UCL Division of Surgery & Interventional Science Athena SWAN action plan
KEY
ASL– Athena SWAN Lead
CA– Campus Administrators
DD – Divisional Director
Description of action
1
1.1
1.2
Action taken already and
outcome at November 2013
Responsibility
EA– Executive Assistant to Divisional Director
EC – Executive Committee
TA– Teaching Administrators
* Highest priority
Timescale
Success measure
Appraisal
 Opportunity to request 2nd
appraiser present at academic
 Policy approved by EC
appraisals
 DD available as appraiser for all
 DD
 Advertisement of the policy at
female academics
Divisional Away Day (Oct 2013)
 Promotion to be discussed at every
 DSA
appraisal
 One third of female academics
 Data monitored using appraisal
have had DD present at appraisal
feedback form
 Female academics offered 1:1
reviews with Campus Leads,
Theme Lead, ASL or DD to plan
appraisal
 Appraiser training
1.3*
DDM– Divisional Deputy Manager (Teaching)
DM – Divisional Manager
DSA– Divisional Staffing Administrator
 Offer taken up by 6 female
academics and appraisal process  DSA
completed satisfactorily
 Training courses identified via
UCL with additional online
 DSA to record
materials/training made available
training
by the Division to complement
this
1
 2nd appraiser in 40% of female
 2nd appraiser available
academic appraisals by 2015
from January 2013
 Appraisal feedback forms returned
 Data monitoring to start
to DSA for > 80% academic staff
January 2014
by 2016
 Reviewed annually
 > 80% agreement with awareness
through staff survey and
of ability to request 2nd appraiser &
data collection at
discussion of promotion in staff
appraisals
survey 2016
 Start date Jan 2013
 Assessed annually
through survey and
appraisal monitoring
form
 Start date of May 2014
 Agreement that appraisal useful for
>80% for female academic by
2016
 Divisional HR records to show
>80% of appraisers have
completed training by May 2016
Description of action
Action taken already and
outcome at November 2013
Responsibility
Timescale
Success measure
2 Promotion and recruitment
2.1
2.2
 Divisional promotion process
changed to annual email invitation  1st invitation to request support
to all eligible staff 6 months
for promotion sent out
before UCL deadline
 4 men and 4 women reviewed by
 EA
 Executive Committee to review all EC and 3 recommendations for
promotion applications decide
promotion put to UCL Promotions
which to support for submission to Committee
UCL Promotions Committee
 Ensure that all eligible academic
women are contacted 6 months
prior to promotion round and
encouraged to consider applying
for Divisional support
 Offer opportunity to discuss with
DD if desired
 Summer 2013: email to all
eligible women with follow up
phone call if no response
 4 out of 8 eligible women applied
 EA
for Divisional support
 1 application recommended for
upgrade from Reader to
Professor
 Start date of Summer
2013
 Annual invitation to all
eligible staff
 1st annual process
Summer 2013
 Increase in eligible women being
put forward for promotion by 2016
(minimum 5 female senior
promotions (Senior Lecturer to
Professor) over 3 years)
 >70% of eligible staff apply for
support to EC; > 50% put forward
for promotion
 Staff survey to show an increase in
awareness of promotions
procedures amongst academic
women from <40% to >80% by
2016
2.3*
 Promotion buddies allocated
 Promotion buddies allocated to 3
 EC to identify
when candidates express interest candidates who were not
 Started October 2013
suitable buddies
in Divisional support for promotion successful in 2013/14 round
 >50% of applicants supported by
Division and >75% of those to be
successful
2.4*
 Ensure that all staff on interview
panels have completed fair
recruitment training online
 Problem identified
 Offer unconscious bias training to
all staff involved in recruitment
2.5
 Positive action statement &
names of 2 contacts (1 female, 1
male) in all job advertisements
 Agreement by EC & DSA
 DSA
 Compliance by end
2015
 100% of relevant staff have
completed fair recruitment training
within past 5 years
 >70% uptake of unconscious bias
training amongst recruiters
 DSA
 Start January 2014
 Monitor compliance – 100%
compliance by December 2014
2
Description of action
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
Responsibility
Timescale
Success measure
Communication
 Maintain momentum of women’s
 EA to organise
forum by timetabling dates at
 Women’s forum set up in January
beginning of academic year and
2013 and meetings held termly
promoting on Divisional newsletter
 ASL to chair
 Set up annual staff survey and
separate student survey
 Annual meeting with female
medical students interested in
surgery
 Ensure all staff and students are
able to access email
communications from Division
3.4*
Action taken already and
outcome at November 2013
 Regular updating of mailing lists
and cross-checking between
campuses
 1st annual survey completed by
80% of Divisional staff
Very poor return from students,
and questions focussed on staff
issues
 1st meeting with DD, ASL and
medical students
 5 new email lists have been
produced for all staff, students,
academic staff, honorary staff
and women’s forum members.
