School of Mathematical Sciences forms part
of the science faculty, one of six faculties in the
University of Nottingham. Predominantly, the
school teaches mathematics to students in the
science and engineering faculties, and enjoys
productive research collaborations with staff in
these faculties. In particular the school is a full
partner in the highly successful interdisciplinary
Rolls-Royce Centre for Gas Turbine Technology
and Centre for Plant Integrative Biology. Currently,
there are over 80 academic and research staff,
15 support staff, 90 postgraduate research
students and about 650 students on our own
taught undergraduate and postgraduate degree
programmes; the school teaches about 1000
students registered in other schools. We have
a broad mix of international and UK staff and
postgraduates and are currently developing
new programmes at the university’s China
campus to further enhance our student mix.
al S
Bronze award
l of M a t h e m a t i c
School of Mathematical Sciences,
University of Nottingham
e Lond
me
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oll
eg
eL
on d
o n , Un
t
iversity of S
rath
c
e, S
d
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so,
ho I m p
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al
Co
o ol o f M
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t o f C he m is t r y
,
l Sciences, Univer
n
n
U
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t
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n
o
am, D
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f Bi
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Bio
f
D
n
y
e
m
sity of Edi burgh, DepEadri tm ty of
ooff St
of
n, ent of Chemistr y, Uni
ic Depadrotm
n rsei
niver
ver
t
es, U
n
e
n,
it y
ll eg
nt
M
at h
em
a tic
a l S c ie
nc e s , U n i ve
fN
r s it y o
ott
h
in g
,Un
am ive
rs
i ty
,D
e pa
r t me n t o f B io m
al S
edic
c ie
e
nc
s, U
it
of
School of Mathematics and Physics,
Queen’s University Belfast
Bronze award
The School of Mathematics and Physics is one
of the largest of twenty schools in Queen’s
University Belfast. We currently have 55 academic
staff contributing to mathematics and physics
teaching and engaging in world-leading research
across seven different research centres. The
school has 40 research fellows, 100 postgraduate
students, 24 support staff and an approximate
annual intake of 180 undergraduates. Our ethos
is one of excellence in research informing
excellence in teaching.
As part of the Athena SWAN process we initiated
a survey of all staff and postgraduate research
students to determine their views regarding
existing workplace issues, such as appraisal and
mentoring processes, training opportunities,
career breaks, and return to work. The survey
identified the need for further support of
postgraduate research students and staff in
making the crucial transition from a postdoctoral
research position to an academic post. As a result,
the school has introduced training sessions and
talks for fellowship applications and promotion
seminars. We have also created a new role for a
senior staff member as a postdoctoral adviser
with a responsibility to ensure postdoctoral
researchers are adequately represented and
receive appropriate training and career advice.
The school supports new female staff and
postgraduate students to attend subject-related
events, and we continue to fund postgraduate
attendance to the women in maths day,
organised by the London Mathematical Society
and similar Institute of Physics events.
The school has developed a SWAN gender
initiative website which is visible from the school
homepage. The website aims to create awareness
of Athena SWAN, while also acting as a source of
other gender initiative information for prospective
students, potential new staff, and current students,
research and academic staff.
13
and P
tm cie n
dtptiaicral S
ng
c hoo
ce
t i cs
ma
e
h
t
ham
,S
of L
al S
ife
Sc
i en
c
of
Ma
l of M a t h e m a t i c
University of Strathclyde
rgh, Depar tment
nb u
n
oln
ive urg t of Li
Lond Enge Lo
fe Sci
h,
Un
gi
ences, Imperial College
De
es,
l l e ne
e
nc
r
Co
i ng
, Un i
i
f Ed
o
ty
r s ve r s i
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chemical Engineer
i ng
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niv
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De
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14
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chool of Psy
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, Ca
versity College Lo
nt
me
t
r
a
o f B io
rial
The Athena SWAN application process has been
instrumental in raising awareness across our
institution, and the engagement of staff at all
levels in considering current and future practice.
