Athena SWAN Bronze and Silver Department award
application
Name of institution: Newcastle University
Date of application: 26th April 2011
Department: Institute of Health & Society
Contact for application: Professor Judith Rankin
Email:j.m.rankin@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: 0191 222 5267
Departmental website address: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ihs
Date of university Bronze and/or Silver SWAN award: July 2009
Level of award applied for: Silver
Athena SWAN Bronze and Silver Department awards recognise that in
addition to university-wide policies the department is working to promote
gender equality and to address challenges particular to the discipline.
Not all institutions use the term ‘department’ and there are many equivalent
academic groupings with different names, sizes and compositions. The
definition of a ‘department’ for SWAN purposes can be found on the Athena
SWAN website. If in doubt, contact the Athena SWAN Charter Coordinator
well in advance to check eligibility.
It is essential that the contact person for the application is based in the
department.
At the end of each section state the number of words used.
Click here for additional guidance on completing this template.
1. Letter of endorsement from the Head of Department – maximum 500
words
An accompanying letter of endorsement from the Head of Department should
explain how the SWAN action plan and activities in the department contribute
to the overall department strategy and academic mission.
The letter is an opportunity for the Head of Department to confirm their
support for the application and to endorse and commend any women and
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SET activities that have made a significant contribution to the achievement of
the departmental mission.
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 (both within
the department and as part of the team) and their experiences of worklife balance;
The Self-Assessment Team (SAT) consists of four women and two men representing
various grades of academic, research and administrative staff drawn from the
Institute of Health & Society (IHS) and the Human Resources team within Newcastle
University (NU). The following list gives details of the SAT members:
Judith Rankin holds a personal chair in the IHS. Judith began her career at NU as a
contract researcher. Over the course of 16 years she has progressed from research
associate to professor. She has also had three periods of maternity leave. IHS’s
supportive working environment has enabled Judith to balance her work and family
commitments (see case study 1 for further details). Judith has coordinated the
preparation of this submission.
Mark Pearce is a senior lecturer in IHS. Mark has taken two periods of paternity
leave in 2006 and 2009 when his wife, a member of NU research staff, gave birth to
their two sons. Mark leads an all female team and his role in the SAT has been to
provide a male perspective to IHS equality and diversity activities which has been
evidenced in this application.
Ben Heaven is a research assistant in IHS who joined on a short-term contract in
2002. He was encouraged to study for a PhD under staff regulations and was
awarded this in 2009. He then successfully applied for a research associate post in
IHS. Ben has taken two periods of paternity leave while studying for his PhD. As a
SAT member, Ben has provided a perspective from someone working at the interface
between student and staff within the Institute.
Kat Jackson began her career with Newcastle University in 2007 as a research
assistant. After working on a project for 18 months, she was encouraged to apply for
a prestigious fellowship from the National Institute of Health Research which she
was awarded in 2009. While waiting for the result of this application, Kat became
pregnant and began a period of 12 months maternity leave. She was supported by
IHS in the renegotiation of her contract with a later start date, to enable Kat to
continue her full maternity leave and return to work on a part-time basis. Kat’s role
in the SAT has been to provide a perspective of someone at the early stages of their
research career.
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Gill Paczynski is the Institute manager. Gill has worked in NU for 20 years. She took
up a part-time post in order to spend time with her young family. Two years after
her appointment, Gill took a period of maternity leave and continued to work three
days per week. When the opportunity arose to take on a more senior role, she was
able to negotiate an increase in her hours but to maintain part-time working. She
now works four long days but still has one day per week for family commitments. Gill
is also the Equality Officer and Casework Coordinator the Newcastle branch of the
University and Colleges Union. As Institute manager, Gill has the greatest experience
and knowledge of IHS policies and procedures, insight which has proved invaluable
to the SAT team and this submission.
Julie Bullimore works in the central Human Resources department at NU,
successfully job-sharing with a colleague. As the University’s Equality and Diversity
adviser, she is involved in all aspects of the University’s Equality and Diversity
activities. As with most people who work part-time, Julie finds the pressures of
fitting her duties into work time difficult but feels that her work-life balance is
suitable for her current work and family responsibilities. Within the SAT, Julie has
provided knowledge and advice on equality and diversity and has shared examples
of best practice from working with the Russell Group Equality Forum.