These have been checked
against HR/Student Data
Services & payroll data
 ASL to
determine
questions for
each survey
 EA to
administer
survey
 3 monthly meetings attended by
DD and >75% of female academic
staff attended at least once, >50%
 Start date January 2013
at each meeting
 Annual review of minutes in
January each year to monitor
implementation of actions
 Start date Spring term
2013
 Areas of poor and excellent
practice feedback to staff and
 Next survey March 2014
students, along with plans to
address these
 EA to schedule  Start date May 2013
meeting and
invite students  Next meeting May 2014
 CAs
 DDM
 TAs
 Email lists updated with new
appointees since 2013
3
 80% return rate for staff and
student surveys by April 2016
 Meetings held with action points on
student engagement noted and
begun
 Start date Autumn 2013
for initial Campus
Administrator review
 Monthly update of staff
email lists by CAs
 Annual checking of
student email lists by
TAs
 90% of those emailed to respond
to confirm correct email address at
annual email round in January
Description of action
Action taken already and
outcome at November 2013
Responsibility
Timescale
Success measure
4 Culture of the Division
4.1
 Divisional monthly e-newsletter to
promote Division as a vibrant and
inclusive research and teaching
community
4.2
 Divisional Website redesign to
include Athena SWAN page,
gender balanced images and staff
profiles detailing career paths and
work/life balance
4.3
 Departmental images and
environment
 Electric notice board
 Images and photographs in
corridors

1st newsletter sent October
 EA
2013
 Agreement to redesign website
and work begun, but not yet live

EC decision to set up
noticeboard at Bloomsbury
campus initially & other sites
after this
Agreement to replace photos of
previous visiting Professors with
contemporary staff photographs
4.4*
 Athena SWAN ‘Champions’ 3
main Divisional campuses
 Discussed and agreed upon at
EC and Athena SWAN SAT
meetings
4.5
 Advertise Women in Surgery
representative post on 3 yearly
basis
 New EC with Women in Surgery
representative as core member
4.6
 Ensure that all new starters
complete equality & diversity
training within 6 weeks of starting
post.
 Policy often not adhered to or
monitored
 EA
 Monthly newsletter
 Launch January 2014
 Introduction to 1 staff member per
month to include details of career
path and work life balance

 Athena SWAN web page updated
termly
 Gender balance in images & staff
profiles
 Bloomsbury (Huntley
Street) Summer Term
2014
 Campus AS
 Updated images completed by
 Royal Free Autumn term
champion
Summer 2015
2014
 Stanmore Spring Term
2015
 3 Athena SWAN ‘Champions’
 DSA to devise
installed at Bloomsbury, Royal
 Email invitation to all
job description
Free and Stanmore by August
academic staff April
 EA to
2014
2014
disseminate

 EC to compile
 Advertisement to go out
job description
by email to all staff and
 Evidence of applications for
by direct approaches to
 EA to advertise
advertised post by late 2014
women’s forum in Oct
to all staff
2014
members
 DSA
4
 January 2014
 >90% of all new starters to have
completed training for academic
appointments 2014-2016
Description of action
Action taken already and
outcome at November 2013
Responsibility
Timescale
Success measure
5 Outreach and student engagement
5.1
 Participation in Inspiring Women in
 1 PhD student and 1 post
Science outreach programme
doctoral researcher participating
 ASL
 Annual review and
invitation
 Minimum of 5 Divisional
contributors across grades
5.2
 Monitor gender balance of
outreach speakers at schools
 Commitment to gender balance
(previously male staff)
 PGT
 Annual review
 Gender balance at each visit
 Minimum 2 visits/events for
schools each year
 Agreed on gender balance
 EA
 Annually Autumn term
 Gender balance 2014-2016
 Poor uptake of acamedics
student matching project in
2013/4 round
 Campus leads
to co-ordinate
applications
 Annually in Autumn term
 3 projects in 2013/4, rising to 6 in
2016/7
 Good participation in 2012 but
poor participation 2013 (1 male
student only)
 iBSc course
tutors
