Athena SWAN Silver university award application
Name of University:
University of Warwick
Date of application:
April 2013
Date of University Bronze award:
August 2010
Contact for application:
Professor TS Jones
Email:
T.S.Jones@warwick.ac.uk
Telephone:
024 76550645
Applications at Silver university level should demonstrate a significant record of activity and achievement
by the university in promoting gender equality and in addressing challenges in different disciplines.
Applications should focus on what has improved since the Bronze university award application, how the
university has built on the achievements of award-winning STEMM departments, and what the university is
doing to help individual STEMM departments apply for Athena SWAN awards.
Sections to be included
At the end of each section state the number of words used. Click here for additional guidance on
completing the template.
1
CONTENTS
Title
Page
SECTION 1 – LETTER OF ENDORSEMENT FROM VICE-CHANCELLOR
6
SECTION 2 – THE SELF ASSESSMENT PROCESS
8
Warwick Athena SWAN Steering Group
8
Warwick Athena SWAN Network Group
10
Departmental Committees
11
Account of the Self Assessment Process
12
Consultation Process on this Submission
12
Plans for the Future of the Self Assessment Team
13
SECTION 3 – A PICTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY
14
Structure of SET Departments
14
SET Departments with valid Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards
15
Student Data Time Dependence
16
Future Plans
16
Comparison with National Data
16
Undergraduate Male and Female Numbers
16
Postgraduate Male and Female Numbers on Taught Degrees
18
Postgraduate Male and Female Numbers on Research Degrees
20
Staff Data – Number of Male and Female Staff (academic and research) at each grade
22
Maternity and Paternity Leave
31
SECTION 4 – EVIDENCE OF THE IMPACT OF UNIVERSITY AND DEPARTMENT GOOD PRACTICE
32
(a) The University as a Whole, its Ethos and Working Environment
32
(b) SET Departments Management and Culture
46
(c) Individual Staff Working in STEMM
48
SECTION 5 – EMBEDDING ATHENA SWAN
49
Steps Taken to Encourage all STEMM Departments to Apply for Athena SWAN Department
Awards
49
Resources, Skills and Support Offered to Assist STEMM Departments with their Submissions
49
The Framework in Place within the University that Provides Access to Tools and Processes for
the Self-Assessment Process
50
How the University Recognises, Rewards and Celebrates the Success of Women and STEMM
Initiatives and Departmental Submissions
50
How the University Coordinates, Reports and Monitors Progress on Action Plans Across STEMM
51
2
Departments
How the University Shares Good Practice Among STEMM Departments and Across the
University
51
SECTION 6 – OTHER COMMENTS RELEVANT TO APPLICATION
53
APPENDIX 1 – SILVER ACTION PLAN
54
APPENDIX 2 – BRONZE ACTION PLAN - PROGRESS
65
LIST OF TABLES
Title
Page
SECTION 2 – THE SELF-ASSESSMENT PROCESS
8
Table 2.1: University of Warwick Athena SWAN Steering Group Members
8
Table 2.2: Membership of the University of Warwick Athena SWAN Network Group
10
Table 2.3: Departmental Committees Membership
11
Table 2.4: Terms of Reference to Illustrate the Remit of Departmental Committees
12
SECTION 3 – A PICTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY
14
Table 3.1: The 10 STEMM Departments in the Faculties of Science and Medicine which are of
relevance to this application
Table 3.2: Summary of Student Enrolments (headcount) by all Faculties and Split Between
Faculties of Science and Medicine, year of study 2012/13
Table 3.3: STEMM Departments that have either been successful or have applied for Athena
SWAN Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards
Table 3.4(i): Undergraduate Student Gender Data for all Students
Table 3.4(ii): National Undergraduate Data by Degree Level and Gender
Table 3.5(i): Warwick Postgraduate Taught Student Gender Data for all Students
Table 3.5(ii): National Postgraduate Taught Data by Gender
Table 3.6(i): Warwick Postgraduate Research Student Gender Data for all Students
Table 3.6(ii): National Postgraduate Research Data by Gender
Table 3.7(i): Warwick Staff Data by Gender as a Function of Grade as at 1st August each year
Table 3.7(ii): Total National Data Taken From Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Report
2012, Part 2: Staff (published by the Equality Challenge Unit) compared with
total Warwick Data – With and without Athena Awards
Table 3.7(iii): Total National Data Taken from Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Report
2012, Part 2: Staff (published by the Equality Challenge Unit) compared with
total Warwick Data – All STEMM Departments
Table 3.8: Promotion Data
Table 3.9(i): Maternity and Paternity Leave Data for STEMM with/submitted for AS Award
Table 3.9(ii): Maternity and Paternity Leave Data for STEMM without AS Award
Table 3.9(iii): Maternity and Paternity Leave Data for all Warwick Departments
SECTION 4 – EVIDENCE OF THE IMPACT OF UNIVERSITY AND DEPARTMENT GOOD PRACTICE
14
15
15
17
17
19
19
21
21
24
25
25
30
31
31
31
32
Table 4.1: A Selection of University or National Initiatives Resulting from the AS process at 33
Warwick Grouped into Actions Designed (i) exclusively for women, (ii) for women
but open to men, and (iii) for both men and women but with issues of more
significance to women than men included.
3
Table 4.2: Gender Breakdown of Warwick Senior Committee Membership
46
Table 4.3: General Initiatives Shared and Implemented across STEMM Departments
47
LIST OF FIGURES
Title
Page
SECTION 3 – A PICTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY
14
Figure 3.4: Undergraduate Student Gender Data for All Students
18
Figure 3.5: Warwick Postgraduate Taught Student Gender Data for all Students
20
Figure 3.6: Warwick Postgraduate Research Student Gender Data for all Students
22
Figure 3.7(i): Warwick Staff Grade FA6
26
Figure 3.7(ii): Warwick Staff Grade FA7
27
Figure 3.7(iii): Warwick Staff Grade FA8
28
Figure 3.7(iv): Warwick Staff Grade FA9
29
GLOSSARY
AP
Action Plan
AS
Athena SWAN
ASMNG
Athena SWAN Midlands Network Group is a regional network of universities signed up to the
Athena SWAN Charter.
DVC
Deputy Vice Chancellor
E&D
Equality & Diversity
EDC
Equality and Diversity Committee
EDN
Equality and Diversity Network
HR
Human Resources
LDC
Learning and Development Centre is the staff-training unit for the University and offers
provision for all staff groups including researchers.
Network-AS
University Athena SWAN Network Group is an informal group which has representatives
from all categories of staff from all of the STEMM departments. Its role is to share good
practice, identify gender related issues within the STEMM disciplines and to be the link
between STEMM departments and the formal University Athena SWAN Steering Group.
PCAPP
Postgraduate Certificate in Academic and Professional Practice
PGCTSS
Postgraduate Certificate in Transferable Skills in Science
4
PNM
Postdoctoral Newcomers meetings
PULSE
PULSE is the University’s Staff Engagement Survey, conducted regularly to identify staff views
on a range of university and employment issues.
PVC
Pro-Vice Chancellor
RPMS
Returning Parents Mentoring Scheme offers new parents confidential, one-to-one support of
a mentor who has first-hand experience of managing the issues involved in returning to work
after the arrival of a child.
RPNG
Returning Parents Network Group offers an opportunity for new parents to support each
other by meeting to discuss parenting and return to work issues in an informal and
confidential group setting.
RSF
Research Staff Forum acts as an interest group, at which research staff of all academic
departments meet to discuss issues and share information on topics that are relevant to the
research community. The Chair of the Research Staff Forum attends the formal University
Research Committee. In addition RSF is attended by a Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and
this enables positive dialogue between senior members of the University and the research
community.
RSS
Research Support Services is the central University administrative function dedicated to
supporting the continued growth in research capacity and maximising the impact of that
research through knowledge transfer and related activities. RSS works in close partnership
with academics, external funders and collaborating organisations to develop research
activities in all areas and disciplines.
SCS
Student Careers & Skills is a Student support department which includes a wide range of
opportunities to help students make the most of their time at Warwick and to prepare for the
future.
SIGs
The Library’s Wolfson Special Interest Groups is a new initiative which provides an
opportunity for PhD and Early Career Researchers to work with a prestigious team of
academics from Warwick, forming collaborative and interdisciplinary research links.
STEMM
Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine
Steering-AS
University of Warwick Athena SWAN Steering Group has oversight of University-wide
activities to ensure that Warwick does not disadvantage women within its talent pool.
WMS
Warwick Medical School
5
1.
Letter of endorsement from vice-chancellor: maximum 500 words
An accompanying letter of endorsement from your vice-chancellor (or equivalent) should explain how the
university’s SWAN action plan and activities in STEMM have contributed to the overall university strategy
and academic mission. In addition the letter should detail how the university as a whole has benefitted
from the activities of the award-winning departments.
The letter is an opportunity for the vice-chancellor to confirm their support for the application and to
endorse and commend any women and STEMM initiatives that have made a significant contribution to the
achievement of the university mission in relation to STEMM.
6
Word Count: 490
7
2.
The self-assessment process: maximum 1000 words
Describe the Self-Assessment Process. This should include:
(a) A description of the self-assessment team: members’ roles (within the university, within the
department, and as part of the self assessment team) and their experiences of work-life balance.
Warwick’s Athena SWAN (AS) Bronze submission was coordinated by a Self-Assessment-Group, chaired by the
Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC), which had representation from all STEMM departments and all career stages.
Warwick’s AS self-assessment process has evolved to reflect structures adopted by Warwick for most activities, with
three levels: formal departmental committees; informal faculty-level (Science and Medicine combined) Network and
formal Athena SWAN Steering Group (Steering-AS). This submission has been reviewed by the University Steering
Committee and Senate.
Athena SWAN Steering Group (Steering-AS)
As its name implies, Steering-AS (Table 2.1) provides University-level strategy for AS, taking oversight of Universitywide activities to ensure that Warwick does not disadvantage groups within its talent pool, thus attracting/retaining
the best staff and creating a working environment that enhances staff performance and general well-being. The key
aim of Steering-AS is to review and develop strategies for the implementation of activities within the AS agenda and
to encourage career development of women in STEMM. Steering-AS addresses issues that either cannot be managed
at departmental level (outlined later) or where there is institutional wide impact. Steering-AS acts as the conduit
between University strategic committees to advance AS issues. With membership including the PVC for Research
(Science and Medicine) and Heads of the Faculties of Science and Medicine, Steering-AS provides motivation and
support necessary to facilitate all STEMM departments moving forward on AS agendas. The DVC has responsibility
for E&D including AS and Steering-AS which reports into the Equality and Diversity Committee (EDC) and ultimately
to Senate and Council. Steering-AS is mindful that practices need to be differentiated for different career levels
within the academy.
Table 2.1 University of Warwick Athena SWAN Steering Group members
Steering-AS Members
University Role and Experience of Work-Life Balance
Professor Timothy Jones (Chair)
Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research (Science & Engineering), Knowledge
Transfer and Business Engagement and is Professor in Chemistry. Tim has
one young daughter, for whom he shares childcare responsibilities with his
partner. When required, Tim is able to be flexible with his working hours
and patterns to achieve a work-life balance.
Mrs Sandra Beaufoy
HR Adviser: Equality & Diversity (E&D). Joining the University in 1975,
Sandra has developed a career in Human Resources (HR) whilst based in
the Physics and Chemistry Departments. Sandra took two periods of
maternity leave, and worked part-time hours whilst her children were
young. She has experience of working on both the institutional and
individual departmental Athena and JUNO awards. Sandra co-chairs the
Athena Network Group and attends Athena SWAN Departmental meetings
for most of the STEMM departments to advice on best practice. Sandra’s
Masters Dissertation investigated barriers and challenges that females face
in academia.
8
Mr Michael Blair
Interim Deputy Director of Human Resources. Mike is responsible for
liaising with senior management with regard to policies and procedures
that may need reviewing in light of Athena action plans. Mike has over 25
years HR leadership expertise including public sector responsibility in HE,
Health, central and local government for equality and diversity policy and
practice as well as reward and retention strategies for all levels in the
organisation.
Mrs Caroline Peck
Athena SWAN Project Officer. Caroline has worked at the University of
Warwick since 1985. In 1999 whilst her children were at school and she
was working part-time Caroline began studying for a part-time degree
partly funded by the University of Warwick, she graduated in 2004.
Caroline took on the role of AS Project Officer in May 2012.
Professor Alison Rodger
Professor of Chemistry and Director of the MOAC Doctoral Training Centre
and Warwick Centre for Analytical Science. Alison moved to the University
of Warwick in 1994. She is committed to training early stage scientists and
has devoted a great deal of time and energy to the MOAC Doctoral
Training Centre, the Postgraduate Certificate in Transferable Skills in
Science and most recently developing initiatives for Athena SWAN
activities for the University and the Department of Chemistry. She is
married to another professor in chemistry; and has 2 daughters aged 14
and 16. She has worked full time except for 2 short periods of maternity
leave, using full time nursery and school clubs. She is a member of the
Chemistry WCC.
Professor Pamela Thomas
Chair of the Faculty of Science. Pam has been a member of staff in the
Department of Physics at Warwick since 1990 and a full professor since
2005. Pam heads the Ferroelectrics and Crystallography Group and is also
responsible for the strategy and running of the inter-departmental X-ray
Diffraction Facility. Pam is the first female Chair of the University’s Board of
the Faculty of Science. Pam has one son.
Professor Peter Winstanley
Chair of the Faculty of Medicine and Dean of the Warwick Medical School
(WMS). Peter joined WMS as Dean in 2010. Peter’s wife Maria trained as a
Physician alongside him, Maria is now a Senior Partner in an established
General Practice and the couple is very familiar with the pressures of ‘dual
career families’, they have three children (so Maria needed three career
breaks), and they have tried to develop a manageable work-life balance.
Mrs Leonie Walls
HR manager within Human Resources with responsibility for the
Administrative areas including both operational and specialist, has worked
in a number of different HR roles since joining in February 2003. Leonie
made a flexible working request following return from maternity leave and
now works 80% (Tuesday to Friday) giving her the opportunity to balance
her work commitments whilst still having valuable time with her daughter
during her formative years. Leonie has always found the University keen to
develop staff and offer flexibility where appropriate.
Peter Hedges is Director of Research Support Services (RSS) at Warwick.
RSS has responsibilities covering all aspects of research administration
include research development, finance, contracts, ethics and governance.
Peter has a wide range of experience in research funding and
administration and before joining Warwick has spent much of his career
working in the UK Research Councils. He is responsible for provision of
Dr Peter Hedges
9
policy advice to the University on all aspects of research administration,
including compliance with the UK Concordat on Research Careers. RSS is a
big team that includes a large number of professionals covering research,
finance, legal, IT & systems and project management specialisms, and RSS
strives to provide an environment that supports flexible and part-time
working. Peter has one daughter and like all parents is used to juggling
work commitments to meet the constraints of the school run.
The remit of Steering-AS is to:

Address gender inequalities within STEMM disciplines.

Encourage sharing of best practice initiatives implemented in STEMM departments to non-STEMM
departments where appropriate.

Consider innovative means of providing sustainable academic careers for women.

Support/advise/encourage STEMM departments to apply for AS Awards.

Update AS Action Plan (AP) with new initiatives, policies/procedures and ensure actions identified are
undertaken within specified timeframe.

Provide an Annual Report on progress of AS initiatives.

Promote positive working cultures and collegiate environment.
Warwick Athena SWAN Network Group (Network-AS)
The Faculty-level Network-AS (Table 2.2) is an informal group, meeting monthly, to up-date departments on current
initiatives, share best practice and progress on activities and encourage/support departments with AS programmes.
Network-AS consists of staff (across career stages) from all STEMM departments as well as Learning and
Development Centre (LDC), Student Careers and Skills (SCS), Research Support Services (RSS) and Human Resources
(HR). Meetings take place over lunch (provided) which helps engender an enjoyable community-feel of working
together on making Warwick a better place for staff, particularly those on an academic/research career paths.
Members are open about successes, failures and challenges. Each department ensures a representative attends
meetings. The variable population of attendees has ensured a wide community awareness of AS activities. The
Science-Medicine interaction has been particularly productive.
Agenda and Minutes are published on the E&D website. Actions from meetings are emailed separately to the
individual(s) responsible. Actions highlighted by departmental committees, but not within their remit to action, are
discussed at Network-AS meetings and unresolved issues submitted to Steering-AS.
Table 2.2: Membership of the University of Warwick Athena Swan Network Group (Network-AS)
Network-AS Members
Professor Alison Rodger (Chair)(AR)
Mrs Sandra Beaufoy (co-Chair) (SB)
Miss Katherine Branch
Dr Alexandra Cristea
Dr Sara Kalvala
Dr Claire Rocks
Ms Charikleia Tzanakou
Ms Faye Emery
Dr Natalia Khovanova
Department
Department of Chemistry
Human Resources
Department of Chemistry
Department of Computer Science
Department of Computer Science
Department of Computer Science
Institute of Employment Research
School of Engineering
School of Engineering
10
Mrs Caroline Peck
Mrs Leonie Walls
Mrs Anne O’Rourke
Dr Joanne Coysh
Mr Manus Conaghan
Mrs Sharon Neal
Dr Emma Anderson
Dr Miriam Gifford
Professor Laura Green
Ms Rebecca Freeman
Mrs Georgina Copeland
Dr Nav Patel
Professor Caroline Series
Dr Susan Burrows
Dr Elisabeth Blagrove
Mr James Smith
Dr Julia Brettschneider
Professor Wilfrid Kendall
Ms Julie Gallimore
Dr Vannessa Goodship
Mr Richard Moffatt
Mrs Sally Byrne
Dr Naila Rabbani
Dr Julia Smith
Professor Annie Young
Mr Sam Cole
Ms Eleanor Blatherwick
HR
HR
HR – Systems Team (Data Collection)
Department of Law
LDC (Learning and Development Centre)
LDC
School of Life Sciences
School of Life Sciences
School of Life Sciences
School of Life Sciences
Institute of Mathematics
Institute of Mathematics
Institute of Mathematics
Department of Physics
Department of Psychology
RSS
Department of Statistics
Department of Statistics
Student Careers & Skills
WMG
WMG
WMS
WMS
WMS
WMS
Strategic Planning & Analytics Office
Strategic Planning & Analytics Office
Departmental Committees
The main driving force for AS is within STEMM departments with the aim for Departmental Committees to be
integrated into normal activities reporting to Departmental Staff Meetings. These committees deal with staff
engagement issues that do not fit into the more academic and functional committee structures already in place with
AS being an important component of their activity. Representation is from all academic and research career stages,
as well as support staff and gender is mixed. Meetings are chaired by the Head of Department or another senior
member of academic/administrative staff (Table 2.3). Departmental committees vary in name and precise details of
remit but are similar to those included in Table 2.4.
Table 2.3: Departmental Committees Membership
Department
Chemistry
Computer Science
Engineering
Life Sciences
Mathematics
Physics
Psychology
Statistics
Warwick Medical School
WMG
Chair
Male Members
Head of Department
Associate Professor
Head of Department
Head of Department
Head of Department
Head of Department
Head of Department
Head of Department
Dean
Director of Administration
5
4
4
5
11
9
4
5
7
7
11
Female
Members
7
6
9
10
6
6
4
4
15
7
Table 2.4 Terms of reference to illustrate the remit of Departmental Committees. This one is for the Chemistry
Welfare and Communication Committee.
ILLUSTRATION OF REMIT OF DEPARTMENTAL WELFARE & COMMUNICATION COMMITTEES
1. To promote a positive working culture and collegiate environment within the Department.
2. To be responsible for facilitating effective communications within the Department.
3. To take forward the Action Plan from the Athena SWAN and PULSE (staff engagement) survey,
encouraging participation from all members of the Department.
4. To provide reports to Staff Meeting and to Executive Committee when requested.
b) An account of the self-assessment process: details of the self-assessment team meetings, including any
consultation processes that were undertaken with STEMM departments that hold and/or are working
towards Athena SWAN awards, and how these have fed into the submission.
The structure outlined in §2.a has evolved since 2009 and is working effectively as measured by a feeling of activity
and progress in Departments indicated by the assessment of impact detailed in their action plans. The original
Bronze AP progress is summarized at the end of this submission. As Medicine is benefiting by working as a single unit
group, in total Warwick has 10 sub-units working towards AS awards. Communication between departments and
Steering-AS is managed by ensuring Departmental representation at Network-AS. Members of Steering-AS (SB or AR)
attend STEMM Departmental meetings to support, advise and take relevant issues to Steering-AS. Meetings occur
between Departmental Chairs and a member of Steering-AS before individual departments begin AS submissions
and support is provided throughout, including use of a framework document devised by Network-AS on ‘how to start
the Athena journey’ and the provision of standardised data sets.
Consultative process on this submission
Steering-AS has undertaken considerable consultation on this submission:
Internal consultation:

Departmental Meetings

Network-AS meetings

Termly EDN meetings

Termly EDC meetings

Senate for approval

Early/Mid Career Female Forums
External consultation

Attending/hosting Midlands Regional AS Network Group, sharing documentation/best practice
12

External events where we have presented and received feedback: e.g. 2012: Athena workshops
Loughborough, Kent; Warwick Medical School workshop; 2011: Reading, Birkbeck, York.