Judith and Gill have taken the lead in preparing the application but all members of
the SAT have provided their personal perspective on gender balance within IHS and
contributed details of their experiences of work-life balance. All members have
commented on all aspects of the submission. The SAT will continue to review how
current policies on gender equality and diversity can be amended or improved and
to assist in identifying further initiatives. Members of the SAT may attend the
University’s SAT in order to promote the equality and diversity agenda where
appropriate.
b) an account of the self assessment process: details of the self
assessment team meetings, including any consultation with staff or
individuals outside of the university, and how these have fed into the
submission;
Judith and Julie are members of NU’s Athena SWAN team which was successful in
gaining the bronze award in 2009. During these University meetings, IHS was
identified as an Institute that had already developed practices to encourage and
facilitate good work-life balance and as a potential candidate for a silver award.
Discussions followed with the Institute director (Professor Eileen Kaner) and the
Institute manager (Gill) during which full support was given. The Athena SWAN
Scheme was introduced to the whole Institute at one of its regular staff meetings.
There was a question and answer session; staff were invited to participate in
preparing the submission; and to meet with any SAT member to comment on the
process and to share their experiences of working in IHS. This information has been
incorporated into this submission. Julie is a member of the Russell Group Equality
Forum which shares examples of best practice and benchmarking and this
experience has fed into the current submission. We have also consulted with Mrs
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Veryan Johnston, Executive Director of Human Resources at NU, Professor Vicki
Bruce, member of the NU’s Athena SWAN team and members of the IHS Executive.
c) Plans for the future of the self assessment team, such as how often the
team will continue to meet, any reporting mechanisms and in particular
how the self assessment team intends to monitor implementation of the
action plan.
The SAT will meet twice a year to monitor implementation of the action plan, as well
as having regular email contact. The reporting mechanisms will be through the IHS
Human Resources Group (HRG). The HRG feeds into the IHS Executive which is the
Institute’s decision making body. The SAT will have a regular slot at the IHS staff
meetings, which take place three times per year, so that information on Athena
SWAN activities, including monitoring progress with implementing the action plan,
and decisions made at the Executive in relation to gender, diversity and equality, can
be communicated to the whole Institute.
Total words this section= 1000
3. A picture of the department – maximum 2000 words
a) Provide a pen-picture of the department to set the context for the
application, outlining in particular any significant and relevant features.
The IHS was formed in 2006 when the School of Population & Health Sciences
(formerly comprising the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, the
Department of Primary Care and the Centre for Health Services Research) and
research programmes in Child Health and Public Health Nutrition came together. IHS
has grown rapidly and has experienced a number of changes in the past year
including moving to a purpose built building, new ‘open’ plan working conditions, a
new director and three senior members of staff moving on due to personal career
advancement.
The IHS currently has 178 staff members across academic, research and clerical
grades. There are 88 lecturers at grade F and G which are entry and more
established lecturer subgrades. There are 15 staff at grade H which includes senior
lecturers and readers and 16 at grade I which is the professorial level. The remaining
59 are support staff. IHS has always had more female than male staff although the
ratio of women to men is now more balanced. Until 2010, there was a gender
imbalance at senior level with more males in senior positions (grades H and I).
However, four females were promoted to professor during 2009-10 and this has
resulted in more parity at senior level.
The IHS has long benefited from an enlightened leadership which recognised that
staff were entitled to security of employment, a satisfactory work-life balance and a
recognition that a staff comprised mainly of young women was going to result in
people requesting maternity/paternity leave, part-time working and time off for
caring responsibilities. In an area that is dominated by short-term contracts, this was
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not an easy set of ideals to balance. A number of policies have been put in place to
manage these issues:
1. After three years of employment, an employee could apply to be considered for a
rolling contract. This system was developed to give staff more stability by ensuring
that they always had 12 months of work ahead or, if this was not possible, 12
months to make other working arrangements while support via training was also
provided. Objectives had to be met to apply for this contract and a budget was set
aside to underwrite the salaries of those who were successful.
2. IHS reviewed how its finances were structured to enable the rolling contract
system to operate but also to provide for maternity/paternity leave.
3. A Staff Development and Review System was instigated; this was a number of
years before a Performance Development and Review System (PDR) was introduced
throughout Newcastle University. This allowed staff to take control of their careers
and enabled experienced staff to provide guidance and mentoring. It also ensured
information about maternity/paternity and other forms of leave which support the
working lives of staff were disseminated and implemented. The IHS bore the costs of
all these types of leave, which applied equally to all staff grades, when other forms
of funding were not available.