 Annually in January
 Participation of at least one female
and one male student per iBSc
course at each fair 2014-2016
5.3*  Battle of the Surgeons
5.4
5.5*
5.6
 Acamedics
 Student participation in iBSc fair
 PGT course promotional material
to include positive images and
statements from women staff and
students
 Updated Equality & diversity
training for course tutors
 Promote PGT courses at clinical
5.7*
training meetings
5.8
 Eleanor Davies-Colley Prize
(FRCS 1911) for PGR
presentations at Away Day
 TA post reconfigured to allow
fairer distribution of workload
 DDM with PGT
course leads
 Annual review
 Increase in female student
proportions to 40% for mixed
intake courses by 2016
 100% compliance with updated
E&D training by 2015
 None
 PGT &
ASL/ASC
 Advertise to clinical
trainees for 2014/5
enrolment
 Advertisement via at least one
specialty specific route each
(clinical training meetings, website,
email list)
 Prize initiated with 5 oral
presentations October 2013
 EA to advertise
 Advertised July for
 EC to review
September Away Day
applications
5
 Poster sessions to allow increased
participation 2014-2016
 Email to all PGR students and
supervisors
Description of action
Action taken already and
outcome at November 2013
Responsibility
Timescale
Success measure
6 Baseline data
6.1
 Prospective recording of gender
and clinical: non-clinical balance of
PGT & PGR students for
application, invitation & acceptance
 Retrospective recording of
 Monitor gender balance on course
clinical/non clinical balance
open days
 Annual Teaching committee review
of gender and clinical/non clinical
balance
 Monitor completion rates and
 Not able to collect meaningful
6.2*
grades for PGT courses and
date for this submission
submission times for PGR degrees
6.3
 Monitor gender balance in
applications, offers and uptake for
all academic staff posts
 Monitor maternity, paternity and
parental leave
6.4
 Monitor return rates
including uptake of different work
patterns
 Difficulty in data collection for
some posts
 Poor records of paternity leave
and requests for paternity leave
 Poor records of requests for
flexible working
 EC agreed to create a new
 Conduct exit interviews with all
leavers form to collect data on
academic staff who leave
reason for leaving Division,
including promotion inside or
 Identify trends and present to SAT
6.5*
outside UCL
and EC
 Academic leavers have an
 Address reasons for leaving that
interview shortly before end date
are not due to promotion
to explore reasons for leaving
 DDM to liaise
with TAs
 Prospective recording to
begin for 2014/5
applications
 Teaching committee
discussion after autumn
intake selected
 From Summer 2014
 DDM
 Annual process with
reporting to SAT
 DSA
 New software Q1 2014
to improve data
collection
 DSA
 DM
 Prospective data
collection from
November 2014
 Start date of Sep 2013
 DSA to allocate
appropriate
 Data reviewed annually
interviewer
by SAT in April
6

Full data collection from
2013/14 to 2016/17 for PGT
and PGR students
 Full data collection from 2013/14 to
2016/17 for PGT and PGR
students
 Full data on all posts advertised
from 2014 onwards
 Identify any issues which would
assist staff in taking additional
leave/different work patterns to
facilitate return to work
 >90% data collection of leaving
reasons
 Greater understanding of both
positive and negative reasons why
staff leave the Division and actions
planned to address negative
reasons
Description of action
Action taken already and outcome
at November 2013
Responsibility
Timescale
Success measure
7 Academic life
7.1
 Monthly Academic Surgical Meeting
 EC to propose
 Gender balance of speakers at initiated and maintained throughout
speakers
Academic Surgical Meeting
academic year 2012/13 with good
 Honorary staff and collaborator attendance (50-100)
 EA to arrange
clinician engagement in
speaker
Academic Surgical Meeting
 Gender and seniority of internal and
schedule
external speakers recorded
 Termly lecturer/senior lecturer
Networking event agreed with new
staff in Oct 2013
 Invited senior
lecturer from
newly
appointed
cohort to
organise with