Russell Group Diversity Meetings where Warwick’s AS work has been shared.

West Midlands Higher Education Equal Opportunities Network.

Networking during annual events we have established for the wider UK community: “Communication and
Impact for Female Early Career Researchers” and “Irène Joliot-Curie Conference: establishing an
independent career in chemistry”

Royal Society of Chemistry regarding career support for PDRAs

Institute of Physics – JUNO.
c) Plans for the future of the self-assessment team, such as how often the team will continue to meet and
any reporting mechanisms.
The three levels of committee are working effectively and we plan to continue with them.

Steering-AS will meet 5–6 times pa reporting to EDC, Senate and Council. Formal minutes of all committees
are available on the website.

Network-AS will continue to meet monthly as an informal forum for disseminating Steering-AS discussions
and sharing best practice.

Departmental AS meetings occur monthly in general. University strategy is that Departmental Groups should
be transformed into committees that have staff engagement as their remit with AS as a key agenda item,
thus enabling AS to be part of normal business.
Word Count: 1001 (excludes tables)
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3.
A picture of the university: maximum 1500 words
a) Provide a pen-picture of the university to set the context for the application, outlining in particular any
significant and relevant features.
(i)
Structure of SET departments/faculties:
Warwick is one of the UK’s leading universities with a high reputation for excellence in research and teaching,
innovation, and links with business and industry. Warwick’s research is ranked 7th overall amongst multi-faculty
institutions and is ranked in the top 10 of UK university league tables. One of Warwick’s major strengths is its culture
of high quality cross-disciplinary research. Institutionally Warwick has tried to establish the infra-structure to enable
dynamic decision-making to facilitate adoption of new opportunities/initiatives from academic staff. Warwick’s
strategy (Vision 2015), underpinned by a set of core values, reinforces Warwick’s ambitions to increase academic
excellence whilst recognizing distinctive strengths/characteristics of individuals and groups, and consequently AS
initiatives link directly into Warwick’s strategic objectives. All this is dependent on the quality of academic staff.
Warwick has maintained a strong department administrative structure with Faculties (4 in total) providing a
networking system rather than a layer of financial management or decision-making. Different aspects of teaching
and postgraduate training are dealt with in Departments, Faculties and at University level.
Warwick’s environment creates an exciting, dynamic place to work and places pressure on academic staff to perform
to a high standard. The AS process has been adopted by the STEMM departments (Table 3.1) at Warwick at a time
when it is critical to have structures in place to support students and staff in their future careers. The data-driven
nature of AS has been extremely helpful in identifying where more effort is required in supporting staff at different
career stages in different disciplines. Under the AS umbrella, focus has been placed on identifying where women are
‘leaking from the pipeline’ and what support is needed to alleviate this issue. Many issues identified for women at
different career stages are also relevant for men and we have worked hard to ensure that, where appropriate, men
also benefit from the AS process. Warwick achieved the HR Excellence in Research Award in January 2013,
reinforcing our commitment to supporting the career development of early/middle career researchers.
Table 3.1: The 10 STEMM departments in the faculties of science and medicine which are of relevance to this
application
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
Chemistry
FACULTY OF MEDICINE
Warwick Medical School with divisions of:
 Biomedical Cell Biology
 Health Sciences
 Mental Health and Wellbeing
 Metabolic and Vascular Health
 Reproductive Health
Computer Science
Engineering
Life Sciences
Mathematics
Physics
Psychology
Statistics
WMG
14
Table 3.2: Summary of student enrolments (headcount) by All Faculties and split between Faculties of Science and
Medicine, year of study 2012/13
Undergraduate
Postgraduate
(Full-Time/Part-Time)
(Full-Time/Part-Time)
Faculty
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year
SubNew
Cont. SubTotal
4+
Total
Total
UNIVERSITY (ALL FACULTIES)
UK/EU
3,232 3,135 2,727 1,148 10,242 2,474 3,159 5,633
15,875
Overseas
824
716
822
100
2,462 2,433 1,648 4,081
6,543
Total
4,056 3,851 3,549 1,248 12,704 4,907 4,807 9,714 22,418*
SCIENCE
UK/EU
1,164 1,315 1,256
469
4,204
627
729 1,356
5,560
Overseas
275
252
282
61
870
942
355 1,297
2,167
Total
1,439 1,567 1,538
530
5,074 1,569 1,084 2,653
7,727
MEDICINE
UK/EU
317
165
144
155
781
224
560
784
1,565
Overseas
4
15
15
14
48
39
124
163
211
Total
321
180
159
169
829
263
684
947
1,776
Warwick’s initial intake in 1965 was 450 undergraduates; it now has a total student
population of 23,631. 12,704 are undergraduates, 9,714 postgraduates, and the remaining
1,213 are exchange students, staff studying or students working abroad or in industry.
* Data do not include exchange students, staff studying or students working abroad or industry.
Warwick has ~5,000 staff (including 1687 academic/research staff) in 4 Faculties, 32 academic departments and 55
research centres. Within the STEMM departments (Table 3.1) there are 467 academic, 466 research-only, 94
teaching-only, and 543 non-academic staff. Warwick has grown significantly in the last decade and this has created
challenges in the way information is communicated across the University. The key to success in our departmental AS
agendas has been relatively simple communication strategies internally in departments and between departments
and central administration.
(ii)
List of SET departments with valid Bronze, Silver or Gold awards. Give dates of each application,
the year successful, and the date of renewal.
Warwick has 10 STEMM departments. Table 3.3 indicates awards obtained or submitted for.
Table 3.3: STEMM departments that have either been successful or have applied for Athena SWAN Bronze, Silver
or Gold Awards. Computer Science, Mathematics and Statistics intend to submit for Athena SWAN Bronze awards
in April 2013. All STEMM departments are therefore engaged in the AS process. This document has been prepared
with no knowledge of the recent November 2012 round of submissions.
Department
Chemistry
Chemistry
Engineering
Life Sciences
Physics
Psychology
WMG
WMS
WMS
Award
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Bronze
Silver
Bronze
Bronze
Silver
Bronze
Submission Date
November 2012
May 2010
November 2012
November 2012
May 2010
April 2012
November 2012
November 2012
November 2011
Date Successful
April 2013 pending
November 2010
April 2013 pending
April 2013 pending
November 2010
August 2012
April 2013 pending
April 2013 pending
April 2012
Renewal Date
2013
April 2015
April 2015
2013
2015
2015
March 2015
b) Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly labelled graphical illustrations) on the
following with commentary on trends and significant issues. Data should be provided for SET
15
departments that hold Athena SWAN awards in comparison with SET departments that do not hold
awards, and in context of the university as a whole.
Note: We have chosen to group departments according to whether they have submitted for an AS award rather than
whether they have been awarded one. This is in part due to the timescales of results from the November submissions
but also because departments who have applied for an award have made progress whether or not this is recognised
in an award. We have used data over a five year period.
Student data time dependence
Overall there is no discernible trend from year to year in the student data. We have been working to increase the
number of female applicants in STEMM subjects for many years. There is a slight increase in percentage of female
students from u/g to PGT to PGR across STEMM subjects (in contrast to the whole university data) which is
encouraging.
Future plans
The data suggest Warwick on average does not have a leak in the female student pipeline (though there are
exceptions in Psychology and Life Sciences). Staff data, however, indicates there is still a low progression of women
between Grades FA7 (Assistant Professor) to FA9 (Professor). We continue to work on this with a variety of obvious
and innovative activities both locally and nationally as described in §4.a. We consider we now have a dynamic
platform of activity supporting female and male staff that has taken some years to establish. Extensive publicity
across faculties has enabled links with Social Sciences needed to take us into the next stage of development. Moving
forward we plan to undertake academically credible research to determine the underlying causes of female staff
leaks at Warwick both more generally in the UK and internationally. Preliminary work has been started which we
hope will pump prime applications for research funding.
Comparison with national data
Warwick is slightly above the national average for students and staff in those disciplines which have not yet applied
for AS awards. However, comparison with ECU national data for AS-applicant STEMM departments is inappropriate
due to different percentage students populations in our disciplines and nationally. Discipline-by-discipline Warwick is
generally within 1–2% of the national average in individual departmental submissions, however, we e.g., have a
comparatively large Physics department and a small Life Sciences department. Our overall u/g numbers are
therefore below the sector norm. PGT is with the sector. PGR is again low, mainly due to high numbers of physicists.
(i)
Undergraduate male and female numbers – full and part-time – comment on the female:male ratio
and describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance or negative trends and the impact to
date. Comment upon any plans for the future.
Data for undergraduates are given in Tables 3.4(i) and 3.4(ii) and Figure 3.4. The university has 50% female students;
STEMM subjects who have applied for AS awards have ~29% with an increase to 31% in 2012/13; STEMM subjects
working towards applying for AS awards have ~27% with a decrease in 2012/13. The 2012/3 net changes are an
increase in percentage of female students. In the next admissions cycle it will be apparent whether the 2012 change
is a trend or not.
All departments have effective outreach programmes, some coordinated by Teaching Fellows or Outreach officers
others by academics. Disciplines with low percentages of female ug’s all have programmes to attract girls into the
application pool. Other disciplines, such as chemistry (40% female), where there is a smaller imbalance ensures that
open days, works shops etc. for school children include significant numbers of female role models and that girls are
encouraged to take part. In 2012 Physics took 19 year 9 girls to CERN in Geneva where they met scientists and were
shown around the facility. Mathematics outreach includes revision days and ‘Maths Beyond Days’ encouraging 15–
17 year olds to continue to develop their interest/skills in Maths. In 2012 Engineering ran a pilot Dragonfly day.
Dragonfly is an initiative providing opportunities for girls on the Headstart course to become mentors to younger
female students. All STEMM departments have set their own goals with regard to Outreach as part of their AS Action
Plans, and these will be monitored accordingly. (See Action Point § 3.b.i)
16
Table 3.4(i): Undergraduate student gender data for all students
%
%
Undergraduate
Year
Female
Male
With Awards:
Chemistry, Physics,
Psychology & WMS
Submitted for Awards:
Engineering, Life
Sciences
Computer Science,
Mathematics, Statistics
All University
Departments
WITH/
SUBMITTED
FOR AS
AWARD
WITHOUT
AS AWARD
UNIVERSITY
OF
WARWICK
TOTALS
Female
Male
Total
headcount headcount Headcount
2008/09
37.2%
62.8%
1331
2251
3582
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
37.3%
40.0%
36.6%
39.0%
62.7%
60.0%
63.4%
61.0%
1376
1477
1623
1528
2309
2219
2814
2394
3685
3696
4437
3922
2008/09
26.2%
73.8%
504
1418
1922
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
28.1%
26.7%
22.1%
23.4%
71.9%
73.3%
77.9%
76.6%
551
574
338
438
1413
1575
1190
1435
1964
2149
1528
1873
2008/09
50.5%
49.5%
5,951
5,838
11789
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
50.9%
49.6%
50.0%
48.0%
49.1%
50.4%
50.0%
52.0%
6,264
6,270
6,436
5,925
6,032
6,365
6,442
6,415
12296
12636
12878
12340
NB: WMG does not have any Undergraduate courses and therefore have no data to include in the above table within the
’With/Submitted for AS Award’ section.
Table 3.4(ii) National undergraduate data by degree level and gender.
First Degree Undergraduate National
Data 2012
STEMM DEPARTMENTS FOR
COMPARISON WITH WARWICK'S STEMM
WITH/SUBMITTED FOR AS AWARD
(including Biological Sciences;
Engineering & Technology; Medicine &
Dentistry; Physical Sciences)
STEMM DEPARTMENTS FOR
COMPARISON WITH WARWICK'S STEMM
WITHOUT AS AWARD (including
Computer Science & Mathematical
Sciences)
TOTAL ALL SUBJECT AREAS
Female
Headcount
%
Female
Male
Headcount
%
Male
Total
Headcount
157805
44.3%
198315
55.7%
356120
23615
24.1%
74410
75.9%
98025
804000
54.9%
660080
45.1%
1464080
Data taken from Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Report 2012 Part 2: Students (published by the Equality Challenge
Unit)
17
Figure 3.4: Undergraduate student gender data for all students.

The female intake in STEMM departments with/submitted for awards has increased from 1331 (37.2%) in
2008/09 to 1528 (39%) in 2012/13

Females are less represented in the STEMM departments without awards ranging between 26.2% (504) in
2008/09 and 23.4% in 2012/13

University wide, female representation remained fairly stable with a slight decrease from 50.5% (5951) in
2008/09 to 48% (5925) in 2012/13.
(ii)
Postgraduate male and female numbers on taught degrees – full and part-time – comment on the
female:male ratio and describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and the impact to date.
Comment upon any plans for the future.
Warwick’s PGT portfolio is very diverse and also a dynamic landscape. Numbers are small on many MSc courses. A
further complication is that DClinPsych students (1% of PGT student body) were re-classified as PGR in 2009.
However, overall there are no trends apparent in the STEMM data (Table 3.5(i), Table 3.5(ii) and Figure 3.5), though
a significant reduction in total numbers was apparent in 2012/13. STEMM PGT percentages of women are slightly
higher than u/g (significantly so in departments that have applied for AS awards) though across the university the
percentage of female PGT is smaller than u/g.
18
Table 3.5(i): Warwick postgraduate taught student gender data for all students
%
%
Female
Male
Total
Postgraduate Taught
Female
Male
headcount headcount Headcount
With Awards:
Chemistry, Physics,
Psychology & WMS
Submitted for Awards:
Engineering, Life
Sciences, WMG
Computer Science,
Mathematics, Statistics
All University
Departments
WITH/
SUBMITTED
FOR AS
AWARD
WITHOUT AS
AWARD
UNIVERSITY
OF
WARWICK
TOTALS
2008/09
43.2%
56.8%
1956
2574
4530
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
44.3%
45.2%
41.8%
46.4%
55.7%
54.8%
58.2%
53.6%
2027
2006
2111
1412
2551
2434
2274
1633
4578
4440
5045
3045
2008/09
25.8%
74.2%
47
135
182
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
25.0%
25.0%
24.7%
27.2%
75.0%
75.0%
75.3%
72.8%
40
36
55
22
120
108
168
59
160
144
223
81
2008/09
43.4%
56.6%
3,354
4,369
7723
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
44.7%
46.3%
46.6%
43.8%
55.3%
53.7%
53.4%
56.2%
3,919
4,377
4,585
4,061
4,844
5,084
5,256
5,218
8763
9461
9841
9279
NB: WMG only has PGT data for years 2011/12 & 2012/13 within the ’With/Submitted for AS Award’ section. They did not have
any WMG PGT students prior to this time.
Table 3.5(ii) National postgraduate taught data by gender
Postgraduate Taught National Data
2012
STEMM DEPARTMENTS AS A
COMPARISON TO WARWICK'S
STEMM WITH/SUBMITTED FOR AS
AWARD (including Biological
Sciences; Engineering & Technology;
Medicine & Dentistry; Physical
Sciences)
STEMM DEPARTMENTS AS A
COMPARISON TO WARWICK'S
STEMM WITHOUT AS AWARD
(including Computer Science &
Mathematical Sciences)
TOTAL ALL SUBJECT AREAS
Female
Headcount
%
Female
Male
Headcount
%
Male
Total
Headcount
30700
42.5%
41610
57.5%
72310
4930
23.0%
16530
77.0%
21460
270425
55.8%
214430
44.2%
484855
Data taken from Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Report 2012 Part 2: Students (published by the Equality Challenge
Unit)
19
Figure 3.5: Warwick postgraduate taught student gender data for all students

In terms of postgraduate taught students, female representation in STEMM departments with both awards and
without awards has increased in the past 5 years. STEMM departments with awards show a higher female
representation which has grown by 3% between 2008/09(43.2%) and 2012/13 (46.4%).