The introduction of the Concordat for Contract Research Staff in 1996 supported
many of these activities and the Faculty took over the funding of some maternity and
paternity leave costs from the then Centre for Health Services Research in response
to this. The introduction of the Fixed-term Employees [Prevention of Less Favourable
Treatment] Regulations 2002, which prohibits the continuous use of short-term
contracts over several years, also led the University to introduce ‘open’ contracts
taking away the need for rolling contracts. IHS was ahead of its time in seeking
solutions to these sorts of problems and continues to work hard to ensure continuity
of funding through offering bridging funds and career support and implementing the
2008 Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.
Return to work after maternity leave is high with most staff returning often to an
agreed amended contract with reduced hours to enable them to balance work and
home life. All of this is actively supported by the IHS.
The IHS Human Resources Group (HRG) takes responsibility for ensuring that all
University and Institute human resource policies are followed and makes and
considers suggestions for changes from other Institute groups. The HRG is also
responsible for administering fixed term contracts and ensuring the continuation of
contracts of employment by trying to marry those who are within six months of
contract end with vacancies. The HRG feeds into the IHS Executive. The minutes from
both these groups are posted on the IHS intranet, which all staff have access to, to
ensure key decisions are communicated openly to all staff.
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The IHS combines a supporting working environment with an open and inclusive
culture. From her appointment in 2010, the IHS director (Professor Eileen Kaner) has
encouraged staff to meet with her to discuss any issue that may be affecting their
working life. She regularly circulates a director’s newsletter to all staff; she uses this
forum to celebrate individual and team achievements and to disseminate the current
views of the University management to keep staff abreast of some of the challenges
currently facing those working in higher education.
b) Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly
labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on
their significance and how they have affected action planning.
Student data
(i)
Numbers of males and females on access or foundation courses –
comment on the data and describe any initiatives taken to attract
women to the courses.
The Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University does not provide access or
foundation courses.
(ii)
Undergraduate male and female numbers – full and part-time –
comment on the female:male ratio compared with the national picture
for the discipline. Describe any initiatives taken to address any
imbalance and the impact to date. Comment upon any plans for the
future.
Undergraduate student numbers are restricted by government quota for Medical
and Dental subjects. With the exception of the Accelerated Programme, female
numbers exceed male in all parts of the Medicine and Surgery honours degree
(MBBS). Staff from all Institutes/Schools within Newcastle University contribute
teaching on the MBBS, including IHS staff. Both MBBS programmes receive more
applications from females than males as can be seen in the graphs below.
55% of MBBS new entrants in 2010/11 were female. The picture is the same
nationally with 56% of accepted applications to all UK medical schools being from
females. The British Medical Association Equal Opportunities Committee suggests
that the proportion of applications from females may have stabilised since its peak in
2004.
6
500
MBBS Accelerated Programme 2008-10
438
436
450
406
400
366
350
300
305
286
250
Male
200
Female
150
100
50
19 16
16 14
7 10
0
2008
2008
2009
2009
2010
2010
Applications Successful Applications Successful Applications Successful
1400
1200
1000
MBBS 2008-10
1176
1066
932
1037
942
917
800
Male
600
Female
400
200
94 117
93 116
98 119
0
Applications Successful Applications Successful Applications Successful
2008
2008
2009
2009
2010
2010
(iii)
Postgraduate male and female numbers completing taught
courses – full and part-time – comment on the female:male ratio
compared with the national picture for the discipline. Describe any
initiatives taken to address any imbalance and the effect to date.
Comment upon any plans for the future.
7
The IHS offers a Masters in Public Health and Health Services Research. The numbers
studying part-time are small. Overall, there were more females than males on the
course in 2008 but there was a more balanced gender split in 2009 and 2010.
Nationally, according to Unistats (Context 2009), there is an imbalance between
male and female students for Public Health and Health Services Research within the
sector, with more females than males completing taught courses.
All selection is based on merit and there is no action planned to change the
application process at this time. Whilst the IHS records the gender balance on those
accepted onto the MSc course, we do not monitor gender balance in applications to
the MSc. This has been added as an action point (see point 1.1 in action plan).