EA
 Aim for 50% female speakers at
Doctoral level and 40% either
gender at senior level for each
academic year
 Yearly speaker schedule  Record clinical/non clinical and
to be discussed at EC
gender balance on attendance
each July
sheet
 Attendance by clinicians (honorary
or collaborators)– at least 4 per
meeting by 2016
 Termly meetings attended by
>50% lecturers/senior lecturers
 Termly from Spring 2014
with all attending at least once per
year
7.2*
 Develop and sustain academic
support networks
7.3
 Women’s forum members proposed
 Josephine
journal club
 Start date of Feb 2014
 Inception of Divisional Journal
Woodhams
 Stanmore has journal club already
Club, monthly at each of 3 main
(Research
 First Journal Club to take place on
campuses
Associate)
 Monthly
6th February 2014, with the first 6
to liaise with EA
journals already agreed upon
7
 Journal Club running on 90% of
planned occasions
 Average of >20 attendees at each
campus over 2014
Description of action
Action taken already and outcome
at November 2013
Responsibility
Timescale
Success measure
8 Support for women at key transition stages
 Offer access to a mentoring
scheme, either within or outside
 Mentoring matching scheme
of Division/UCL
identified that can be accessed by
Divisional staff and students
 EA to monitor
8.1*  Monitor uptake of mentoring in
uptake
staff survey
 Mentoring and coaching workshop at
Away Day September 2013
 Include information on
mentoring in induction process
8. 2*  Post-doctoral career workshop
8.3
 Agreed in principle at women’s
forum in Nov 2013
 Invite female post-doctoral staff
to recruitment panels by email  None as yet
and at women’s forum
 Mentors identified from each
research group within the Division
 Mentor training of at least 2 people
 Identification of
per research theme completed by
candidates for mentoring
Dec 2014
training Spring 2014
 Pilot scheme to begin
 Pilot scheme of 10 pairs by Dec
Autumn 2014
2015
 Feedback and second phase in
2016
 Melissa Bovis
(PhD member
of SAT)
 To be held in Summer
term 2014 and annually
 Annual workshop with >20
attendees and positive feedback
from >75%
 DSA to keep
updated list of
post-doctoral
women willing
to be on
recruitment
panels
 Start date of April 2014
 >50% of female post-doctoral staff
to have been on an interview panel
by next submission
8
Description of action
 9 Flexible
Action taken already and
outcome at November 2013
Timescale
Success measure
working and career breaks
 Ensure that all staff are aware of
Divisional and UCL policies for
flexible working, both informally
and formally and that these
policies are brought to the
attention of new staff at induction
9.1
Responsibility
 Link to UCL equalities policy
handbook on Divisional web
pages
 Include discussion of flexible
working within appraisal
 Flexible working agreed
informally by line managers
throughout the Division
 Website link by March
2014
 Monitored by
review of
 Evidence of discussion
appraisal forms
on appraisal feedback
by DSA
forms from Autumn
2014
 Increased number of staff aware of
flexible working options, evidenced
by >80% awareness in 2015 staff
survey

 Discussion of flexible working
acknowledged on appraisal review
forms in >80% returned forms
 Appraisal outcome forms to
include confirmation of discussion
of flexible working
9.2*
 Promote role models for flexible
working and those who have
taken career breaks or have
atypical career pathways
 Newly appointed lecturers/senior
lecturers discussed career
pathways when introducing
 Monitored by
themselves at Divisional Away
SAT
Day in Oct 2013
 E-newsletter
 Divisional e-newsletter was
 Profiles of female staff on
and website
launched in Oct 2013 with profile
Divisional website and videolink in
updated by EA
of new female lecturer, Anne
e-newsletter
Vanhoestenberghe
9
 Video embedding to be
introduced to enewsletter in Q1 2014
 Website to be launched
in Jan 2014
 New appointees to be
introduced at next Away
Day in Sept 2014
 Increased awareness of potential
for flexible working evidenced by
staff survey and women’s forum
(>80% agreement of awareness by
2016)