The university intake of female students in postgraduate taught courses has increased in both headcount and
female-male ratio until 2011/12. Only in the last year, there was a decrease of less than 3% in female taught
students in all university, despite the increase in STEMM departments.
(iii) Postgraduate male and female numbers on research degrees – full and part-time – comment on the
female:male ratio and describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and the impact to date.
Comment upon any plans for the future.
In accord with our departmental submissions, Warwick PGT female percentages are comparable or slightly better
than the national average. On average for STEMM departments there is a slight increase in PGR percentages relative
to u/g and PGT. It seems therefore that throughout student-life we have a flat landscape. So our student-focused
efforts should in general be targeted to increase the u/g applicant pool of female students.
20
Table 3.6(i): Warwick postgraduate research student gender data for all students
Postgraduate
Research
With Awards:
Chemistry, Physics,
Psychology & WMS
Submitted for
Awards: Engineering,
Life Sciences, WMG
Computer Science,
Mathematics,
Statistics
All University
Departments
WITH/
SUBMITTED
FOR AS
AWARD
WITHOUT AS
AWARD
UNIVERSITY
OF WARWICK
TOTALS
%
Female
%
Male
Female
headcount
Male
headcount
Total
Headcount
2008/09
34.9%
65.1%
305
570
875
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
36.5%
39.1%
36.6%
38.2%
63.5%
60.9%
63.4%
61.8%
361
423
392
298
628
659
678
483
989
1082
1070
781
2008/09
21.6%
78.4%
42
152
194
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
21.5%
25.8%
24.5%
25.7%
78.5%
74.2%
75.4%
74.3%
45
58
58
44
164
167
178
127
209
225
236
171
2008/09
42.3%
57.7%
583
794
1377
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
43.3%
43.5%
41.3%
41.0%
56.7%
56.5%
58.7%
59.0%
679
696
705
707
889
903
1,000
1,018
1568
1599
1705
1725
NB: WMG only has PGR data for years 2011/12 & 2012/13 within the ’With/Submitted for AS Award’ section. They did not have
any WMG PGR students prior to this time.
Table 3.6(ii): National postgraduate research data by gender.
Postgraduate Research National
Data 2012
STEMM DEPARTMENTS AS A
COMPARISON TO WARWICK'S
STEMM WITH/SUBMITTED FOR AS
AWARD (including Biological
Sciences; Engineering & Technology;
Medicine & Dentistry; Physical
Sciences)
STEMM DEPARTMENTS AS A
COMPARISON TO WARWICK'S
STEMM WITHOUT AS AWARD
(including Computer Science &
Mathematical Sciences)
TOTAL ALL SUBJECT AREAS
Female
Headcount
%
Female
Male
Headcount
% Male
Total
Headcount
19535
43.1%
25755
56.9%
45290
1760
25.6%
5125
74.4%
6885
48345
46.6%
55510
53.4%
103855
Data taken from Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Report 2012 Part 2: Students (published by the Equality Challenge
Unit)
21
Figure 3.6: Warwick postgraduate research student gender data for all students

A growth rate of almost 3% is observed in the numbers of female research students in STEMM departments
with/submitted for awards over the past 5 years reaching 38.2% in 2012/13

In STEMM departments without AS awards, female representation has increased from 21.6% in 2008/09 to
25.7% in 2012/13.

Female representation of postgraduate research students in all university departments fluctuates between 41
to 43%.
Staff data
(iv) Number of male and female staff (academic and research) at each grade – comment on any
differences in numbers between males and females and say what action is being taken to address any
underrepresentation at particular grades/levels.
Staff data are shown in Tables 3.7(i-iii) and Figures 3.7(i-iv). With the exception of FA7 (Assistant professors and
Senior research fellows) staff in non-AS departments, there is a gradual increase in female staff proportions over
time. The FA7 non-AS decrease is due to promotion of half the women on probation to associate professors so is not
a cause for concern. The overall small numbers of women in mathematical/computations areas is a concern that we
are working to address, focusing our energy on the entry to the pipeline. The issue of decrease in percentage of
women up the career levels is also of concern. On average STEMM FA6 to FA7 is fairly steady (though in chemistry
this is where the drop occurs, see Table 4.1). The percentage of women halves from FA7 to FA8. We think this is a
good sign indicating academic staff do not get stuck at probation stage, so this means there has been a significant
increase in appointments of academic staff in the last 4–5 years (duration of probation). Across all STEMM subjects
we are now working to support women in mid-career as the net drop is gradual at each career stage and could be
22
mainly due to the age profile of women in STEMM academia. This needs further investigation (see Action Point
§3.b.ii). Interestingly despite the assertion of our Arts and Social Sciences colleagues to the contrary, the problem of
losing women before senior levels is much more marked in these disciplines than in STEMM where there is only a 4%
drop, versus 15% for STEMM + Arts + Social Sciences, from FA8 (Associate Professor) to FA9 (Professor).
23
st
Table 3.7(i) Warwick staff data by gender as a function of grade as at 1 August each year
Level
Year
FA 6
2008
2009
2010
2011
STEMM With/Submitted for AS Award Numbers
%
%
Female
Male
Total
Female
Male
headheadheadcount
count
count
42.9%
57.1%
84
112
196
36.9%
63.1%
73
125
198
38.3%
61.7%
74
119
193
39.5%
60.5%
104
159
263
2012
41.9%
58.1%
103
143
246
19.4%
80.6%
7
29
FA 7
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
38.2%
39.7%
39.8%
36.6%
38.2%
61.8%
60.3%
60.2%
63.4%
61.8%
52
52
45
52
55
84
79
68
90
89
136
131
113
142
144
18.2%
19.0%
16.0%
11.8%
10.0%
81.8%
81.0%
84.0%
88.2%
90.0%
4
4
4
2
2
FA 8
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
18.4%
22.4%
22.0%
24.3%
23.2%
81.6%
77.6%
78.0%
75.7%
76.8%
23
30
31
41
38
102
104
110
128
126
125
134
141
169
164
19.6%
19.2%
20.0%
20.3%
20.7%
80.4%
80.8%
80.0%
79.7%
79.3%
FA 9
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
19.8%
19.8%
18.0%
18.0%
18.9%
80.2%
80.2%
82.0%
82.0%
81.1%
16
17
16
22
24
65
69
73
100
103
81
86
89
122
127
4.3%
4.5%
4.8%
5.0%
4.3%
95.7%
95.5%
95.2%
95.0%
95.7%
Clinical
Academic
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
26.9%
29.5%
32.5%
33.7%
33.0%
73.1%
70.5%
67.5%
66.3%
67.0%
18
23
25
30
31
49
55
52
59
63
67
78
77
89
94
%
Female
17.9%
17.2%
22.9%
22.6%
STEMM Without AS Award Numbers
%
Female
Male
Total
Male
headheadheadcount
count
count
82.1%
5
23
28
82.8%
5
24
29
77.1%
8
27
35
77.4%
7
24
31
24
45.2%
41.9%
42.2%
43.8%
Total University Numbers
%
Female
Male
Male
headheadcount
count
54.8%
188
228
58.1%
188
261
57.8%
184
252
56.2%
188
241
36
45.5%
54.5%
188
225
413
18
17
21
15
18
22
21
25
17
20
40.1%
39.8%
39.7%
40.7%
40.8%
59.9%
60.2%
60.3%
59.3%
59.2%
134
125
115
123
128
200
189
175
179
186
334
314
290
302
314
10
10
11
12
12
41
42
44
47
46
51
52
55
59
58
35.4%
35.3%
34.3%
34.5%
34.6%
64.6%
64.7%
65.7%
65.5%
65.4%
180
186
177
171
167
328
341
339
325
315
508
527
516
496
482
2
2
2
2
2
44
42
40
38
44
46
44
42
40
46
19.2%
18.8%
19.3%
20.0%
20.6%
80.8%
81.2%
80.7%
80.0%
79.4%
73
71
70
73
79
308
306
293
292
304
381
377
363
365
383
26.9%
29.5%
32.5%
33.7%
33.0%
73.1%
70.5%
67.5%
66.3%
67.0%
18
23
25
30
31
49
55
52
59
63
67
78
77
89
94
%
Female
Total
headcount
416
449
436
429
Table 3.7(ii) Total national data taken from Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Report 2012, Part 2: Staff (published by the Equality Challenge Unit) compared with total Warwick data
National Data by
STEMM Category &
Gender 2012
Academic Staff
University of
Warwick Data by
STEMM Category &
Gender 2012
Academic Staff
STEMM Departments as a Comparison to
Warwick's STEMM With/Submitted for AS
Award: (including: Biological Sciences, Chemistry,
STEMM Departments as a Comparison to
Warwick's STEMM Without AS Award:
(including IT & Systems Sciences & Computer
Software Engineering, Mathematics)
Engineering, Clinical Medicine; Physics, Psychology &
Behavioural Science)
%
Female
%
Male
38.4%
61.6%
Female
headcount
22675
Male
headcount
36345
Total
headcount
59020
STEMM With/Submitted for AS Award:
With Awards: Chemistry, Physics, Psychology &
%
Female
%
Male
22.2%
77.8%
Female
headcount
2425
Male
headcount
8515
Total
headcount
10940
STEMM Without AS Award: Computer Sciences,
WMS
Mathematics, Statistics
Submitted for Awards: Engineering, Life Sciences,
Total All Subject Areas
%
Female
%
Male
44.2%
55.8%
Female
headcount
80090
Male
headcount
101090
Total
headcount
181180
Male
headcount
1093
Total
headcount
1686
Total University Numbers
WMG
%
Female
%
Male
32.4%
67.6%
Female
headcount
251
Male
headcount
524
Total
headcount
775
%
Female
%
Male
14.4%
85.6%
Female
headcount
23
Male
headcount
137
Total
headcount
160
%
Female
%
Male
35.2%
64.8%
Female
headcount
593
Table 3.7(iii) Total national data taken from Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Report 2012, Part 2: Staff (published by the Equality Challenge Unit) compared with total Warwick data
Academic Staff National Data 2012
Female
Headcount
%
Female
Male
Headcount
%
Male
Total
Headcount
25100
Female
Headcount
35.9%
%
Female
44860
Male
Headcount
64.1%
%
Male
69960
Total
Headcount
274
29.3%
661
70.7%
935
National STEMM DEPARTMENTS as a
comparison with University of Warwick
STEMM departments (including: Biological
Sciences; Chemistry; Engineering; Clinical
Medicine; Physics; Psychology & Behavioral
Science; IT & Systems Sciences & Computer
Software Engineering; Mathematics)
Academic Staff University of Warwick 2012
All University of Warwick STEMM
DEPARTMENTS (10 departments)
25
Figure 3.7(i): Warwick Staff Grade FA6
 A trend of increasing female staff is observed in staff category FA6 in the last four years both in STEMM
departments with submitted for AS awards and university wide. In 2012/13, female staff accounted for 41.9% and
45.5% of total staff (in grade FA6) in STEMM departments with/submitted for AS awards and in all university
departments respectively.
 Women are less represented in staff numbers (grade FA6) in STEMM departments without awards. Their
proportion varied between 17% to 22% in the past five years.
26
Figure 3.7(ii) Warwick staff Grade FA7
FA7 = Senior Research Fellowships
Senior Teaching Fellowships

Female representation in staff Grade FA7 is similar (between 39–40%) in STEMM departments with/submitted
for awards and in all university departments.

In STEMM departments without AS awards, female staff has decreased in grade FA7 but it should be noted
that staff numbers in such STEMM departments are quite small.
27
Figure 3.7(iii): Warwick staff Grade FA8
FA8 = Associate Professor (Reader)
Associate Professor
Principle Teaching Fellowships
Principle Research Fellowships

In STEMM departments with/submitted for awards, female associate professors have increased by almost 5%
between 2008/09 and 2012/13 reaching 23.2% of the total staff in this category.

Female representation in staff grade FA8 has increased also in STEMM departments without AS Awards
reaching 20.7% in 2012/13 which is higher (or compares favourably to) than the respective proportion of
female staff in the staff categories FA6 and FA7.

University wide, the percentage of female associate professors has remained stable in the last 5 years,
between 34 to 35%.
28
Figure 3.7(iv): Warwick staff Grade FA9
FA9 = Professorships
Professorial Fellowships
Professorial Teaching Fellowships

The number of female professors has increased in the past 5 years (16 to 24) in STEMM departments
with/submitted for AS awards but the proportion of female staff in this grade has remained rather stable,
accounting for 18 to 19% of total staff.

In STEMM departments without awards, the number of female professors has remained stable but very small
(2 professors)

In all university departments, female professors have increased slightly since 2008/09 reaching 20.6% of total
professors.
29
Table 3.8: Promotion Data (Departments With Awards; Departments Without Awards; University) – NB: Data within FA7-FA8 includes figures for Associate Profs who are either staff promoted to this level or staff completing probation
YEAR
FEMALE
RECOMMENDATIONS
FEMALE
PROMOTIONS
FEMALE
HEADCOUNT
MALE
RECOMMENDATIONS
MALE
PROMOTIONS
MALE
HEADCOUNT
OVERALL TOTAL
RECOMMENDATIONS
FA6
to
FA7
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
1
1
2
1
1
2
73
74
104
2
4
2
2
4
1
125
119
159
3
5
4
FA7
to
FA8
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
7
7
5
5
2
2
52
45
52
24
14
22
17
9
17
79
68
90
FA8
to
FA9
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
2
3
1
2
1
1
30
31
41
11
8
3
7
6
2
104
110
128
FA6
to
FA7
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
8
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
24
27
24
FA7
to
FA8
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
3
0
1
2
0
1
4
4
2
5
7
7
5
6
7
FA8
to
FA9
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
11
12
2
0
2
2
0
2
FA6
to
FA7
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
3
4
5
3
2
3
188
184
188
2
4
4
2
4
2
261
252
241
FA7
to
FA8
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
12
8
9
8
2
5
125
115
123
16
11
20
9
10
15
FA8
to
FA9
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
7
6
7
5
3
4
186
177
171
27
17
14
17
15
12
FEMALE
RECOMMENDATIONS as % OF
FEMALE
HEADCOUNT
MALE
RECOMMENDATIONS as % OF
MALE
HEADCOUNT
FEMALE
PROMOTION as %
OF FEMALE
HEADCOUNT
MALE
PROMOTION as %
OF MALE
HEADCOUNT
% FEMALE
SUCCESS
RATE
%
MALE
SUCCESS
RATE
1.4%
1.4%
1.9%
1.6%
3.4%
1.3%
1.4%
1.4%
1.9%
1.6%
3.4%
0.6%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
50.0%
31
21
27
13.5%
15.6%
9.6%
30.4%
20.6%
24.4%
9.6%
4.4%
3.8%
21.5%
13.2%
18.9%
71.4%
28.6%
40.0%
70.8%
64.3%
77.3%
13
11
4
6.7%
9.7%
2.4%
10.6%
7.3%
2.3%
6.7%
3.2%
2.4%
6.7%
5.5%
1.6%
100.0%
33.3%
100.0%
63.6%
75.0%
66.7%
0
0
0
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
17
21
15
8
7
8
75.0%
0.0%
50.0%
29.4%
33.3%
46.7%
50.0%
0.0%
50.0%
29.4%
28.6%
46.7%
66.7%
0.0%
100.0%
100.0%
85.7%
100.0%
42
44
47
2
0
2
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
4.8%
0.0%
4.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
4.8%
0.0%
4.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
100.0%
0.0%
100.0%
5
8
9
1.6%
2.2%
2.7%
0.8%
1.6%
1.7%
1.6%
1.1%
1.6%
0.8%
1.6%
0.8%
100.0%
50.0%
60.0%
100.0%
100.0%
50.0%
189
175
179
28
19
29
9.6%
7.0%
7.3%
8.5%
6.3%
11.2%
6.4%
1.7%
4.1%
4.8%
5.7%
8.4%
66.7%
25.0%
55.6%
56.3%
90.9%
75.0%
341
339
325
34
23
21
3.8%
3.4%
4.1%
7.9%
5.0%
4.3%
2.7%
1.7%
2.3%
5.0%
4.4%
3.7%
71.4%
50.0%
57.1%
63.0%
88.2%
85.7%
STEMM WITH/SUBMITTED FOR AS AWARDS
STEMM WITHOUT AS AWARDS
OVERALL TOTALS FOR UNIVERSITY
30
Maternity & Paternity Leave
Table 3.9(i): Maternity and Paternity Leave Data for STEMM with/Submitted for AS Award
Year
2008/2009
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
STEMM WITH/SUBMITTED FOR AS AWARD
(7 departments)
%
Maternity
Return
Paternity
Return
Leave
Rate
Leave
Rate
30
27
90%
17
22
20
91%
19
22
20
91%
11
25
21
84%
7
Table 3.9(ii): Maternity and Paternity Leave Data for STEMM without AS Award
STEMM WITHOUT AS AWARDS
(3 departments)
Year
2008/2009
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
Maternity
Leave
1
4
4
1
Return
Rate
1
3
3
1
% Return
Rate
100%
75%
75%
100%
Paternity
Leave
1
2
2
0
Table 3.9(iii): Maternity and Paternity Leave Data for All University of Warwick Departments
ALL UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS
Year
Maternity
Leave
Return
Rate
2008/2009
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
94
101
93
87
85
96
87
78
%
Return
Rate
90%
95%
94%
90%
Paternity
Leave
40
53
33
37
 One man from WMS requested and granted extended paternity leave in 2011/12.
 One man in Life Sciences requested and granted extended paternity leave in 2012/13
Word Count: 1467 (excluding titles, tables and figures)
31
4.
Evidence of the impact of university and department good practice: maximum 2000 words
Provide evidence below on the evaluation and impact of university and department good practice initiatives on
the following:
a) The university as a whole, its ethos and working environment
Warwick is aware that the academic talent pool is finite and half of it is female. The fact that data for STEMM
academia show a leaky pipeline for women up the career grades is a serious cause for concern. We began
considering AS in 2009 as a mechanism to help us consider the specific needs of female academics, first at the
University-level and in Chemistry and Physics. Warwick is committed to the principles of the Charter, integrating the
development and sustainability of academic/research careers into University decision-making and strategy. This
commitment is substantiated by examples of financial resources that have been made available by the University to
support some of the many initiatives undertaken to support AS work (see Table 4.1). It is recognized that our
reputation and success depends on activities of individual staff members, and therefore we work hard to ensure
issues requiring consultation, action and improvements are dealt with effectively. It is important that staff feel
valued, and that the working environment is flexible to meet the demands of its workforce. This approach has
facilitated bringing student and staff engagement in AS to the top of agendas. Warwick has found that the process of
working towards AS accreditation, particularly the data analysis, has proved a helpful tool in identifying any issues
creating potential barriers to female career progression and how and at what career stage to support women in
different disciplines. We have worked on a number of levels.

AS principles fully incorporated within University policies and procedures and supported by the senior
management team to ensure that they become embedded into ‘everyday business’.