Our action plan identifies some challenging
aspirations in areas of recruitment, retention and
career development, which we intend to deliver
within the next three years.
of Life Sciences, Impe
We have a range of policies in place to ensure
that both women and men are appropriately
supported in advancing their careers, and recent
recruitment activities ensure that applicants are
provided with information on family-friendly
policies aimed at securing applications from
suitably qualified women.
ment
We have been a signatory to the Athena SWAN
Charter since 2005 and have since been working
towards achieving recognition under the Charter,
by demonstrating how the university is allying its
search for academic excellence with a concern for
equal opportunity and inclusiveness across our
institution. We are determined that good practice
in areas which strengthen equality and fairness
at work is shared and implemented across the
whole institution, including SET areas.
pa
rt
The University of Strathclyde is a modern, vibrant
university with strategic priorities in engineering,
science, business, humanities and social science.
It has a long-standing reputation for its education
and research across and between these
disciplines. Professor John Anderson, founder
of the university which became Strathclyde,
questioned the idea of what a university should
be. To make education a vital force in people’s
lives, he established in 1796 ‘a place of useful
learning’, a university whose purpose would be
to work for ‘the public, for the good of mankind
and the improvement of science’. He believed
that people and society could be improved by
the application of reason and intellect, a belief
still firmly maintained here.
c ie
Bronze award
e Lond
me
yC
oll
eg
eL
on d
o n , Un
t
iversity of S
rath
c
e, S
d
y
l
c
ce
so,
ho I m p
er i
al
Co
o ol o f M
e p ar t me
t o f C he m is t r y
,
l Sciences, Univer
n
n
U
e
t
e, S c h
n
o
am, D
ive
f Bi
d i ca
s it
c ly d
a r tm
ngh
oc
yo
rs i
me
ep
o t ti
at h
h
t
r
N
Bio
f
D
n
y
e
m
sity of Edi burgh, DepEadri tm ty of
ooff St
of
n, ent of Chemistr y, Uni
ic Depadrotm
n rsei
niver
ver
t
es, U
n
e
n,
it y
ll eg
nt
M
at h
em
a tic
a l S c ie
nc e s , U n i ve
fN
r s it y o
ott
h
in g
,Un
am ive
rs
i ty
,D
e pa
r t me n t o f B io m
al S
edic
c ie
e
nc
s, U
it
of
Department of Biochemical Engineering,
University College London
Silver award
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first university
institution to be established on an entirely
secular basis, to admit students regardless of
their religion, and to admit women on equal
terms with men. UCL is organised into eight
constituent faculties, within which there are
over 100 departments, institutes and research
centres. The university employs over 4,000
academic and research staff and 648 professors,
the highest number of any British university.
Biochemical engineering is a young and
growing department within UCL. It lies at
the junction between process engineering
and exciting new life sciences. As a department
our major challenge remains to work with our
aspiring women to help them to see academia
as a worthwhile career. The mechanisms are
all in place and more crucially so is the
willingness for us to succeed. SWAN will serve
as a further catalyst for change, even in these
uncertain times.
Our departmental action plan identified a series
of key career transition points which lie on the
path from undergraduate student through to full
academic employment and a continuing career.
Analysis has shown that our flagship EngD doctoral
programme consistently underperforms in terms
of female recruitment relative to our conventional
PhD option. We need to ensure more women
pursue this doctoral training as a good precursor
to academic appointments. Additionally, we will
develop an academic career-focused mentoring
scheme for motivated female graduates.
Another element of the SWAN plan will be the
creation and maintenance of a fully transparent
departmental intranet page developed to highlight
and promote gender equalities initiatives at three
levels (departmental, institutional and external).
The head of department will continue to play a
leading role in securing the best women for each
academic opportunity and for working with our
staff members to realise fully their potential.
15
Athena SWAN Charter awards April 2011
Silver departments
• Department of
Biomedical Sciences,
University of Edinburgh
• Institute of Health
and Society,
Newcastle University
• Department of
Biochemical Engineering,
University College London
16
Bronze departments
• School of Psychology,
Cardiff University
• Department of Life Sciences,
Imperial College London
• School of Chemistry,
University of Manchester
• School of Community
Health Sciences,
University of Nottingham
• School of Mathematical
Sciences,
University of Nottingham
• School of Mathematics
and Physics,
Queen’s University Belfast
Bronze university
• University of Strathclyde
Athena SWAN Charter
Equality Challenge Unit
7th Floor Queens House
55/56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London WC2A 3LJ
Athena SWAN
Athena SWAN is jointly owned by Equality Challenge Unit and the UKRC. It is funded
by Equality Challenge Unit, UKRC, HEFCE, the Royal Society and the Biochemical Society.
Charter for Women in Science
Design by Webb & Webb