MSc Public Health & Health
Services Research –
part-time
Total acceptances
MSc Public Health & Health
Services Research –
full-time
Total acceptances
(iv)
2008
Male
Female
3
2
2009
Male
Female
2
0
2010
Male
Female
1
0
2008
Male
Female
13
19
2009
Male
Female
14
18
2010
Male
Female
10
12
Postgraduate male and female numbers on research degrees – full
and part-time – comment on the female:male ratio compared with the
national picture for the discipline. Describe any initiatives taken to
address any imbalance and the effect to date. Comment upon any
plans for the future.
The graph below shows the number of applications to study for a PhD in IHS and the
number of successful applications by gender for 2008-10. More females have been
accepted onto PhDs than men. For the type of work undertaken in IHS, this gender
imbalance is expected and reflects what is occurring nationally in the subject area
(see section 3 (iii) above). There are no action points in relation to this.
8
250
PhD applications 2008-10
202
200
194
150
Male
100
50
81
39
91
Female
45
7
14
6
8
4
8
0
2008
2008
2009
2009
2010
2010
Applications Successful Applications Successful Applications Successful
(v)
Ratio of course applications to offers and acceptances by gender
for undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate
research degrees – comment on the differences between male and
female application and success rates and describe any initiatives taken
to address any imbalance and their effect to date. Comment upon any
plans for the future.
The number of students specifically aligned to IHS on both postgraduate taught and
research degrees is small. Although there is a gender imbalance for males, this
largely reflects the fact that the type of research done in IHS is more attractive to
women (see section 3 (viii)). Whilst the IHS is confident that its selection procedures
follow all equality guidelines, we were not able to access information on offers. Thus,
the monitoring of applications and success rates by gender could be improved and
we will explore with the University whether there is any way of capturing this
information (see action point 1.2 in the action plan).
(vi)
Degree classification by gender – comment on any differences in
degree attainment between males and females and describe what
actions are being taken to address any imbalance.
The MBBS, which is the primary degree the IHS contributes to, and postgraduate
degrees are not classified so this information is not available to the SAT.
Staff data
(vii)
Female:male ratio of academic staff and research staff –
researcher, lecturer, senior lecturer, reader, professor (or equivalent).
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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
As described in section 3a, the IHS currently has 119 staff members across academic
and research grades. The graph below shows the breakdown by gender and year.
The IHS employees by grade and gender, 2008-10
Staff Employed
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Senior
Senior
Senior
Lecturer Lecturer
Professo Lecturer Lecturer
Professo Lecturer Lecturer
Professo
Lecturer/
Lecturer/
Lecturer/
F
G
r
F
G
r
F
G
r
Reader
Reader
Reader
2008
2009
2010
Males employed
9
4
4
7
11
6
5
8
9
7
6
7
Females employed
31
13
6
7
55
14
10
10
59
14
8
11
The IHS is very successful in attracting and recruiting women into academic and
research roles. The Institute employs more women than men and women are
represented at all grades. At lecturer F the ratio of men to women has gone from 1:3
in 2008 to 1:6 in 2010. There has been a slight increase in both men and women
employed at lecturer G over the last three years.
There has been an increase in part-time posts at lecturer G making it easier for
women to apply - all the part-time posts are filled by women. The numbers of men
and women at senior lecturer and reader level are small, again with more females
than males.
All chair promotions over the past three years have been to women. Thus positions
at the highest level now more fairly reflect the composition of the IHS workforce as a
whole.
Academic Staff Turnover
(viii)
Turnover by grade and gender – comment on any differences between
men and women in turnover and say what is being done to address
this. Where the number of staff leaving is small, comment on the
reasons why particular individuals left.
10
A total of 238 women and 83 men were appointed between 2008 and 2010. During
the same time period, 24 women and seven men left. Eleven women left at the end
of fixed-term contracts, six moved to take up a promotion, two returned to their
career posts after working and studying in the Institute for a period of time, one relocated for career and family reasons, one left to complete her PhD, one retired, one
left after maternity leave and one left for work/life balance reasons. Of the men who
left, one was head-hunted by another university to lead a new research programme,
three left to take up promotion, two to return to their career posts after studying
and working in the Institute for a period of time and one re-located abroad.