Undertaken an Equal Pay Review in 2011, where no evidence was revealed of any inequitable disparities in
base pay distribution within grades on the grounds of gender (see Table 4.1). A recent analysis of gender pay
disparity amongst Professorial staff across the University and comparing subject disciplines with Russell
Group data confirmed that in the STEMM departments at Warwick the disparity between male and female
salaries was 0.86% (at 1 October 2012) compared to 5.35% in STEM departments across the Russell Group
(as 1 January 2012).

Steering-AS has reflected the decision from EDC that all STEMM departments should apply for AS awards by
encouraging and supporting every department. All departments have made progress on their AS initiatives.

The cross-department Network-AS has been developed into a positive community that cares about staff and
students and works proactively to get things done.

Departments have moved their Self Assessment Groups into being part of the Departmental Management
structures with formal reporting avenues and regular meetings. They have also, in most cases, been
renamed, e.g. Welfare and Communication, and have an enhanced staff/student welfare remit that includes
AS as a standing agenda item. In this way the issues that women face are considered but not in isolation
from the welfare of their male colleagues.

An AS Annual Report, updating staff on progress of STEMM departments submitting for awards, progress on
APs and new initiatives planned to address gender inequalities.

Identifying challenges in STEMM careers for women and developing actions to address them at the
appropriate level (individual, department, University, national).
Warwick is an ambitious University and there is an emphasis on success for researchers, teachers, and
administrators. We are using AS as a key part of our development of mechanisms for holistic support for staff that
32
enables them to be successful, reach their full potential, and achieve a work/life balance. Through consultation with
female staff, the issues identified of particular relevance for women relative to their male colleagues can largely be
distilled to:

the challenges of pregnancy and maternity leave almost certainly occur at the stage when they are trying to
establish their career;

on average women prefer to work more collaboratively than men, whereas traditional academia and the
metrics which individuals have to meet relate to identifiable individual performance;

