Engineering Sciences Faculty
Equality and Diversity Action Plan
June 2013
The main areas for improvement within the Faculty of Engineering Sciences are (i) few female academic staff (ii) few black academic members
of staff (although other ethinicity’s are represented) and (iii) the percentage applications from BME staff being significantly greater than
percentage appointments to professional services positions.
Engineering has recently focused attention on the lack of female staff applying for academic positions, alongside reviewing its recent less
successful than hoped Athena SWAN award submissions. We will address our lack of achievement in this area by engaging, via UCL Equalities
and Diversity division, Harriet Jones (Policy Advisor – Athena SWAN and women in SET) for one day per week to provide dedicated support for
our Athena SWAN applications and to embed improved action plans.
The Faculty commenced using an executive search agency for recruitment to Head of Department positions with effect from September 2011.
The aim was twofold: to achieve our strategy of recruiting the best from a global field, and to leverage the agency’s global network to bring
candidates to our attention we would not otherwise have reached. Whilst this strategy has so far resulted in two excellent appointments, the
exercise has not yet borne fruit in improving gender balance or ethnic diversity of shortlisted and appointed candidates.
The Faculty has a diverse student ethnicity profile, but still shows an attainment gap of ~6% between white and BME students’ achievement of a
1st or 2:1 degree between 2007-2010. Since 2011, the Faculty has been directly supporting the work of Generating Genius, a charity that works
with high-achieving children and young people from challenging backgrounds where there has been no tradition of entry to higher education, with
the aim of enabling them to win places at top universities. Our association with Generating Genius underlines our expectation that all our
students will excel, no matter their background, and that we positively support students from challenging backgrounds.
Professor Anthony Finkelstein
June 2013
1
Engineering Sciences Faculty
Issue and area for
action identified
Actions
Timescales
Accountability
Responsibility
Success Measures
1
Costs of childcare
discourages
(female) staff
attendance at
conferences.
Establish a faculty fund for
conference attendance
focussed on support for
childcare costs, open to male
and female staff members.
October 2013
Anthony
Finkelstein
FM


2
Number of BME
appointees to
professional
services positions
far fewer than
applicant numbers.
Unconscious Bias training for
all DM’s and recruiting
managers.
Three sessions
within the 12
months to June
2014
Anthony
Finkelstein
FM/DMs



Further analysis of data to
identify if there are specific
roles, or any trends.
October 2013
Anthony
Finkelstein
Uptake of funding.
Analysis of uptake
(male/female; reports
from recipients;
increased uptake
over time).
Minimum two
professional services
staff per department
trained.
Percentage BME
appointees is in line
with percentage BME
appointments for the
period Sept 2014 –
Aug 2015.
Application and
appointment
percentage remains
in-line post-August
2015.
FM/Fiona
McClement
2
Engineering Sciences Faculty
3
Seniority of female
All departments to have a
academic staff
Deputy HoD and to
encourage women to take up
these positions as a transition
to a Headship.
4
Low numbers of
Examine applicant ethnicity
black members of
data and consult the Race
academic staff.
Equality Steering Group.
5
Attainment gap
between white and
BME students
Promote participation in
UCL’s Transitions
Programme.
6
Attracting females to Review language used in job
apply for academic
advertisements – present
positions.
Engineering as ‘peoplecentred’. Civil Engineering
suggested as an example of
good practice; others to be
identified outside UCL/sector.
October 2013
Anthony
Finkelstein
June 2014
Anthony
Finkelstein
November 2013
Anthony
Finkelstein
January 2014
Anthony
Finkelstein
HoDs

At least one female
Deputy HoD by
September 2015.
 At least one female
HoD by 2016.
FM/Dean
 Increase percentage
applications from
black applicants
(aim: 10%)
 Increase percentage
appointments of
black applicants
(aim: 10%)
Communications
 Reduction from 6%
Manager/Admissio
for period 2007-2010,
ns Tutors
to (minimum) 2% for
period 2013-2016.
Communications
 Increase of female
Manager/external
shortlisted
marketing advisors
candidates (aim:
50%) by 2020
 Increase of female
appointments (aim:
50%) by 2020
 Headhunters no
longer required by
2018 due to
Engineering
attracting sufficient
numbers of
applications from
suitably qualified
female candidates.
3
Engineering Sciences Faculty
At least one female applicant
on every shortlist; if no
women apply or the female
applicants do not meet the
criteria, an executive search
firm is to be used to identify
and engage with suitable
candidates.
There is a much higher
percentage of Chinese
female post-docs than found
in other nationalities/cultures.
Hold focus groups with these
students to identify why
engineering is more
appealing to women from
other cultural backgrounds.
Collect and publish case
studies on academic staff that
work part-time.
Better utilise female
academic networks to
encourage more women to
apply for posts.
With effect from 1st
September 2013.
Anthony
Finkelstein
Heads of
Department/recruit
-ing managers
April 2014
Anthony
Finkelstein
Faculty Tutor in
tandem with
Departmental
Graduate Tutors
May 2014
Anthony
Finkelstein
HoDs
March 2014
Anthony
Finkelstein
Communications
Manager/external
marketing advisors
4