78% of leavers from the IHS in the last three years were women although in real
terms this is still a small number (24). This compares to 74% of the overall staff being
women. The highest turnover is within lecturer grade F; this group are more likely to
be affected by the ending of a fixed-term contract. The reason for people on this
grade leaving varies from wanting to travel, to returning to their home country, to
taking up a post in another university (further detailed above). Although many staff
at this grade are initially appointed on short-term contracts, the IHS has an internal
redeployment policy which means that people are generally leaving of their own
accord and for positive reasons. However, in an attempt to collect more information
on why staff are leaving, we plan to carry out exit interviews with members of staff
before they leave; this has been added as an action point (see action point 1.3 in the
action plan).
2008
Grade
Lecturer F
Lecturer G
Senior Lecturer/Reader
Professor
Staff Employed
Male
Female
9
31
4
13
4
6
7
7
Leavers
Male
Female
1
1
0
1
2
1
0
0
Turnover
Male
Female
11%
3%
0%
8%
50%
17%
0%
0%
2009
Grade
Lecturer F
Lecturer G
Senior Lecturer/Reader
Professor
Male
11
6
5
8
Female
55
14
10
10
Male
2
0
1
0
Female
10
1
0
0
Male
18%
0%
20%
0%
Female
18%
7%
0%
0%
2010
Grade
Lecturer F
Lecturer G
Senior Lecturer/Reader
Professor
Male
9
7
6
7
Female
59
14
8
11
Male
0
0
0
1
Female
10
1
1
1
Male
0%
0%
0%
14%
Female
17%
7%
13%
9%
Total word count = 1779
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Supporting and advancing women’s careers – maximum 5000 words
4. Key career transition points
a) Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly
labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on
their significance and how they have affected action planning.
(i)
Job application and success rates by gender and grade – comment
on any differences in recruitment between men and women at any level
and say what action is being taken to address this.
There is a clear difference by gender in the applications for academic and research
positions. For grade F, 62% of applicants are women. More men than women apply
for positions in grades G, H and I.
IHS Applications for Academic and Research positions
by grade and gender 2008-10
450
400
350
300
250
200
Male
150
Female
100
50
0
Grade F
Grade G
Grade H
Grade I
Male
251
39
17
9
Female
416
29
15
3
Applications and offers made for academic and research positions by grade and year
are shown in the table below.
Female
Male
Total
Applications
2008 2009 2010
154
200
122
118
94
112
272
294
234
2008
8
0
8
Offers
2009
15
8
23
2010
19
3
22
Offers as % of applications
2008
2009
2010
5%
8%
16%
0%
9%
3%
3%
8%
9%
For all academic and research positions available over the last three years, women
have increased the proportion of offers received as a percentage of applications
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made. The data show that the IHS is successful at attracting and recruiting women
into science.
The picture is more variable for men across the same time period. We are unable to
access data by grade relating to offers and acceptances and this has been added as
an action point (see action point 3.1 in the action plan).
(ii)
Applications for promotion and success rates by gender and
grade – comment on whether these differ for men and women and if
they do explain what action may be taken. Where the number of
women is small applicants may comment on specific examples of
where women have been through the promotion process. Explain how
potential candidates are identified.
Since 2009, all applications for promotion have gone through a University process.
Prior to that, research promotions were considered by the Newcastle University
Dean of Research. Identification of those eligible for promotion is done through the
Performance and Development Review (PDR) process and review by the IHS director.
The number of promotions to Chairs and Senior Lecturer positions has been small
over the last three years with a balance of applications from women and men. All of
the applications from women were successful.
Year
Outcome
Successful
2008
2009
Position
Chair
Senior Lecturer
Female
1
1
Chair
Senior Lecturer
Lecturer G
2
1
Total
1
2
1
3
1
1
Chair
Senior Lecturer
1
1
Total
6
Unsuccessful
Successful
Male
1
1
1
1
Unsuccessful
2010
Successful
Unsuccessful
1
1
6
1
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Promotion for researchers more often comes via the recruitment process rather
than through the University promotions procedure. Research staff have been
successful in developing their careers while performing specific tasks for a research
project. During the last three years, one female member of staff was promoted from
research assistant to research associate; two staff from research associate to senior
research associate (one male, one female); and one male from senior research
associate to principle research associate.
The IHS strategic plan is shared with all staff and recently has been specifically
included in the discussion topics for the PDR interviews so that all academic staff are
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aware of the criteria needed for promotion at each grade. By doing this, we hope
that more staff will consider applying for promotion.
b) For each of the areas below, explain what the key issues are in the
department, what steps have been taken to address any imbalances,
what success/impact has been achieved so far and what additional
steps may be needed.