on average women have less confidence in their ability and readiness to proceed to the next stage of a
career and be successful.
Our support for women includes:
(i) events exclusively for women
(ii) events designed for women but open to men and women
(iii) general support mechanisms and monitoring of processes where issues facing women have been referenced
in the design-phase
We are increasingly realizing that in different disciplines women are particularly disadvantaged relative to men at
different stages. In some cases (e.g. mathematical sciences and engineering), the focus of our activities needs to be
before university, whereas in chemistry the challenging stage is PDRA-to-independent-career. We have also in
consultation with mid-career females identified issues encountered by them and these form part of this Silver
submission. Some of the AS-generated actions/initiatives that have been executed and evaluated are summarized in
Table 4.1.
Table 4.1: A selection of University or National initiatives resulting from the Athena SWAN process at Warwick
grouped into Actions designed (i) exclusively for women, (ii) for women but open to men, and (iii) for both men
and women but with issues of more significance to women than men included. An indication of the University cash
input to initiatives is given. In addition there is the staff support which is not costed.
Motivation
Initiative
Description
(i) Actions designed exclusively for women
Lack of selfFirst of an annual
Recognising that this is not merely a
confidence of
series of
Warwick issue but a wider problem, we
early career
Communication
chose to develop a national
researchers and and Impact courses “Communication and Impact for Female
less effective
for female
Early Career Researchers” course. The first
networking of
scientists
of which was held in January 2013 with
women
external course leaders. The second is
scheduled for January 2014. The focus was
on personal impact and indirectly on
Networking by gathering early career
researchers from across all STEMM
disciplines.
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wc
as/events/communicationandimpact/
(See Action Point §4.a.i)
Financial Resource: £12K – including LDC
33
Impact
2013: 16 Institutions
attended first course with
30 female attendees.
Typical feedback: “Thank
you for a wonderful
opportunity. I really
enjoyed the course; I also
valued meeting other
female scientists from
different subject areas
and learning some highly
beneficial new skills.”
Mentoring and
Coaching
One to one support
on career planning
specifically funded 4 staff to attend this
event and paid course fees circa £2K
Improved communication on the
availability of mentoring and coaching
support through the Athena Departmental
and Network groups has led to a significant
uptake in 2012 of women requesting this
type of support. (See Action Point §4.a.ii)
LDC has also provided coaching support as
well as 1-1 sessions with research active
staff (approx. 15 staff).
All Assistant Professors as part of their
probation terms undertake PCAPP which
also provides mentor support.
Lack of womenwomen
networking
opportunities
Creating
networking
opportunities
Year
F
M
2009
5
-
2010
6
5
2011
4
6
2012
18
6
Total
33
17
Monthly female academic and academicrelated staff lunches held in STEMM
departments.
Departments monitor
attendance
Women in Science (WIS) Symposium: 2-day
biannual symposium focusing on stories of
success, leadership skills, CV development
and networking. Previous WIS
Symposiums were held in September 2010
& 2011 respectively. The next one is
planned for September 2013 with a
satellite meeting (see below) in March
2013. The symposiums are organised by
the student/postdoctoral research
community. (See Action Point § 4.a.iii)
Financial Resources:
(WIS) Event entitled WIS – An Evening
with…. Science Career Success Stories –
took place on 27 March 2013. LDC funded
this event and promoted it via montly enewsletter. Speakers included two of the
2012 UNESCO-L’Oreal Fellowship winners.
Dr Vita Majce, an early career fellowship
winner gave a presentation on starting a
career in academic research and Professor
Frances Ashcroft, University of Oxford, on
her career in science whilst maintaining a
work life balance. This event was open to
all Warwick Science Departments.
Resources: £1,200 plus staff time
30 delegates in 2010 and
20 delegates in 2011 –
the symposium is now
biannual
34
88 people registered for
the event, but only 70
people turned up (~90%
female, 10% male).
Positive feedback was
received about the
event. Many commented
on the format, saying that
they enjoyed listening to
2 scientists at different
career stages and that
both speakers were
honest about the issues
they had faced so far.
There was a good range
of questions from both
genders. The wine and
cheese afterwards was
well attended and led to
many lively discussions.
Enhancing
opportunities
for mid-career
females
Retention and
progression of midcareer female
scientists
Impact, Career
Development
and Leadership
Preparing staff as
leaders
Female postdoctoral researcher forum in
Life Sciences is an online forum for Life
Sciences postdocs. A monthly coffee
morning/lunch has been running since
October 2012. Events are organized by
postdoctoral students. Some meetings
have invited guests, e.g. two early career
academics (Assistant Professors attended
to talk about career progression for
postdocs wanting to stay in academia).
Resources: £500 pa plus staff time
Physics hosted an International Women’s
Day on 8th March 2013 where staff
attended talks on writing grant
applications, and networking
opportunities. This will bean annual event.
(See Action Point § 4.a.iv)
Resources: £200 plus staff time
Workshop (with lunch) was held in
February 2013 for mid-career female
scientists to consult with them to identify
any issues or initiatives that could improve
their work life balance and promotion
prospects.
Senior Women’s Informal Lunchtime
Meetings have been re-established (An
action brought forward from Workshop for
mid-career female scientists). (See Action
Point § 4.a.v)
Resources: £300 per lunch plus staff time
£30k of EPSRC funding made available to
STEMM Departments for Impact, Career
Development and Leadership initiatives.
Resources: £30K plus staff time
Research Team Leadership Programme
(held Jan to March 2013)
Variation
between
maternity leave
policies
Clarification of
University and
funding councils
maternity
policies/funding
Maternity leave has been raised at various
management levels as well as national
(Russell Group Diversity) meetings. As a
consequence, Warwick will be attending a
scheduled meeting with other Russell
Group Universities with RCUK in April 2013
to seek clarification by the Research
Councils on their latest E&D statement and
to also discuss maternity issues, which
seem to be the main concern raised as part
of the Athena process by all Universities.
35
The coffee mornings
usually attract between
10 and 30 researchers.
Postdocs have welcomed
the opportunity to
engage in discussions.
17 females and 3 male
members of staff
attended. Feedback was
positive and ideas for
future events were
discussed.
18 attendees. Meetings
will now take place
termly. Feedback
indicated that the Senior
Women’s Informal
Lunchtime Meetings
should be re-established.
15 enquiries of which 12
have been from women.
We have received 8
applications and these
have all been funded, of
which 7 were from
women.
15 delegates attended
with 11being female
ranging from grades FA6FA9 (PDRA to Professor)
Year
No. of
STEMM staff
taking
Maternity
Leave
2008/09
31
2009/10
26
2010/11
26
2011/12
26
Lack of
experience of
both staff and
line managers
on managing
maternity leave,
including
arrangements
for staff
returning from
maternity leave.
Maternity
Checklists
Resulting from consultation with the
Returning Parents Network Group (RPNG),
HR have produced two checklists, the first
for staff about to go on maternity leave, so
they are clear of any issues they need to be
aware of and the second to be issued to
the line manager about one month before
the employee returns from maternity/
adoption leave. This enables the
department to be ready to receive the
employee back into the work place by
ensuring logistical arrangements are in
place so that the employee feels welcomed
back to work at a time when their levels of
confidence may be low. (See Action Point
§ 4.a.vi)
Resources: Staff time
(ii) Actions designed for women but open to men
Conference
Conference
The University recognizes the importance
attendance is
Attendance Child
for academic and research staff to attend
essential for
Care Fund
conferences but also understands that this
academics but
is often difficult for parents with childcare
difficult if staff
responsibilities. An annual fund has
have childcare
therefore been established to assist with
responsibilities
payments of extra childcare arrangements
for individuals attending conferences/
workshops etc. (£100 per claim). For the
first 2 years the fund was provided by the
Research and Development Fund. From
2013 the fund has been integrated into the
Science Faculty budget.
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/e
qualops/athena/warwickconferencesup
portawards/ (See Action Point § 4.a.vii)
Year
No of
Awards
Amount
2010/11
2
151.00
2011/12
4
306.05
2013
3
193.50
4 further submissions are
currently being supported
but claims have not yet
been received
Resources: £2k pa plus staff time
Occasional
childcare
University nursery
Visiting children Parking reserved
at the University for parents visiting
nursery can
babies
result in lost
This initiative has also allowed us to
develop experience of Early Career
Researchers on financial decision-making
(2 ECR’s are on the decision panel judging
applications for conference support).
After consultation with staff and
subsequent discussions with the University
nursery and members of Network-AS, the
nursery will now take a child on a one-off
basis if a parent needs cover to attend a
conference and their child does not usually
use the facilities and there is space
available. (See Action Point § 4.a.viii)
A novel one year pilot project started in
January 2013 to allow for dedicated
parking spaces at WMS/Life Science
campus for parents (in particular nursing
36
2 in 2010
2 in 2011
WMS have a project
officer who will work with
Security Services to
monitor usage. An
parking space at
the Medical
School and Life
Sciences
campus
Communication
and Impact
In chemistry
percentages of
u/g, p/g and
PDRAs are
about 40% but
percentage of
Assistant
professors
decreases to
under 20%
nationally.
Student Parents
& Carers of
young children,
support
network
mothers) of children in the University
nursery located on main campus. Travel
between sites takes around 8 minutes by
car. Parking is extremely limited at
WMS/Life Science campus and if a mother
needs to feed her baby, it is highly
advantageous to have parking guaranteed
on return to campus. The uptake and
effectiveness is being measured. (See
Action Point § 4.a.ix)
The University has also initiated a campus
shuttle bus to ease parking problems of
staff moving their cars from one part of
campus to another.
Improving
Two day course on 15/16 March 2013
communication
developed specifically for post doctoral and
skills
early career researchers in the sciences.
Run in partnership with BBC Radio
Coventry.
Resources: £7k plus staff time
Initiate an annual
First of the annual ‘Irène Joliot-Curie
event for female
Conference: establishing an independent
chemists who want career in chemistry’
to move to an
(http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/w
independent career cas/events/independentcareer/) which
was targeted at women but welcomed and
benefited from the men who attended.
Inclusion of displays such as the role of
Women in Biochemistry between 1906–
1939 at relevant conferences reminds us
that women have been successful in
science. Imperial College has undertaken to
hold the next conference. In light of the
success of 2012, they have secured MP
Esther McVey as the after dinner speaker.
Talks are in progress with the Royal Society
of Chemistry to take over responsibility for
the annual event. (See Action Point §
4.a.x)
Students’ Union
Student Parent &
Carers Drop In
Sessions
Resources: £3k from EPSRC via RSS
The Students’ Union hold free coffee
mornings for student parents where
children are welcome, designed for parents
to chat, network & get support. In addition
Warwickshire Young Carers run free and
confidential drop in sessions for Carers to
chat & find out about available support in
the area.
37
interim report will be
delivered to the AS
Network Group at the
beginning of July 2013.
Only 2 attendees.
Decision needs to be
taken if course is to be rerun in a different format.
60 attendees (55 Female
& 5 Male) from across 19
universities attended the
first conference.
This group now has a
dedicated mailing list and
a Facebook Group of ~ 80
contacts and therefore a
community is beginning
to emerge.
5 coffee morning sessions
(with ~ 12 participants at
each session) have been
run and were a great
success.
(iii) General support mechanism triggered by AS considerations
Communication Dedicated AS
The website includes links to all AS
of AS principles Website
submissions, a News Page, Details of both
and University
http://www2.war AS Steering and AS Network groups,
initiatives
wick.ac.uk/servic Minutes of meetings, profiles and contacts.
es/equalops/athe In addition AS Logo included on
University’s ‘About’ Page, HR page & Job
na/
Vacancies page & all departments websites
who have gained an award
Communication
of best practice
identified
through AS
process
AS Window on
Warwick Workshop
for Non-STEMM
Departments
Lack of general
understanding
of flexible
working options
Flexible Working
Policy
Postdoctoral
researchers
often feel
isolated
Postdoctoral
Newcomers
Meeting (PNM)
Pay Equity
Equal Pay Audit
Window on Warwick is a range of short,
one hour sessions usually at lunch time,
open to all University of Warwick staff.
This session was to inform non-STEMM
staff about the principles of AS, how it
benefits departments by identifying trends
within data and raising awareness about
common issues. Sharing of best practice to
ensure that other departments benefit
from the initiatives resulting from the AS
process.
Resources: Staff time
Flexible working hours are usually agreed
between staff and Head of Department on
an informal and local level. The Flexible
Working Policy has been updated in May
2012 to give greater clarity to the fact that
Parents of children under 17 or disabled
children under 18 or carers do have a legal
right to apply for flexible working and gives
clear guidance and links to the government
website. WMS are currently piloting a
scheme to monitor flexible working
arrangements. (See Action Point § 4.a.xi)
A PNM (a Networking event across
disciplines) has been established which
links in with the Research Staff Forum
(RSF). It creates networking opportunities
for new postdoctoral researchers enabling
them to meet with their representatives
and other key people such as LDC and
Library staff and also find out what support
the RSF gives researchers. (See Action
Point § 4.a.xii)
The University undertook an Equal Pay
Review in 2011 and reported that:
“there is no evidence revealed by the
Review of inequitable disparities in base
pay distribution within grades on the
38
Awareness and provision
of up-to-date information
of AS Charter and
progress on Warwick’s AS
work across STEMM
Departments and the
wider University. Sharing
of best practice
initiatives.
Non-STEMM departments
have requested individual
department meetings to
understand and gain
more information on the
AS principles. NonSTEMM staff have
requested to attend the
AS Network Group.
WMS are piloting a
scheme to monitor
flexible working. There
have been 9 requests in
2012 & 2013 – 7 of which
have been granted & 2 of
which are still being
reviewed. WMS will
feedback any increase in
the numbers requesting
and being granted flexible
working hours.
Welcome Social event for
all early career
researchers is to be
considered at the June
2013 Research
Committee Meeting. Prior
to this meeting members
will find out what
happens in individual
departments as part of
their induction
programmes.
A recent analysis of
gender pay disparity
amongst Professorial staff
across the University and
comparing subject
disciplines with Russell
grounds of gender, ethnicity, disability, age
(other than explained by incremental
progression), contract type or full/part time
working among employees in grades 1A–8.
The conclusion reached by this Review is
that there is equal pay for work of equal
value, whether in relation to gender,
ethnicity, disability or hours worked.”
The Review states:
 There is no statistically significant
gender disparity by grade. The
maximum base pay disparity is 2.89% in
grade 7, which is not statistically
significant.
 In five grades female average base
salaries exceed that of male base
salaries; in four grades male average
salary exceeds female. Therefore there
is no consistent pattern of gender bias.
 There is broad gender pay equity in
jobs of similar seniority. The disparities,
such as they are, are not statistically
significant and are not consistently in
favour of either gender. “
Subsequent Actions from Vice Chancellors
Advisory Group (VCAG) :
 How can the University create a culture
hospitable to women?
 Prompting, preparing and mentoring
women for promotion
 Re-launch Women’s Network
 Undertaking Departmental action plans
where pay gap is greatest
 Applying Athena SWAN principles
throughout the University
 Encouraging mobility of women to
accept appointments
 Developing benefits package attractive
to women.
39
Group data confirmed
that in the STEM
departments at Warwick
the disparity between
male and female salaries
was 0.86% (at 1 October
2012) compared to 5.35%
in STEM departments
across the Russell Group
(at 1 January 2012).
Networking
Opportunities
To encourage more
interdisciplinary
networking
Workshop on ‘Activity Monitoring for
Behaviour, Health and Well-Being’ (27
February 2013). This workshop raised
awareness about research undertaken
within the Institute of Digital Health and to
create a network of biomedical engineering
researchers within the University and the
NHS.
Funding support for Research Active Staff
Networks (for all Faculties) to support
research/academic staff to set up or
maintain an existing Research Active Staff
Network.
Research Staff Forum has been established
to serve a general networking function and
to provide a focus for gathering research
staff views on issues such as induction,
training and development opportunities.
Resources: £10k plus staff time
32 Female and 33 Male
attended (including some
external delegates)
Positive feedback on:
“Discussion of active
areas of research. I feel it
is important to foster a
collaborative approach to
developing such
technology.”
 Improved structures
for communication.
 Contributed to
documentation for
career reviews.
 Campaigned for an
induction provision
specifically for
research staff.
 Contributed to
shaping the focus of
the careers service
work for research
staff.
WMS Athena SWAN Workshop held on 14th
June 2012 as a result of WMS becoming
the first Medical School to achieve the
Athena Bronze award. Warwick hosted a
one day event to discuss how the WMS
Athena submission was approached and
the challenges faced.
Funding for
Research Active
Staff Networks
Resource: £1k plus staff time
LDC has funding available to departments
and faculties wishing to set up or maintain
an existing research active staff network.
£10,000 in funds and to date £8,610 has
been used on a variety of networks, e.g.
 WMG Researcher Forum & Leadership
and Brainstorming meetings
40
 Facilitated
involvement in
national initiatives
such as the Contract
Researchers’ Online
Survey.
Delegates: 41 Female & 8
Male. 23 Institutions
(including Warwick)
Feedback from event:
“I gained a better
appreciation of how to
achieve a good
submission and good
engagement”
8 researchers applied for
funding, 6 of which were
female
 UK Data Archive Workshop for
Researchers
 Network for Early Career Researchers
within WMS
 IDH Network for Biomedical
Engineering Researchers
Special Interest
Groups (SIGs)
Clarity on
promotion and
career
progression
Career progression
information
 Researching Human Fatigue in the
Workplace
SIGs were established in an attempt to
involve postdoctoral researchers to
collaborate or lead on projects to enhance
their research experience and contribute
to their skills and knowledge base when
applying for future academic positions.
Members of SIGs and RSF have
collaborated in arranging the PNMs at the
start of each term. These meetings
promote collaboration and networking
amongst the entire postdoc community at
the University. SIGS developed into Sandpit
events which are designed to encourage
researchers to work collaboratively. The
sandpits were developed in partnership
with the Library, RSS, IAS, LDC, Careers &
Skills & the Knowledge Centre and are
funded by EPSRC. By participating in the
Collaborative Sandpit researchers have an
opportunity to make new cross-disciplinary
connections, developing new research
projects, coupled with real-time peer
review which can lead to research funding.
The focus of the sandpit is thinking
innovatively and creatively to solve
problems. It not only challenges
participants to work collaboratively but
also gives them the opportunity to do
something which is CV worthy.
Central web information and
communication on understanding career
progression and promotion systems has
been improved since our Bronze
submission. LDC as part of the AS project
organized various focus groups in 2011,
specifically 2 such focus groups on the
challenges of career progression and in
particular in promotion to leadership roles
for women in STEMM departments. The
outcome of the focus groups at the time
was that the women felt that sufficient
support and information was available at
41
The initial pilot ‘Research
Match’ saw 600
researchers sign up to
introduce themselves to
other researchers and
their work. The SIGs
developed from this pilot
with 900 research led
events taking place in
2012/13. This has now
transformed into
‘Sandpits’ events
Sandpits took place in
December 2012. Next
one planned for July 2013
with 3 more for the
academic year.
Initial consultation in
2011 indicated that a
Women’s Leadership
course was not required.
Further consultation is
now being undertaken to
see if there is such a
requirement going
forward.
Warwick and that it was unnecessary to
provide a female only leadership
programme. Since that time, through
further consultation it is becoming evident
that it would prove useful to some female
researchers that such a course would be of
benefit and therefore LDC is currently
investigating this requirement. This will
continue to be monitored and reviewed on
an annual basis – (See Action Point § 4.a.v)
An Advanced Workshop day for ECR’s on
Friday 1 February 2013 on Career Planning
and Progression. Guest speaker Dr Kate
Sang (Acting Chair, Feminist and Women’s
Studies Association UK) who spoke about
gender and academic careers. Workshop
also held sessions on women in science at
Warwick, work-life balance and planning
career breaks. Feedback from event:
Annual
‘Demystifying
Promotion’ event
Employability
Skills and
Careers
Training and
development
whilst at Warwick
An annual event has been instituted in
April 2013, associated with the Annual
Reviews, to provide information about
what is needed for promotion at each
career stage except Assistant to Associate
Professor (tenure track stage, which is
already very well organized). Breakout
groups are titled to deal with issues
women have identified during consultation
including: career break/other
commitments; collaborative research
and/or teaching; part-time work/short
term contracts. (See Action Point § 4.a.xiii)
To ensure that research active staff have
sufficient training and development to
enhance their careers either at Warwick or
elsewhere. Range of courses include:
 Academic Careers and Employability
Programme offering 1-1 support for
PDRAs.
 Presenting your research to different
audiences
 Being an Enterprising Researcher
42
48 attendees (32 Female
& 16 Male)
Feedback from event:
“I found this event really
interesting. Apart from
the value in networking,
it brought together some
really good speakers
who gave us insights
into the academic
career. I really enjoyed
the discussions on the
different dimensions of
gender in academia.”
40 staff attended the
event on 9 April 2013 (20
males and 20 females). 10
speakers contributed to
the event, including 2
PVC’s (both female) and
the Chair of the Faculty of
Science (female).
Feedback was excellent
Postdocs find this very
useful. Funding has been
extended to cover this as
there is increasing
demand for the support.
 Technology for Researchers run in
collaboration with Teaching & Learning
Good representation of
female staff at this event
 Coaching and Mentoring including one
1-1 sessions with research
active staff (approx. 15
staff – 13 females, 2
males). Increasing need
for coaching. Funding £5K
for 2 events, £2K for the
pilot. Very successful
event with over 55
attendees with interdepartment
representations.
Networking opportunity
has resulted in
collaboration and an
interdisciplinary bid being
written.
to one coaching, three way coaching
and Coaching through Reflective
Writing.
 An Introduction to Entrepreneurship in
collaboration with the Science Park.
 Activity Monitoring for Behaviour,
Health and Well-being
 Policies and Practical Data
Management for Researchers
 Effective writing for bids and grants
 Impact, Engagement and Dissemination
This list is not exhaustive and the design of
the course content is a result of
collaboration with academic departments
via various fora to determine what is
required by staff.
A Learning and
Development Adviser
Post has been funded for
the next 3 years for
future Research Active
Staff provision.
Introduction of an online space designed to
support PDRAs. The Portfolio offers both a
portal to a wide range of opportunities and
resources, as well as a personal portfolio
enabling researchers to build a record of
their training, experiences and
achievements throughout their research
degree. (See Action Point § 4.a.xiv)
The IAS Open Access Journal for Early
Career Researchers has been launched but
also gives later stage research active staff
the opportunity to be on the editorial
board or to have peer review experience.
Staff not feeling
able to discuss
impact of family
issues on their
work
Acknowledgement
of family issues
In recent years Warwick has been
developing a culture of encouraging staff
to be open about family-related issues so
that a collegiate solution to any issues can
be developed that both supports the
43
STEMM departments
Athena SWAN work has
provided a mechanism for
staff to raise issues, and
whilst no formal impact is
individual concerned and does not impose
too much on colleagues who may have to
cover for them.
Women on
average prefer a
more
collaborative
working style
than their male
colleagues
Collegiality in
Promotion and
Annual Review
Academics and
the AS agenda
Athena
Administration Staff remits
PDRAs often do
not know what
is required of
them
Designed an
accredited
Postgraduate
Certificate in
Transferable Skills
in Science for
PDRAs
Parents of
young children,
especially
mothers
returning to
work after
maternity/adop
tion leave, were
looking for a
support
network
The Returning
Parents Network
Group (RPNG)
noted here, it is hoped
that more staff will feel
confident in requesting
flexible working. STEM
departments will be
encouraged to follow the
scheme currently being
piloted in WMS to record
flexible working requests
to monitor if there is an
increased uptake.
After consultation with STEMM
STEMM departments to
departments, Annual Review forms have
monitor feedback from
been modified for 2013 to include a section staff to ascertain their
on teamwork/collegiality in recognition of
preferred working style.
the importance to the University’s goal of
becoming a top 50 university of the
contributions of individuals in ways that
are not REF-recognised.
At Warwick the AS agenda is academically
Dates of meetings
driven, but the importance of
arranged and notified for
administrative staff support to ensure
six months at a time.
regular meetings and communication
Continuous focus on
across fora has been recognized.
Athena agenda
Employment of Athena
Project Officer
Athena recognized within
job role descriptions.
It has been designed to be a career
593 attendees registered
development tool that can be used to seek
help required from mentor(s) while at the
same time making it clear what skills a
postdoctoral researcher will need to make
the step to an independent career. The
structure and mechanism have proved to
be preferentially beneficial to women (See
Action Point § 4.a.xv)
The RPNG (set up in 2012 for all parents
There have been 8
returning to work from maternity,
meetings of the RPNG adoption and paternity/parental leave and the numbers of those
supported by the University) gives staff an
attending varies from 4opportunity to discuss parenting and
25 people. At a meeting
return-to-work experiences. The group
where a Life Coach was
seeks to represent parental needs and put invited to talk to working
across the views of this particular staff
mothers 22 people
group through representation on the EDC
attended.
and the Network-AS.
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/e
qualops/news/parents
The Returning
Resources: £500 for initial lunch to launch
network
In parallel with the RPNG, LDC provides
44
Five members of staff
Parents Mentoring
Scheme (RPMS)
Parents of
young children,
especially
mothers
returning to
work after
maternity leave,
were looking for
a support
network
Network-AS has
discussed the
challenge of
finding holiday
child-care
School holiday
child-care provision
trained mentors to assist returning parents
with the transition back into the workplace
whilst trying to juggle family life. The
mentor is a member of staff who has
recent experience of combining work and
family life. The aim is to help staff
anticipate some of the issues involved in
baby-related leave and to manage these on
their return.
School holiday child-care provision is an
ongoing issue for staff with children.
Warwick is working hard to enhance the
opportunities available for children during
school holidays, these currently includes:
Tennis, Climbing lessons, Art Sessions and
the Mad Science Club. Discussions are in
progress to provide additional support.
Recently, the Network-AS has highlighted
that although the increased child-care
provision over the school holidays was a
positive step forward, there is still little
provision for whole days during vacation
for children of school age and it is often
difficult to organize child-care and/or
rearrange working hours to look after
children. The University is actively
examining possible ways to rectify this and
is investigating the possibility of creating a
Holiday Scheme for school aged children.
A project team is currently investigating
potential options for school holiday
childcare provision at the University. In
response to Network-AS feedback, these
options focus primarily on offering whole
day childcare provision and encapsulating a
range of activities from across the
University. The project team is currently
gauging internal interest, engaging
stakeholders and potential contributors,
and seeking to develop plans for a pilot
Holiday Scheme to take place in July–
August 2013. (See Action Point § 4.a.xvi)
To attract more Exploration of
females to apply changes to adverts
for academic
for recruitment.
positions
Deputy Director of HR to explore possible
changes to recruitment advertising in order
to attract more applications to academic
positions from females. Adverts to include
statements such as job share, part-time
considered. (See Action Point § 4.a.xvii)
45
have been trained as
mentors for returning
parents. To date 2
members of staff have
requested a mentor to
help them with the
transition of returning to
work. This will continue
to be monitored.
Significant progress has
been made within the
evidence-based scoping
exercise: (a) Initial Core
Project Group
established; (b) Desk
based research on
provision at other
institutions and locally; (c)
Liaison and early dialogue
undertaken with those
who have relevant
existing provision and key
service providers across
the University; (d) On-line
questionnaire to all staff
and students (open until
end of April 2013). A
significant number of
responses have already
been received:
 343 responses
 Vast majority of
respondents were staff
(195 full time; 125 part
time)
 338 respondents felt
that the Summer
Holiday Scheme was a
good idea
 255 respondents were
interested in their child
attending the holiday
scheme.
To attract more
applications for academic
positions from females.
AS connects into the University Management Structure by Steering-AS, chaired by the PVC for Knowledge Transfer,
Business Engagement and Research and attended by the Chairs of the Faculties of Science and Medicine. Steering-AS
reports to EDC, chaired by the DVC, and is a joint committee of the Senate and the University Council. Via EDC, AS
activities are reported to Steering. Communication of high level policies to the STEMM community comes via formal
minutes and reports from the DVC, PVC, and Chairs of Faculties who are all on Steering-AS, Steering and Senate
(which has approved this submission). The DVC and PVC are ex officio members of Council and currently the Chair of
the Faculty of Science (Professor Pam Thomas) is a member of Council. Warwick has 7 PVC’s of which 2 are female.
In addition AS is a frequent agenda item on the Science Faculty Research and Innovation Committee attended by all
heads of department and a medical school representative.
Table 4.2 illustrates the gender breakdown of the Senior Committees at which AS initiatives are reported.
Table 4.2: Gender breakdown of Warwick Senior Committee Membership - Council (largely external), Senate
(largely academic), Steering (internal) and Equality & Diversity (largely internal)
UNIVERSITY
COMMITTEE
COUNCIL
SENATE
STEERING
EQUALITY & DIVERSITY
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011/2012
2012/2013
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
5
14
4
12
24
29
10
10
6
12
5
10
23
30
7
10
9
11
4
17
24
31
8
10
8
13
4
19
20
34
10
8
Some of the issues addressed by the Steering-AS and senior management are shown below (further notes on
progress of these initiatives can be seen in the Warwick Bronze AS AP at the end of this submission:
 Women on Recruitment Panels
 Greater female representation on committees
 Balance of ‘fixed and variable’ contributions between part-time and full-time staff
 Family Friendly policies and communication of policies
 Transparent Workload Models
 Postdoctoral Researcher Training
b) SET departments management and culture
Historically Warwick STEMM departments were an almost exclusively male academic culture and the university was
also relatively small so could rely on informal communication structures. Over the last 25 years both of these have
gradually changed and therefore Warwick has been required to adapt its culture. The AS process has helped
highlight places where this did not happened naturally. As noted above, the units of identity at Warwick are
Departments, not faculties, so changes have largely been implemented at either Departmental or University level.
Examples of University level actions which have been driven by Steering-AS are given in the AS Bronze Action Plan
outcomes at the end of this submission.
Departmental Cultures
Departments are where Warwick life takes place. Although departments do differ in culture depending on their
discipline, balance of staff-types, and their histories as well as individual members of a Department, there is a
46
commonality dictated by the university structures such as finance, academic teaching quality, and research goals.
The STEMM departments have found it very valuable to share issues/activities at Network-AS. In general female
representation in departmental decision-making has significantly increased in recent years and Network-AS has
encouraged this trend.
Newly appointed academic staff benefit from undertaking the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic and Professional
Practice which helps establish them within the University culture. Mutual support is available within the cohort of
newly appointed staff, as well as the formal mentoring system and departmental support.
All departments have had to address communication and most have used the AS submission process as a prompt to
improve both what is communicated and how. Through consultation across the STEMM departments, it was
discovered that women in particular felt that not enough was known about the promotion cycle and what was
required of them to be considered. This issue has been addressed by improving communication of promotion criteria
within departments as part of their AS Aps. Driven by AS feedback, Warwick has also initiated an annual promotions
event (Demystifying Promotion) with some presentations and small group Q&A sessions (See Action Point § 4.a.xiii)
Table 4.3 : General initiatives shared and implemented across STEMM departments
Other general initiatives that have been shared and often implemented across departments include:
 A trend to move meetings times to core hours in most departments if possible and desired by the
members.
 Best practice in annual reviews has been shared.
 Awareness that staff on fixed term contracts have access to the same career development
opportunities, as other comparable staff such as staff development, training,
appraisal/development review and careers advice.
 Exit interviews are now more common, enabling departments and the University to find out if
policies and procedures and practices need updating, implementing, etc.
 Departmental induction processes have been improved by implementing the best practice of all
departments
 Anti-bullying and harassment policies have been communicated and E&D training provided as part
of induction procedures.
 Processes and information are more transparent.
 Staff on recruitment and selection panels take the e-learning module ‘Recruitment and Selection’.
 All staff encouraged to take the e-learning module ‘Diversity in the Workplace’ and to attend E&D
training sessions held every term.
 Staff are encouraged to raise issues of concern with the AS groups.
Ideas such as the WMG Baby Board which is aimed at giving early career researchers more exposure to in-house
leadership, and creativity training by interaction with the Senior WMG Board has been initiated and may provide a
model for other departments. This type of initiative gives staff a window to present their ideas at board level.
47
c) Individual staff working in SET
The list below gives an illustration of how Warwick has supported individuals at different career stages.
In 2011/12 a full time taught MSc student in Life Sciences had a baby. In order to support her to continue her studies
the School arranged for Skype sessions to cover the lectures she missed and extensions for assessed work. Extensive
pastoral support was provided during the pregnancy. The student is due to graduate with merit.
A chemistry postdoctoral researcher’s fixed term contract ended whilst she was on maternity leave and despite best
efforts from the department they were unable initially to secure funding to extend her contract beyond the period of
maternity leave. The PDRA was given an Associate Fellow position to enable her to access university facilities
including Research Support Services for grant writing and have continuity on her CV. In summer 2012 she worked
with the Department to deliver a highly successful Royal Society event
(http://royalsociety.org/events/2012/photoactivatable-metal/). She has now been awarded a Warwick
Returner to Research Fellowship, enabling her to generate preliminary results for fellowship applications.
A member of the chemistry department came to Warwick as a postdoctoral researcher, then was awarded a science
city fellowship on a 3 year independent junior fellowship. Colleagues at Warwick supported her extensively in
applications for fellowships and she won a 5 year Royal Society University Research Fellowship and will move to an
Associate Professorship when she finishes it.
An Assistant Professor in life sciences combines being an early career full-time academic with caring for two small
children. Warwick has supported her to gain research funding and she has successfully launched her independent
career. Balancing an ambitious research career with family life can be challenging, especially when it comes to the
inevitable need to be out of the country for periods of time in order to attend conferences. This is an essential part
of her job. She has felt supported by knowing that the university acknowledges this as a difficulty, and has provided a
fund to help with associated childcare costs.
A woman with a background in nursing was appointed to Associate Professor (Reader) at WMS in 2004. She valued
the role models of senior professorial-level women from diverse disciplines, who were all forging ahead with exciting
and innovative programmes of research and found an organisational environment in which all academics,
irrespective of gender or discipline, were being actively supported to be leaders in their field, both nationally and
internationally. She was promoted to professor in 2007 and has been supported to set up her own research unit. She
has taken key strategic roles in the Medical School and recently has been appointed to a new senior level post in the
School as Deputy Pro Dean for Research. She is aware of the importance of WMS, and Warwick University more
generally, making equality and diversity so central to their way of working.
Word Count: 1909 (excludes tables and headings)
48
5.
Embedding Athena SWAN: maximum 2000 words
Explain how Athena SWAN has been embedded within the university, with particular reference to all SET
departments, including:
a) Describe the steps taken to encourage all SET departments, including those less advanced, to apply for
Athena SWAN department awards?
To embed Athena principles into the culture of the Warwick community, the University decided in 2011 to include
addressing AS initiatives in its Equality Objectives, therefore not only promoting the aims of AS to STEMM
departments but to all departments. One of Warwick’s equality objectives was to address inequalities in research
careers which also highlighted gender issues for consideration. This has in part been tackled by addressing the
principles of the UK Concordat to support Career Development of Researchers which has resulted in Warwick
achieving the HR Excellence in Research award in January 2013. The Equality Objectives were submitted to strategic
University committees for approval after consultation with staff, and the published objectives subsequently
communicated to university stakeholders.
Departments at Warwick have found that the data-based approach of AS makes it an effective tool for developing
discipline-specific strategies to determine what needs to be done to address the universal issue of fewer senior
women than men in STEMM subjects. Some departments consider themselves ready for Gold status whereas others
are working towards bronze using the AS-process to embed long-term cultural change into their disciplines.
In 2011, EDC formally made a recommendation that all STEMM departments should begin to benchmark themselves
against successful AS-awarded departments, both internally and externally, with a view to beginning work on the
next level of AS submission. A timeframe for all Warwick submissions was given as April 2013. Following on from this
recommendation the Steering-AS Chair (PVC) contacted Heads of STEMM departments personally to reinforce the
importance of the AS process and to encourage/support the departments to move their AS agenda forward. Other
members of Steering-AS have also met with Heads of Departments in a similar vein.
STEMM departments have been supported by the HR Adviser E&D and the AS Project Officer. Meetings have
regularly taken place, both at Network-AS level and individual departments to share best practice, and guidance on
how to implement best practice as well as how to communicate it to departmental staff. AS is frequently an agenda
item on the Science Faculty Research and Innovation Committee (attended by Science Heads of Department and
Research Directors and by the Medicine pro-dean of Research).
Network-AS meetings have been invaluable in allowing staff to share best-practice and to discover common
challenges and how to address them, how to engage with other staff within their departments on the AS agenda,
particularly those not on their Athena group and to discuss the analysis of data relating to particular trends.
b) What resources, skills and support does the university offer to assist SET departments with their
submissions?
The HR Adviser E&D and the AS Project Officer advise STEMM departments on submissions and ensure the
University has been working towards fulfilling its Bronze Action Plan. Both
roles have Athena work formally recognized in their role descriptions.
The Network-AS is co-Chaired by Professor Alison Rodger and Mrs Sandra Beaufoy, both of whom have a good
knowledge of the AS process, with Rodger serving as an AS panelist and Beaufoy having experience and knowledge
of both the AS and Institute of Physics JUNO Champion programme. Members of the Network read and provide
feedback on applications. Actions plans form agenda items when they are ready for discussion.
One of the key challenges faced during the University Bronze submission was obtaining accurate data and this issue
has been a major action for improvement. Warwick has greatly improved the collection and production of statistical
data which is held centrally for both staff and students. As a consequence, when STEMM departments require data
49
for submissions, it is available immediately and in an agreed format. This leaves departmental efforts for analysis of
the data and development of action plans based on data. However what has often been the case, is that once
departments start to analyse their data, they want to drill down even further and many requests for different types
of fields for reports occur. It is therefore envisaged that the data collection/production will be investigated further to
determine the feasibility of the creation of a ‘Dashboard’, that will enable individual departments to create and
produce bespoke departmental reports (See Action Point § 5.b.i).
STEMM staff leading on Departmental AS submissions have the associated workload recognised in departmental
workload allocation models.
c) Describe the framework in place within the university that provides access to tools and processes for
the self-assessment process.
See §2 for roles of EDC, Network-AS and Steering-AS members. In addition, an AS framework document has been
created for STEMM departments, outlining key points of the process and how to get started. Briefings at
departmental meetings enable staff to become aware of AS work and to ask questions on the process. Successful
and failed submissions together with feedback are made available internally for information and guidance. All
STEMM departments have representation on the Network-AS and each department has its own AS group (usually
known as Welfare and Communication Group). All data required are provided by HR (staff) and Strategic Planning &
Analytics Office (students). Nominated senior members of the team provide competent and timely responses to all
recipients of AS data.
d) How does the university recognise, reward and celebrate the success of women and SET initiatives and
departmental submissions?
When undergoing the Athena process it became apparent that although departments often have good initiatives in
place they were not good at communicating or celebrating them, not only across the University but also between
different sections within their own departments. This has been improved in a number of ways.

Network-AS enables departments to share best practice and feedback to their own departmental focus
groups. The AS Project Officer disseminates initiatives and awards to other STEMM departments as well as
the wider University by a variety of methods, such as News Page on the Athena webpages, email and the
University’s intranet communication InSite.

Network-AS and Departmental Committees have a rolling brief to identify news items for the front page of
the University Website, on the University’s social media pages, and on departmental pages.

WMS Event sharing best practice with other medical schools and other University departments.

Window on Warwick sessions sharing the concept with non-STEMM departments and encouraging them to
take on these principles (even though no accreditation) and hence embedding it in University culture.

Women use the AS groups to communicate issues they believe act as a barrier to their advancement with
the knowledge and confidence that the issue will be discussed and raised at senior management level and
positive outcomes celebrated.

By direct links with Departmental Equality and Diversity representatives, whose role is to cascade
information across departments.

An annual AS Report is produced and approved at strategic University Committees before being published
on the University AS web pages.

Use of Athena logo on publicity material and web signatures.
50

AS Logos published on HR webpages and ‘About’ page of the University Website with links to the dedicated
AS webpages

STEMM departments publicise their Athena awards at Admissions Open Days

AS website – News and things to celebrate highlighted

HR Excellence in Research Award published

All members of Network-AS have taken responsibility to keep reminding colleagues to ensure female
speakers, lecturers etc. and to advertise these events
The VC, DVC, Registrar and Director of HR formally acknowledge AS successes with those involved. In departments
the effort involved in preparing AS submissions is recognised as an academic administrative task.
e) How does the university coordinate, report and monitor progress on action plans across SET
departments?
The University Athena Action Plan has been integrated into the University’s Equality Objectives, so that Athena
remains embedded into University culture and business. This results in the actions regularly being monitored and
reported on, not only to University strategic committees but also within the public domain as part of the specific
duties of the Equality Act 2010. Whilst it is recognised that the University’s Athena SWAN agenda is primarily gender
based, any improvements to policies, procedures and practice is considered to be beneficial to all staff regardless of
gender.
As mentioned above, the University employed an AS Project Officer who reports to the HR Adviser and HR Manager
(E&D). These individuals are a key link between all STEMM departments on Athena work and attend AS meetings in
all departments to advise and guide on submissions. Any AS queries are directed to those individuals in the first
instance. These post holders also have responsibility to coordinate, monitor and formally report on progress to key
strategic committees, not only on the University AP, but also to liaise with the AS contact within departments on
how work is progressing on their APs. Each department also regularly reports progress at Network-AS meetings.
The HR Systems team and the Strategic Planning & Analytics team have responsibility for the data collection for both
staff and students. These data collection is a HESA requirement and these teams have responsibility for ensuring that
accurate data is reported and monitored for University use. Such data is reported on at strategic management
committees as well as being used for reporting purposes such as Athena and the University Workforce Profile.
However the actual data analysis for AS submissions is the responsibility of individual STEMM departments.
f)
How does the university share good practice among SET departments and across the university?
Warwick’s internal communication links between STEMM departments has improved dramatically since work began
on Athena submissions. This is primarily down to the Network-AS meetings and follow-up discussions, where
representatives from all STEMM departments meet to discuss best practice, issues highlighted through their Athena
work and any other relevant gender issues. STEMM departments recognised that their methods of communication
needed to improve not only internally within their own departments but with other STEMM departments and the
wider University community. Improved methods of communication include the following:
1. All AS submissions are up-loaded onto a sharepoint system for AS-Steering and AS-Network staff to look
through and comment on before submission.
51
2. Inbox InSite is a weekly university wide list of news items, usually with linked web pages, that all staff
receive.
3. Network-AS meetings and other formal University committees.
4. Email lists are kept up to date and used to circulate successes across relevant communities.
5. AS Annual Report with progress on action plans.
6. Departmental and research news and events web pages.
7. Minutes from Network-AS meetings displayed on AS website.
8. Warwick Medical School Athena One day Workshop — open to all STEMM departments as well as external
medical schools.
9. AS Website linked to RSS and LDC.
10. AS awards as News items on Warwick website.
11. AS logo on front page of HR website and current vacancies webpage and the Warwick Website ‘About’ page.
12. Each STEMM department has their own AS webpage.
13. Feedback from regional AS meetings and other AS events are shared via Network-AS and webpages.
14. Windows on Warwick Lunchtime briefing sessions.
Some department-specific communication strategies have also been implemented. These include Newsletters in
most departments with different frequencies and emphases. Some departments have adopted the idea from
Warwick’s Chemistry Department to instigate the use of a suggestions box which has proved a useful method for
collecting anonymous feedback/suggestions. A log of suggestions and action taken are displayed by the side of the
box and up-dated each week, so that staff can see that attention is being given to the suggestions being made.
In addition, the University offers a range of engagement events which take place throughout the year including
Campus Catch Up, Staff Network Day, Vice-Chancellor’s Surgery, Ideas Café and various social events. Efforts are
made to use cross-department events, such as the recently introduced annual “Demystifying the Promotions
Process” and professional development courses (See Action Point § 4.a.xiii) to share exemplar success stories of both
women and men. Seminar series are usually advertised external to the departments in which they will be held via
relevant ‘listserver’ email address lists to which members ascribe—this advertises female speakers to a wider
audience.
Due to the increased focus on communication of AS initiatives, more women in non-STEMM disciplines are
approaching the AS-groups to explore the possibility of extending the ethos and identified best practice into their
own subjects. Both Rodger and Beaufoy have both been approached to present at female groups in departments,
including Law, Economics and Politics, where women are similarly under-represented at different career stages to
those in STEMM subjects, and representatives from these groups have also requested to attend the AS-Network
meetings to understand more about the AS process.
Word Count: 1989
52
6. Any other comments: maximum 500 words
Please comment here on any other elements which are relevant to the application, e.g. other STEMM-specific
initiatives of special interest that have not been covered in the previous sections. Include any other relevant data
(e.g. results from staff surveys), provide a commentary on it and indicate how it is planned to address any gender
disparities identified.
The PULSE staff survey enables the University to evaluate the attractiveness of its employment offer and to assess
whether staff feel engaged with the strategic purpose of the University and feel that it is an attractive environment
to pursue their careers. Recently surveys have been adapted in the light of AS issues identified by STEMM
departments and survey questions have sought feedback on policy and procedures relevant to gender, the results of
which will be analysed and monitored (See Action Point § 6.i). PULSE and the AS process have highlighted a number
of issues, some resulting in the development or enhancement of university-wide initiatives including those listed in
Table 4.1. The 2013 survey closed in late February, therefore feedback is not available for this submission although
any relevant AS issues will be addressed by inclusion on the AP and reported within Warwick’s next institutional
submission.
Warwick has been awarded £2.2M Impact Acceleration Account by EPSRC to help pioneering scientists and
engineers create successful business from their research, improve industrial collaboration, and foster greater
entrepreneurship. This fund is managed alongside and complements Warwick’s annual £2.8 million from the Higher
Education Innovation Fund. The combined funding enables the University to undertake a range of initiatives to boost
the University’s impact on the wider economy, for example proof of concept studies, opportunities for Warwick staff
to spend time in a business environment, and support for business, community and public-facing activities. Staff
engaged will be asked for feedback on their experiences, participation by gender will be monitored and female case
studies publicised to encourage other female scientists to engage in business and community engagement (See
Action Point § 6.ii).
The Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) offers a range of opportunities for research and scholarship, including a
number of fellowship programmes, to support and nurture early career researchers. The IAS closely monitors all of
its activities including the gender balance of applications to and awards made through its Programmes and works to
ensure consistency with AS Principles in all aspects of its operation (See Action Point § 6.iii).
Warwick formed an Alliance with the University of Monash, Australia in December 2011. The Alliance aims to
accelerate the exchange of people, ideas and information and by exploiting the opportunities offered by the
geography of the two institutions in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa, aims to create a new approach to global higher
education. Warwick has initiated collaborative research with Monash to share best practice and research issues
around the under-representation of females in STEMM departments. Senior Warwick staff visited Monash in
February 2013 to discuss possible gender-related research and the two institutions are currently sharing statistical
data to identify common trends – (See Action Point § 6.iv). Women in science initiatives at Monash are being
considered for translation to Warwick.
Equality Analysis will be undertaken on the University REF2014 submission, in line with Warwick’s REF Code of
Practice and the Equality Impact Assessment to monitor the gender balance of staff submitted for the REF (see
Action Point § 6.v).
Word Count: 500
53
Appendix 1: Action Plan
Athena SWAN Silver Award Application: University of Warwick
Actions are grouped in career stage order.
Warwick now has a diverse portfolio of activity. Part of the Action Plan is to ensure that this is dynamic, growing, responsive and increasingly grass roots driven. The Action Plan therefore has quite a lot of
monitor/ensure continuity/effectiveness, etc.
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
1. UnderIncrease in
undergraduate
representation of
female population
women
in physical and
mathematical
sciences
AS Principles 1,2,4
Actions
Action plan
code and
Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
(i)
Outreach events aimed at female
students embedded into departmental
activities.
§ 3.b.i
Increase in applications
and enrolments from
women for Physical and
Mathematical STEMM
undergraduate courses.
HoD, Admissions
Teams in STEMM
departments
2013–2016
High
(ii)
Women given a high profile on all
STEMM publicity material and websites.
Academic Lead (AR)
2013–2016
Hih
To continue the trend of
increasing female u/g
numbers as shown in
Table 3.4(i)
POSTGRADUATES STUDENTS and POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS (where actions are common to both categories)
2. Retention of
Recruitment and
To change attitudes on viability of academic
§ 4.a.xv – see
retention of female
careers for women by further increased use of
Table 4.1
women in
staff
in
STEMM
Postgraduate
Certificate
in
Transferable
Skills
Academia
in Science (PGCTSS) to provide quantitative
following
positive support for female students and
postgraduate
researchers.
study and
postdoctoral
research
AS Principles 2,4,5,6
Support departmental initiatives for students
and events such as WIS (currently led by
Chemistry and Life Sciences)
Monitor use of PGCTSS
and feedback to provide
qualitative data to show
whether women have
positive views of
academic careers.
Review feedback from
PGCTSS with the view to
discovering whether
further tailored courses
are required.
Success of initiatives and
events
54
Progress
Log
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
3. Lack of
(i) Embed
understanding on
Development
how to pursue an
Tool for all
academic career
PDRA’s to
improve their
prospect of
AS Principles 5,6
pursuing an
academic career
(ii) To enable PDRAs
to track their
learning &
development
(iii) Support
initiatives such as
the ‘Irene JoliotCurie
Conference’ for
female chemists
waiting to move
into independent
academic careers
Actions
Action plan
code and
Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Encourage PDRAs to take the accredited
Postgraduate Certificate in Transferable Skills
in Science for PDRAs. Encourage PDRAs to use
LDC resources. Invite PDRAs to new annual
“Demystifying Promotion Process”. Have
breakout groups for PDRAs.
§ 4.a.xv – see
Table 4.1
Academic Lead (AR)
On-going
High
Introduction of an online space designed to
support PDRAs. The Portfolio offers both a
portal to a wide range of opportunities and
resources, as well as a personal portfolio
enabling researchers to build a record of their
training, experiences and achievements
throughout their research degree.
Ensure Irene Joliot-Curie conference takes
place annually.
§ 4.a.xiv – see
Table 4.1
Review Exit interview
information to determine
how many PDRAs leave
to take up a career in
academia and to what
extent the PGCTSS and
other initiatives have
supported them.
Discovering whether
further tailored courses
are required.
Monitor numbers of
women registering for
courses and to monitor
feedback.
PDRAs feel supported
and enhance their career
prospects as measured
by response to online
questionnaire.
LDC
2013–2016
Medium
The continuation of the
conference series
Royal Society of
Chemistry
Warwick and Imperial
Chemistry Depts
§ 4.a.x – see
Table 4.1
55
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
Progress
Log
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
Actions
Action plan
code and
Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
4. Retention of
female PDRA after
maternity/
adoption leave
Support of female
PDRAs before,
during & following
maternity/
adoption leave
(i)
To ensure that the University continues
to liaise with the RPNG to ensure that
support is being utilised and fit for
purpose.
§ 4.a.vi – see
Table 4.1
Monitor the retention of
women returning from
maternity/adoption
leave.
HR, RPNG
On-going
High
(ii)
Collect & review data of career
progression of female academic and
research staff returning from maternity
leave.
Ensure breaks for
maternity leave are taken
into consideration at
shortlisting & interview
stage.
(iii)
Offer such PDRAs visiting fellowships at
end of contract
Measure uptake of this
offer
Research Committee,
RSF, SIGs
2013–2016
High
AS Principles 2,4,5,6
5. Improve PDRA
experience
AS Principles 5,6
6.
Communication
and Impact
AS Principles 1,2,4,5
Provision of a
Postdoctoral
Newcomers
Meeting to improve
beginning of PDRA
experience
Provision of
relevant & useful
training and
development
courses. Raise
confidence of ECRs
& provision of
networking
opportunities
Linked with the RSF, a post-doctoral
newcomers meeting will to continue to meet
on a regular basis, so that new PDRAs have an
opportunity to meet with key people from
across the University, so they can understand
readily what support is available to them in
their role.
(i)
To continue with the annual series of
Communication & Impact courses for
female scientists. (Nationally & 1-2
courses at Warwick)
§ 4.a.xii – see
Table 4.1
§ 4.a.i - see
Table 4.1
56
Informed PDRAs who feel
welcomed and supported
in their role. Email survey
to ask new comers at 6
month time point if they
feel they have a support
network
Review feedback from
courses with the view to
discovering whether
further tailored courses
are required.
Academic Lead (AR) /
LDC
Progress
Log
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS
7. Mentoring and
Improve uptake of
mentoring &
Coaching
coaching support to
facilitate career
progression of
AS Principles 1,2,4,5
females in STEMM.
Create a culture
where it is
“expected” that
ECRs both mentor
and are mentored.
Actions
Action plan
code and
Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
(i)
§ 4.a.ii - see
Table 4.1
Increase of staff engaged
in mentoring and
coaching.
LDC / STEMM Heads
of Depts.
2013–2016
Medium
Student/Postdoctoral community
2013–2016
Medium
(ii)
8. Creating
Networking
Opportunities
(i)
Biannual
Women in
Science
Symposium
AS Principles 5,6
(ii)
Support postdoc forums in
departments
Support STEMM women to:

Follow up on requests for mentoring

Raise confidence levels

To prepare for promotion

Provision of one-to-one mentoring

Development of job portfolios

Access to procedural information
Develop experience of Early Career
Researchers on financial decision making
(2 ECR’s are on the decision panel judging
applications for conference child care
support fund – see§ 4.a.vii).
To ensure a ‘grass-roots’ committee is
appointed each year to organize these
Symposia and to monitor attendance and
ensure discussions are engaging with the
student/post-doctoral research community.
Increase numbers of
females putting
themselves forward for
promotion.
§ 4.a.vii – see
Table 4.1
Female staff feel engaged
and confident in their
careers.
§ 4.a.iii - see
Table 4.1
High attendance at event.
Prominent publicity and
web presence for events.
Provide admin, finance and academic support
as required.
To continue to help with funding for
departmental events. Ensure local person in
departments sets dates.
Informed and engaged
local communities.
57
E&D Adviser to
monitor & flag need
for action to AS
Steering if required.
LDC/RSS
Progress
Log
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
Actions
(iii) Termly
Welcome
Lunches for
PDRAs
Ensure funding is available
Action plan
code and
Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Prominence of role
models. Attendance.
Informed and engaged
community.
RSF/RSS
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
MID-CAREER ACADEMICS & RESEARCHERS
9. Annual events to
raise profiles of
female staff in
STEMM
AS Principles 1,2,4
To ensure
engagement with
female staff and to
provide role models
to inspire and
motivate other
female researchers
and academics
(i)
To celebrate annually an event to
recognise International Women’s Day
that engages with female staff and
provides role models.
(ii)
Organise high profile celebration of AS
and women’s successes in the
University.
Nominate outstanding women for
honorary degrees.
(iii)
10. Enhancing
opportunities for
mid-career
females
Recruitment,
retention and
progression of midcareer females
Launch of Women’s Network Group with
termly meetings for mid-career staff to discuss
relevant initiatives with a view to improve
work life balance and promotion prospects.
§ 4.a.iv - see
Table 4.1
Informed female staff who are
committed and engaged with the
wider university community.
HR, Academic
Community,
Registrar’s
Office
2013–2016
Medium
Chair of the
Faculty of
Science
2014
High
HR Data
Systems
2013-2016
Medium
Prominence of Role Models
§ 4.a.v - see
Table 4.1
An increase in women receiving
honorary degrees & a
prominence of role models.
Appropriate forum to consult on
issues raised by the group and
outcomes to be measured. New
initiatives proposed.
Next meeting is scheduled for 21 May 2013
Ensure breaks for maternity leave
are taken into consideration at
the shortlisting and interview
stages for jobs/promotion.
AS Principles 1,2,4
Promotion and appointment requirements
take account of leave.
11. Monitor the
gradual drop of
women in STEMM
against age profile
Progression and
retention of female
academics
Carry out further investigations on how to
support women in mid-career as the net drop
is gradual at each career stage and could be
mainly due to the age profile of women in
STEMM academia.
§ 3.b.ii
Steady progression of female
academics
58
Progress
Log
Key Issue
12. Conference
attendance is
essential for
academics but
can be difficult
if staff have
childcare
responsibilities
Ultimate Goal
More parents
attending
conferences (which
are essential to
their academic &
research careers)
AS Principles 1,2,6
14. Turning research
outputs into a
commercial
proposition
(i)
An annual fund has been established to
assist with payments for extra childcare
costs incurred when individuals
attending conferences/workshops (£100
per claim).
Action plan
code and
Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
§ 4.a.vii – see
Table 4.1
Childcare not an issue for
conference attendance,
measured by actual take up of
available funds.
Chair: Science &
Medicine
Faculties / AS
Network
2013–2016
Medium
On-going
Medium
Chairs of
Faculties
AS Principles 1,2,6
13. Occasional
Childcare
Actions
(ii)
From 2013 the fund is part of the
Science & Medicine Faculty budgets.
Roll out to other Faculties.
Occasional childcare
available to parents
wishing to attend
workshops/
conferences linked
with their work
Monitor effectiveness of new initiative:
Nursery now takes a child on a one-off basis if
a parent needs cover to attend a conference
and the child does not usually use the facilities.
§ 4.a.viii – see
Table 4.1
Childcare not an issue for local
conference attendance,
measured by actual take up of
places on a one-off basis.
University
Nursery, AS
Network
More female
participation in
developing
commercial impact
of research
Warwick has been awarded £2.2 million from
The Impact Acceleration Account awarded by
EPSRC. The money will go towards a number
of initiatives to boost the University’s impact
on the wider economy. Ensure women feel it is
appropriate to apply.
§ 6.ii
Participation by gender will be
monitored and any female case
studies publicised to encourage
other female scientists to engage
with this initiative.
RSS
AS Principles 1,2,4
59
Medium
Progress
Log
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
15. Clarity on
Promotion &
Career Progression
All staff clear about (i) Gain information through focus groups
what is required in
about ignorance on this issue. Ensure all new
the next step in
staff, but especially associate professors,
their careers and
feel they know how to progress to the next
how to achieve it.
steps through Warwick’s promotion process.
To find out what support is offered/taken-up
in departments, what barriers they face,
how these can be overcome or lessened.
(ii) Ensure recently updated information on web
remains useful.
AS Principles 1,2,4
Actions
(iii) Annual Event ‘Demystifying the Promotion
Process’ established to provide academic led
information about what is needed for
promotion at each career stage.
Action plan
code and
Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
Action to be developed if
particular blocks to women’s
progression are identified.
HR, LDC
Annually
High
On-going
Medium
Retention and promotion of
female Associate Professors.
§ 4.a.xiii – see
Table 4.1
Investigate the pattern of
promotion applications and
success rates of women in
STEMM.
First event held in April with 40
attendees and 10 speakers.
Based on feedback this will be at
least annual.
(iv) A Women’s Leadership Programme to be
§ 4.a.v – see
Table 4.1
established if there is demand.
Further consultation to be undertaken by LDC
to see if there is demand for a Women’s
Leadership programme. Determine best
format balance between meeting, mentoring,
shadowing (following Monash initiative that is
very successful).
Demand and success of a
Women’s Leadership Programme
Endeavour to arrange for a member of the
§ 4.a.vi – see
RPNG to accompany new returning parents
Table 4.1
to their first meeting.
Ensure RPNG keeps running and its format is
dynamic. Ensure all departments are using the
two maternity checklists which have been
produced to assist with arrangements
before, during and returning from maternity
leave
Monitoring usage and feedback
from RPNG. Retention of women
returning from maternity/
adoption leave.
E&D Adviser, AS
Network
HR, Academic
Staff
Committee,
VC’s advisory
group
LDC
Run one such course annually.
ALL STAFF
16. Managing
maternity leave
AS Principles 1,2,4
To ensure
employees feel
welcomed back into
the workplace at a
time when their
levels of confidence
may be low
60
HR,
Departments
Progress
Log
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
Actions
Action plan code
and Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
17. Car parking spaces
for parents
working at the
Medical School &
Life Science
campus to enable
them to visit
children at the
Nursery
Parking reserved for
parents visiting
babies
Review the one year pilot project (started
March 2013) to allow for dedicated parking
spaces at WMS/Life Sciences campus for
parents (in particular nursing mothers) of
children in the University nursery as parking
is extremely limited at WMS/Life Sciences
campus.
§ 4.a.ix – see
Table 4.1
Monitor usage, collate feedback
from parents (working mothers
feeling supported whilst
continuing to breastfeed their
children).
WMS, Security
Services
2013–2016
The Flexible Working Policy was updated in
May 2012 to give greater clarity to the fact
that parents of children under 17 or disabled
children under 18 or carers have a legal right
to apply for flexible working and gives clear
guidance and links to the government
website.
§ 4.a.xi – See
Table 4.1
Ensure information is in all
induction packs and existing staff
are told via insite as well as E&D
pages. Monitor any increase in
the request for flexible working
hours.
HR, All
Departments
On-going
Medium
A project team has been established to
investigate potential options for school
holiday childcare provision at the University.
Consultation is already underway with
stakeholders. Plans for a pilot Holiday
Scheme to take place in July-August 2013.
§ 4.a.xvi– see
Table 4.1
Provision of good
quality/inexpensive childcare
during school holidays.
Registrar’s
Office
2013–2016
High
High
Consider the possibility of rolling
it out to main campus.
AS Principles 1,2,4
18. Lack of general
understanding of
flexible working
options
AS Principles 1,2,4,6
19. Parents of Schoolage children
looking for support
during the school
holidays
School holiday
child-care provision
Measure take up and feedback
on the pilot scheme will be
monitored.
Dependent on feedback further
Holiday childcare programmes
taking place may be developed
over all school holidays.
AS Principles 1,2,4,6
61
Progress
Log
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
Actions
Action plan code
and Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
20. Recruitment
More applications
from and
appointments of
females
Exploration of possible changes to
recruitment advertising in order to attract
more applications to academic positions
from females. Adverts to include statements
such as job share, part-time considered to
encourage females with caring
responsibilities to continue their academic
careers.
§ 4.a.xvii – see
Table 4.1
More applications from females
for research and academic
positions. Achievement of a
more gender balanced academic
workforce.
Deputy Director
of HR
Academic
Department
Administrators
2013-2014
Medium
To attract more
females to apply
for research and
academic positions
AS Principles 1,2,3,4,6
AS ISSUES
21. “AS Issues” kept
live at Warwick
DATA
22. Improved data
collection
AS Principle 1
Evolving programme
of activity
AS Steering group to monitor whether
departmental and University activities are
evolving at grass roots level.
Action Plan
All initiatives are reviewed after
two years: completed ones are
retired, it is noted how many
new ones are established, and
initiatives which are not yet
fulfilled are critically evaluated
Athena Steering
and Network
Groups
Departments able to
access their own data
easily and the ability
to create appropriate
tables and graphs for
Athena SWAN and
other submissions
Since 2009 we now collect required data. Next
step is to make it easily available.
§ 5.b.i
Institutional and departmental
data readily available in
required formats to which
individual departments will
have access.
HR Systems
team, Strategic
Planning &
Analytics Office,
All STEMM
Departments
2013–2016
High
To ensure that PULSE
staff survey is fit for
purpose and
informing the
University of issues
to be tackled & those
things that it is doing
well.
PULSE and the AS process have highlighted a
number of issues, some resulting in the
development or enhancement of universitywide initiatives included those listed in Table
4.1.
Results of the 2013 PULSE survey will be
analysed and any relevant AS issues identified
& included on the next AP within Warwick’s
next institutional submission.
§ 6.i
Retention of staff, who are
committed and engaged with
the wider university
community.
HR
2013–2016
High
To design, implement and pilot a ‘Dashboard’
for university staff and student data, which will
enable individual departments to create and
produce bespoke departmental reports.
GOVERNANCE
23. Analysis and
monitoring of
policy &
procedures
AS Principle 3
To ensure issues identified
through the analysis of the
survey results are addressed
and dealt with accordingly and
added as an action to this plan.
62
Progress
Log
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
Actions
24. Fellowship
Programmes for
ECR’s
Explore opportunities
for research and
scholarship to
support and nurture
early career
researchers
Explore opportunities for research and
scholarship to support and nurture ECR’s. To
closely monitor all activities including gender
balance of applications to and awards made
through IAS programmes and works to ensure
consistency with AS Principles.
To benchmark and
share best practice
To collaborate with staff at Monash University
on gender related projects identified after
sharing staff and student data. Addressing
”universal” trends within that data, by
comparing and sharing best practice in policies
and processes.
To properly
understand data in
AS submissions
EPSRC and ESRC have been consulted about
establishing a research project to identify what
is underlying the fairly obvious leaky pipeline
data sets in STEMM and academia in general.
A one-day international cross-discipline
workshop to be run over summer 2013 to
determine the next stage.
To monitor gender
balance of staff
submitted for the
REF
To carry out an Equality Analysis on the
University REF2014 submission, in line with
Warwick’s REF Code of Practice and the
Equality Impact Assessment.
AS Principles 1,2,4,6
25. Joint Research
Project on Gender
issues
AS Principles 1,2,3,4
26. The Leaky Pipeline
AS Principles 1,2,4
27. REF2014
Submission
Action plan
code and
Reference to
relevant section
in application
§ 6.iii
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
Increased number of
fellowships programmes and
development of ECR’s
Institute of
Advanced Study
Director and
team
2013-2016
Medium
§ 6.iv
To share best practice and
initiatives internationally to
encourage recruitment and
retention of females in STEMM
subjects.
HR Advisor
(E&D)
2013–2016
Medium
Publications to inform and
address the underlying reasons
of under-representation of
females in STEMM disciplines.
ESRC/Warwick
academics/HR
plus Postdoctoral
researcher
employed on
projects
2013–2016
High
Results of analysis indicate that
a fair process has been
undertaken and any disparities
further investigated
HR, Strategic
Planning &
Analytics Office
2013-2014
High
§ 6.v
AS Principles 1,2,3,4
63
Progress
Log
Key Issue
Ultimate Goal
Actions
Action plan
code and
Reference to
relevant section
in application
Measurable Outcome
Accountability
Timescales
Estimate
of Effort
Required
To be seen as a
national and
international leader
in supporting staff,
particularly women
in academia
Keep track of external AS activities generated
by Warwick staff and monitor the subsequent
impact
All actions
identified within
submission and
individual
STEMM dept.
submissions
Reports in places beyond
Warwick’s control, e.g. recent
report in Medical and Dental
Schools Athena SWAN
Newsletter
AS-N
2013-2016
Low
Continuing programme of innovative actions
led by Warwick on the national scene
All actions
identified within
submission and
individual
STEMM dept
submissions
Warwick’s initiatives developed
into sustainable activities, e.g.
Irène Joliot-Curie conference is
in process of being handed to
the Royal Society of Chemistry
to run
AS-N
2013-2016
High
LEADERSHIP
28. National Impact of
Warwick’s Athena
SWAN activity
AS Principles
1,2,3,4,5,6
64
Progress
Log
Appendix 2: Progress on the Bronze Action Plan 2010 - 2013
Key Areas for
Assessment
Actions
Accountability
Timescales
Progress and Actions Taken since Bronze Award
1. Review how best to
promote female
representation on
University Committees
(i) Investigate whether due to the
Senior University
Management, Deputy
Registrar’s Office
(DRO), HR
1-2 years
 Rotation of committee membership ensures that early/mid-career scientists have the
necessary professional development to serve on committees.
smaller numbers of senior
female academic staff, the
same individuals are overburdened with committee
duties
 Heavy Committee responsibilities are reflected in Workload Allocation Models (for both
men and women).
 Committee membership to be monitored annually to ensure appropriate gender balance
whenever possible.
 Strategic University Committee Membership is displayed on the Governance Section of
the webpages to ensure transparency of membership.
 Committee membership to be taken into account with other heavy administrative
responsibilities for promotion submissions.
(ii) Review how Committee roles
should be reflected in
women’s promotion
aspirations.
 A statement has been included on the Annual Review Form completed by all staff, to
record work carried out to promote collegiality/team work.
Consultation with early and mid-career females to understand and implement mechanisms
to encourage them to put themselves forward for wider University tasks – such as
mentoring, networking opportunities and flexible working conditions. Assistance with child
care arrangements/costs whilst attending workshops and conferences - See Silver Action
Plan §4.a.vii which is continuing to address these issues.
(iii) Investigate ways of
encouraging female academics
to put themselves forward for
wider University opportunities.
Warwick is also collaborating with Monash University in Australia on sharing best practice
(e.g. senior female work shadowing scheme) and intends to undertake research on relevant
gender initiatives. Initial meetings were held to discuss possible projects in Feb 2 013 – See
Silver Action Plan §6.iii
2. Female representation
on departmental
committees
Review the level of female
representation on SET
departmental committees e.g.
promotion, management, and
other committees where this is
seen important internally by
female members of staff.
SET Departments,
E&D Committee, HR,
DRO
1-2 years
Depending on the percentage of females in department, key decision-making committees
to have both men and women on them wherever possible. Care is taken not to overload
women in achieving this goal by using women external to department where female
numbers are small (appropriate care also has to be taken to ensure that committee
membership is prudent to the business of the committee and not just to ensure female
representation). Athena work has raised the profile of this requirement significantly within
STEMM departments and those who have awards or have submitted for awards have
addressed this issue.
65
The University has established the policy that recruitment panels should have both men and
women on them unless there are exceptional circumstances (such as last minute illness of a key
panel member and lack of availability of another female of appropriate seniority). If necessary a
female representative will be sought from another academic department. All panel members must
have undertaken an on-line training package on equality aspects of recruitment and selection. It is
the responsibility of the Chair of the Panel to ensure that all members of the recruitment panel
have undertaken the appropriate training. LDC monitor usage of the online module, so can report
to the Equality and Diversity Committee on usage.
3. Promotion Criteria
(i) To review the longitudinal
data for promotions in SET
departments and to determine
any generic reasons or
underlying development
needs regarding why
promotion recommendations
may not have been successful.
ASC, HR, Local SET
Promotions
Committees
The initiatives undertaken by the University and the departments are developing a wider pool of
female academic talent that can be represented at both University and departmental level,
and assists female career development.
 All promotion documentation has been up-dated and communicated via Heads of Department,
web site and through Network Groups.
1 year
 Heads of Departments have been made aware of the importance of communicating promotion
criteria to all staff and to provide the appropriate guidance to staff, through line managers and
Departmental Promotion Groups.
 Nomination forms for promotion that academic Heads of Departments complete have been
modified by HR. This will improve the data monitoring of which academic staff in departments
requested promotion and then who was subsequently put forward for consideration. The form
also requests information of the support mechanisms that will be used to assist those staff not
put forward for promotion. These forms will be monitored annually.
(ii) To put in place any local
development opportunities
and /or mentoring to support
career development and to
ensure that female staff
understand how to prepare
themselves for promotion at
the appropriate time.
 Many STEMM departments are hosting their own Promotion events, which have proved very
successful and have received good feedback from staff.
(iii) Ensure that the application of
promotion criteria to part time
staff is understood locally.
Promotion information – criteria and process – is sent on an annual basis to departments. This
information is also published on the University website. Information is reviewed regularly to
ensure inclusivity of both part and full time staff.
 Mentors are available through departments and the Learning and Development Centre. STEMM
Heads of Departments through their departmental Athena submissions have made their staff
aware of the importance of communicating promotion criteria to all staff and to provide
guidance and support. Many STEMM departments have hosted their own female promotion
events to encourage and support female staff who aspire to further their academic careers.
(iv) Clearer dissemination of the
66
promotion process.
(v) Enable a greater local
understanding of the
promotions process by
University and SET
departmental expectations.
4. Credit for collaborative
work at all levels
5. Part time working
6. Transparent work load
models
Ascertain how Academic Staff
Committee currently gives credit to
academic staff working on
collaborative work e.g.
Credit for publications
Credit for research grants
Credit for administration and
teaching and to ensure this is
understood locally and to revise
the processes locally and centrally
if necessary.
Senior University
Management, HR, SET
Departments
Consider how to balance ‘fixed and
variable’ contributions from part
time staff – i.e. quantity of output
versus accomplishment of a
category of task.
(i) Ensure that the workload
model in SET departments is
transparent and
communicated effectively.
HR, SET departments
1-2 years
SET departments
1 year
(ii)
1-2 years
The Annual Review form that is completed by all staff has been amended in 2012 to
include a statement emphasising any collaborating work undertaken. This has been
agreed by the Trade Union UCU – see statement: ‘You may wish to include an additional
summary of various activities that would not normally feature on your CV, e.g. academic
visits, grants applied for (even if not awarded – you can access this information from RSS)
administrative duties, new collaborations that have not yet resulted in publications,
particular examples of successful teamwork, etc. This is your opportunity to inform your
head of department (via your reviewer) about all aspects of your work over the past year.’
The University will begin to monitor responses from departments on how staff are
responding to this statement, which will feed into the Academic Staff Committee. Further
Action on Silver Plan.
A statement has been added to promotion documentation sent to departments (and on
the web) that makes it clear that staff with special circumstances who wish to submit for
promotion have the opportunity to disclose this circumstance (e.g. part time staff to
mitigate differences in their rate of progression of quantity of publications). These
circumstances can then be taken into account by the Vice Chancellors Promotions Group.
Departments are now required to have a workload model with which the departmental
community is happy. Currently this ranges from models that count every academic and
academic-related task with different weightings to one developed by individuals in
discussion with the head of department. The University has decided that one model does
not fit all. As long as staff feel they understand their own contribution and know the
mechanisms by which they can query it, the University has devolved responsibility to
departments.
Embed transparency of
workload models into
departmental practices whilst
still acknowledging subjectspecific needs.
(iii) Such information to be
included in induction packs.
67
7. Post-doctoral
researchers role at
Warwick
8. Mentoring encouraged
for all staff
(i) Set up local structures so
postdoctoral researchers feel
supported and mentored at an
exciting but insecure time of
their career.
(ii) Support departmental
initiatives to develop
postdoctoral researchers.
The University has established a Postgraduate Certificate in Transferable Skills in Science
(PGCTSS) - See Silver Action Plan § 4.a.xiv - for research fellows which provides a structure
for their individual non-technical training and development. Work is in progress to
integrate the PGCTSS with the RSC Chartered Chemist accreditation. Neither the Forum
nor the PGCTSS are specifically targeted at women. However, we note that women
disproportionately take up the opportunities they provide and we work to ensure that
women are made aware of them and feel the opportunity is targeted at them. The
PGCTSS includes a formal mentoring structure. We ensure fellows can benefit from
mentoring by a senior female academic should they wish.
(iii) Share best practice between
departments.
Warwick has a very active Research Staff Forum, with a representative from that group
serving on the formal University Research Committee.
(iv) Consider how postdoctoral
researchers should be
represented on the Science
faculty research committee.
The University has successfully achieved the HR Excellence in Research Award in Jan 2013
and has a further Action Plan with particular emphasis on the training and development of
its research staff.
(i)
(ii)
Formalise local mentoring
processes, investigate making
training for mentors
mandatory and determine an
appropriate formal monitoring
process.
Senior University
Management, HR,
LDC, SET
departments,
Research Staff Forum
SET Departments, HR,
LDC
1 year
 Mentors are available through departments and also through the Learning and
Development Centre. All females in STEMM departments are offered coaching by LDC
and take up is monitored.
1 year
 All LDC mentors have received appropriate training and LDC can monitor staff who
have been mentored through their programmes. Departments have lists of selected
mentors for new members of staff.
Review mentoring at various
levels within SET departments
by: investigating the
effectiveness of existing
mentoring arrangements for
staff on probation through
local SET probation
committees
STEMM departments going for Athena awards are all reviewing their mentoring processes
to investigate the effectiveness of their individual programmes. These will be monitored
and reported in individual departmental actions plans.
(iii) Reviewing the opportunity of
supporting mid-career staff
with a professorial mentor of
their choice.
During the period since the Bronze award, particular focus on activities has been directed
towards Early Career Researchers and it is only recently that the AS Steering Committee
has engaged fully with mid-career staff. Activities will therefore form part of the Silver
Athena submission - See Silver Action Plan § 4.a.viii
(iv) Encouraging Professorial staff
to have a co-mentoring
relationship.
68
9. Warwick Leadership
Programme
To investigate the option of a
Women-only Leadership
Programme with LDC to look at
gender specific challenges in
management.
SET Departments, HR,
LDC
1 year
10. Role Models
Develop strategies to create and
bring forward role models in areas
where female representation is less
by e.g. reviewing departmental
seminar programmes.
Integrate into annual review
process a particular emphasis on
career development for the next
step particularly for women, e.g.
Warwick Leadership programme,
experiential development.
SET Departments
1 year
LDC, HR, SET
Departments
1 year
Review how to provide more
assistance for working parents with
school aged children (4-14 years)
during school holiday periods and
promote any actions under the
University’s work life balance
approach.
Nursery, DRO, HR
1 year – ongoing
11. Training and support for
women
12. Child Care facilities and
assistance
13. Outreach work
Develop SET Department Open
Days which particularly target
female candidates
The Learning and Development Centre ran two focus groups for female academics and
researchers in 2011 on the key issues facing women moving into leadership roles. There
was not a clear consensus on the value of a women only leadership programme as
Warwick already has an extremely good programme in place, which the female academics
gave feedback that it was entirely adequate for their needs. To date 13 academic and
senior administrative staff from STEMM departments have successfully taken the Warwick
Leadership Programme. The Learning and Development Centre will continue to monitor
attendance and success of the programme and will continuously review if there is a
need/desire to run a female only leadership course.
SET departments are now ensuring greater numbers of females are asked to give
departmental seminars.
More encouragement for female staff to join Networks and to publicise appropriate
Networks in induction material and at research forums.
As mentioned above an additional statement has been included in the Annual Review
Form for staff to elaborate on collaborative work. Staff undertaking Annual Reviews have
all received Reviewer Training which includes emphasis on career development for staff.
The Learning and Development Centre now run various modules for staff (both male and
female):- Envisioning and Enabling Innovation; Communication and Impact; Writing and
Presentation Skills. They also provide funding for Research Active Staff Networks, EPSRC
funds for Impact Career Development & Leadership.
All up-take of these sessions are monitored and reviewed on a regular basis by LDC.
The University is year on year increasing the summer clubs available to children of staff
and students. Summer 2011 accommodated:
Mad Science Club – places for up to 35 children, Tennis and Climbing (9-16 years of age),
Tennis, Rookie Lifeguarding and Team Sports (8-12 years of age); Tots and Parents (3-4
years of age), Mini Tennis Red (5-8 years of age). A similar programme was also held in
Summer 2012 with the addition of further activities, e.g.: Bear Rock Cubs Club (aged 8
and over), Junior Tennis Club (10-16 years of age). The Warwick Arts Centre has also
established Youth Theatre Groups which run on a Saturday morning and Monday
evenings. The Groups are divided into the following age groups: 8-11 years; 11-15 years;
14-16 years and 16-18 years.
All SET Departments
In 2013 it is anticipated to pilot a Summer Scheme for school aged children (4 – 14 years
of age) which will be held every day, all day, for working parents. If successful this
scheme will be rolled out to cover half term holidays which are particularly problematic
for working parents and for students as the half term breaks usually fall within the
University term time - See Silver Action Plan § 4.a.xiv
All STEMM Departments have representation at the AS Network Group and have actively
shared best practice and ideas for outreach work. Individual departments have listed
their current outreach activities within their own submissions, but brief examples are
1 year – ongoing
69
given here:
Physics and Chemistry both have dedicated Outreach Officers who are extremely
proactive in visiting local schools (primary, secondary and sixth form) to give talks and
demonstrations and have also engaged in national projects such as the Big Bang Fair.
They also both organise a series of public lectures. Physics are involved in a scheme
called ‘Physicist of the Year’ where local schools are asked to nominate the best students
(year 11 or 12) for work undertaken on a Science project. In June 2012 the outreach
officer (female) took 19 year 9 girls to CERN in Geneva where they met scientists and
were shown around the facility; the girls were chosen from nine different schools of
different socio and economic groups within Coventry. The aim of the project was to
encourage young girls to consider studying physics and engineering at a higher level.
Engineering run an annual Headstart course, aimed at 16 and 17 year olds who are taking
STEMM subjects. In 2012 Engineering also ran a Dragonfly day as a pilot. Dragonfly is an
initiative providing the opportunity for girls on the Headstart course to become mentors
to younger female students. They are also planning to participate in the Arkwright
Scholarship initiative.
In 2013 Maths are enhancing the support provided to Warwick applicants with STEP/AEA
through web/on-line lecture delivery; 2 professional development days for teachers with
STEP/AEA; Saturday Royal Institution Master classses; problem-solving day/s for potential
applicants (age-group 16-17) (most likely 2 including one for females only) and an
additional Maths and Beyond Day.
14. External and internal
publicity
15. Celebrate successes in
teaching excellence
Ensure that both women and men
continue to feature in any external
and internal SET publicity activities
to ensure representative balance.
Ensure all results and successes are
in departmental newsletters and
web pages.
University Publicity
Office, SET
Departments
All SET Departments
1 year but ongoing
Some departments either already or are considering as part of the Athena submissions to
run female only open days.
Warwick has a professional publicity office that advises staff on all aspects of publicity.
This facility is available to ALL staff regardless of gender. Warwick has also developed a
national “Communication and Impact for Female Early Career Researchers” course - See
Silver Action Plan § 4.a.i
All publicity material does reflect the diversity of the campus environment and images
contain people with and without protected characteristics.
The Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence (WATE) give students and colleagues the
opportunity to recognise and celebrate excellence in teaching and the support of learning
throughout the nominee’s career at the University. There have been 14 winners from
STEMM departments of which 3 of these have been female. Communication of the
awards is placed on the University website InSite and in the University Newsletter,
Communicate. Individual Departments also publicise the winners within their own
departments.
1 year – ongoing
STEMM departments that have made submissions for Athena awards have all addressed
70
16. Options for variable
work patterns
17. University Staff Survey –
PULSE
Review the local application of
opportunities for variable work
patterns in SET Departments and
what may be alternative options
e.g. short term part time work for
postdoctoral researchers and
permanent staff.
Consider the results of the 2010
Annual Survey and update action
plan accordingly in conjunction with
local SET Departmental PULSE
Action Plans.
SET Departments, HR
the issue of celebrating successes. They communicate successes both within their
departments and in the wider University Community.
It has been identified that all STEMM departments have ad-hoc arrangements for flexible
working that meets the needs of the department and the staff member.
1 year
Timings of meetings have been addressed as far as possible to be in core hours, so that
staff with parental responsibilities are able to attend.
Some departments employ post docs coming to the end of their contracts on further
short term contracts to cover additional teaching or maternity leave.
SET Departments,
SAG, HR
Postdoctoral staff whose fixed term contracts have ended, are sometimes appointed on
an Associate Fellow basis, which whilst not being paid, still gives them access to
University facilities, such as the library and IT, which helps them to continue to pursue
their research career.
66% of staff in the Faculty of Science and 66% of staff in the Faculty of Medicine gave a
positive score to the questions within the Work-Life Balance and Working Conditions
theme of the 2010 PULSE survey.
1 year – ongoing
65% of staff in the Faculty of Science and 60% of staff in the Faculty of Medicine gave a
positive score to the questions within the Equal Opportunities and Diversity theme of the
2010 PULSE survey.
th
18. Developing more media
spokes-people
Advertise LDC and PGCTSS Science
Communication courses across SET
departments. Offer departmental
courses in science communication,
Involve the Communications Office
in this.
LDC and MOAC
Doctoral Training
Centre
There was no survey in 2011 and the 2012/13 survey closed on 20 February 2013, the
results of which will not be known in time for the Silver submission. However the results
of each survey will continue to be monitored and any issues of concern will be addressed
appropriately.
Since the Bronze submission, LDC has worked tirelessly with STEMM departments to
ascertain appropriate courses for academic and research staff. There has been a vast
improvement in the quality and number of courses now available to staff, which include
communication, assertiveness, written and spoken skills etc. MOAC have run two very
successful science communication courses to Postdoctoral staff – approximately 25
PDRAs attended each course. Feedback from attendees was very good.
1 year
As mentioned early in this Action Plan and within the Silver Submission, the first of an
annual series of Communication and Impact courses for female scientists has been held.
Feedback from the course has been excellent, and the course will continue and uptake
monitored - See Silver Action Plan § 4.a.i
71
19. Information availability
20. Health and Safety
21. Bullying and Harassment
Ensure information is locally
available and understood about e.g.
maternity cover for people on
various short-term contracts.
Ensure appropriate H&S
information is readily available to
all staff e.g. to ensure that
information for pregnant women in
SET departments reflects the
impact of SET roles. To make
available an on-line induction
package to complement other
central and induction activities.
To refresh and reinforce the
information and advice on the
process of reporting and dealing
with B&H incidents and to publicise
the Dignity at Work contacts for SET
departments.
RSS, HR
6 months
Health & Safety
Office, HR,
Departments
1 year
During AS Network meetings, emphasis has been given to STEMM departments to ensure
that their web pages are up to date and have the appropriate links to policies and
processes. STEMM Departments have or are currently improving induction
documentation given to new staff, regardless of their contract type.
The Health and Safety Office has undergone a restructure during 2012 and therefore
some of this action has not yet been completed (on-line H&S induction package).
However, the H&S web site is undergoing a review and data is being updated. A project
on access to buildings and facilities is also on-going and involves Departmental Disability
Contacts working closely with the H&S Office.
The staff maternity policy has been reviewed and a student maternity policy is in the final
stages of review and will be uploaded to the website shortly.
All staff, HR
STEMM departments are ensuring that appropriate H&S documentation is provided to
new and existing staff as operational needs or legislation changes.
Dignity at Work and Study Policy regularly reviewed/updated (due to be reviewed again
in Autumn 2013). Bullying and Harassment questions in Staff Survey to try to identify any
“hotspot” areas, to be dealt with accordingly.
6 months –
on-going
Equality and Diversity web pages updated regularly to ensure legislation is current.
Equality and Diversity Training Schedules organised for every term and attendance
recorded and monitored.
Usage of e-learning modules on ‘Diversity in the Workplace’ and ‘Recruitment and
Selection’ monitored by LDC.
Staff encouraged to take modules as part of their induction process.
Awareness days organised and publicised.
2 new Dignity contacts were recruited in 2012 (1 female and 1 male). Both have been
trained.
22. Promotion Information
Publicise and communicate the
promotion criteria and how to be
put forward for promotion in each
SET department to assist career
development and planning.
SET Depts, HR
In conjunction with HR, some departments have held training sessions, using realistic
scenarios on Bullying and Harassment and during those sessions the role of a Dignity
Contact has been explained.
Covered in Action Plan Number 3 above.
1 year
72
23. Collection of SET data
Request the University to review
whether data on staff and students
can be monitored and available
from a central source. To improve
data collection
HR, Academic Office
1 year
24. Balance of ‘fixed and
variable’ contributions
between part-time and
full-time staff
Request that data on fixed-term
versus open-ended contracts by
department be monitored and
available from a central source in a
format to meet the needs of SET
departments. To improve data
collection.
To review the feasibility of the
University recording statistics on
up-take of flexible working with
cooperation from departments who
agree to flexible working requests.
To ensure information is readily
available on a range of flexible
working opportunities.
HR, Academic Office
1 year
HR, Departments
1-3 years
To support an equal pay audit as
and when the University has
determined its obligations under
the Single Equality Act
Senior Management,
HR
25. Flexible Working
26. Audit policies
Considerable progress has been made on this action. STEMM departments now have
central sources to contact (HR for Staff data and the Management, Information and
Planning Office for student data). Both offices have tailored reports to match Athena
submission requests for data, so once a department requires their data to analyse trends,
this is made available to them. Further work is currently being discussed to enable
departments to be able to run further reports themselves, but this is still at an early stage
but it is anticipated that work may be completed within an 18 month period - See Silver
Action Plan § 5.b.i
The systems team in HR has improved the presentation of this data, which is available
upon request from departments. Individual STEMM departments have responsibility to
monitor and detect any trends from this data, which can then inform their Athena
submission.
All staff should be able to find the official policy and also the departmental practice that
implements it for issues such as: flexible working; returning parents; maternity and
paternity and adoption leave.
It has been identified that many ad-hoc flexible working arrangements exist in
departments but are not formally recorded (done by local arrangement with line
manager). In an attempt to capture data, HR have developed a form for department to
use to start to record these ad-hoc arrangements so that the University can begin to
monitor flexible working.
All University policies and reviewed and updated on an annual basis by the HR Policy
Team and the Governance Team.
1-3 years
An Equal Pay Review was completed in 2011 and the results published on the E&D web
pages. Separate reviews were taken for staff in grades 1a-8 and in Grade 9.
The University is under statutory obligation to undertaken an Equal Pay Review and to
publish the results of that Review. The Review is undertaken in compliance with
statutory obligation and in accordance with JNCHES Guidance on Equal Pay Reviews of
2007.
The Review has been reported to the Equality and Diversity Committee and the Joint
Consultative Committee and discussed with Trade Union representatives prior to
submission for publication. The Review was undertaken by grade in line with Hay job
evaluation methods.
The University Senate approved a recommendation to a light touch review on an annual
basis for Levels 1a-8, with a detailed review through a formal route every 2 years. For
level 9 (professorial/senior management), where a disparity on gender data was
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identified, a review will be carried out on an annual basis with the ownership resting with
the Vice Chancellor’s Advisory Group.
27. Support departments in
preparing Athena
submissions
Provide advice and support to
departments for their individual
submissions.
SWAN SelfAssessment Group
1-3 years
An Athena SWAN Project Officer was appointed in March 2012 to work with the HR
Adviser for E&D, the Athena Steering Group and Athena Network Group to advise and
guide STEMM departments in preparing their Athena submissions.
Expand the knowledge of the work
of the Athena SWAN group and
disseminate information more
widely.
A ‘quick start’ framework was devised to assist departments to start work on their Athena
Submissions.
The AS Network Group continues to meeting on a monthly basis and has representation
from staff from all STEMM departments. This network shares best practice, discusses the
challenges of working through Athena submissions and assists with proof reading
submissions and action plans.
Out of nine STEMM departments, 4 currently have awards, 5 submitted in November
2012 (awaiting outcome) and the remaining 3 departments are due to submit in April
2013.
Warwick Medical School was the first medical school to achieve an Athena Bronze award
– they have subsequently submitted for Silver in November 2012 round. In June 2012,
Warwick Medical School and HR hosted an Athena SWAN workshop which was designed
to share best practice and the challenges faced when completing their Bronze
submission. It was attended by 22 institutions and received some very positive feedback.
Warwick staff have attended and presented at various Athena events. Warwick is a
member and also hosted a meeting of the Athena Regional Network Group.
Window on Warwick presentations on the Athena SWAN process have taken place in
2012 to engage with staff from non-STEMM departments to share best practice.
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