(i)
Recruitment of staff – comment on how the department’s recruitment
processes ensure that female candidates are attracted to apply, and
how the department ensures its short listing, selection processes and
criteria comply with the university’s equal opportunities policies.
Newcastle University recruitment process adheres to all equal opportunity
legislation. The IHS follows these policies and procedures. All posts are advertised
internally for a period of seven days and externally for 3-4 weeks. IHS notifies shortlisted candidates of interview dates in good time. The letter of invitation for
interview specifically asks about any special arrangements needed to enable an
applicant to attend. Interviews are held within normal working hours and posts are
advertised as being flexible with regard to working hours where possible.
(ii)
Support for staff at key career transition points – having identified
key areas of attrition of female staff in the department, comment on any
interventions, programmes and activities that support women at the
crucial stages, such as personal development training, opportunities for
networking, mentoring programmes and leadership training. Identify
which have been found to work best at the different career stages.
There are no particular areas of attrition in the IHS (as shown in section 3 viii) and
turnover is relatively small. The IHS policy on staff training is that 10% of working
time should be spent on personal development and training. There is a specific
training question in the Performance and Development Review (PDR) asking about
training needs and identified gaps are followed up after the PDR meeting by the
person identified on the PDR form.
The IHS initiated and designed a training course for Principal Investigators which has
been adopted by the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS) as a beacon of best practice.
IHS was chosen by the FMS to pilot its mentoring programme and a number of staff
have now had the opportunity to be trained as mentors. These two examples
illustrate the supportive culture that the IHS adopts. Both schemes have proved
successful among all staff grades. However, females entering senior positions have
identified the need for leadership training. Whilst the IHS supports staff members to
attend external courses e.g. NHS Public Health Leadership course, we are currently
scoping the possibility of designing and running a leadership training course
internally and this has been added as an action point (see action point 3.2 in the
action plan). It is expected that this training will identify particular issues that have
arisen in the IHS for senior managers. It will address general management problems
and highlight University policies and procedures. In some instances, this may lead to
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one-to-one coaching sessions with some managers. Similar training will then be
rolled out to others in response to requests from relatively recently appointed senior
lecturers for management training. As part of a cascade of training we will then look
at the training requirements of more junior staff, specifically training on grant
writing and other practical aspects of developing an academic career but also an
introduction to management.
5. Career development
a) For each of the areas below, explain what the key issues are in the
department, what steps have been taken to address any imbalances,
what success/impact has been achieved so far and what additional
steps may be needed.
(i)
Promotion and career development – comment on the appraisal and
career development process, and promotion criteria and whether these
take into consideration responsibilities for teaching, research,
administration, pastoral work and outreach work; is quality of work
emphasised over quantity of work?
All the IHS staff are encouraged to attend the University workshops on Performance
and Development Review (PDR) so that all involved can get the best out of the
meeting. Guidelines on the PDR process are held in the IHS’s shared folder which is
available to all staff and any changes to procedure or timelines are circulated in a
timely fashion. Discussion about applying for promotion is now an integral part of
the PDR process and all academic and other activities are taken equally into account
when promotion is being considered. Part-time staff are offered the same
opportunities as full-time staff including enhancing their CV through teaching
experience, committee membership and supervision of MSc and PhD students.
The IHS strategic plan is shared with all staff; academic staff are aware of the criteria
including academic achievements expected at the different levels before proceeding
to an application for promotion. Quality is recognised over quantity with
encouragement to apply for prestigious research funding and to submit to peerreviewed journals paramount; support and training is given to build confidence in
these activities including internal peer-review of bids and opportunities to present
papers to a wide range of staff along with other training activities. PDR completion
rates are reviewed annually to ensure all staff are being appraised.
It is recognised that female members of staff may wait longer to apply for promotion
than their male counterparts. There appears to be a perception among younger
female members of the IHS staff that a period of maternity leave has to be ‘made up’
before they can compete on equal terms with men. We are addressing this
perception through the PDR process to emphasise that promotion is based on merit
not length of time in post. The IHS director signs off all PDR forms; this is an
opportunity for the director to identify those who are approaching a stage where
they should be considering promotion. From 2011, the IHS director will have a
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discussion on promotion with any member of staff she feels should be considering it
(see action point 4.1 in the action plan).
The Newcastle University Faculty of Medical Sciences runs annual promotion
seminars; the IHS staff are encouraged to attend these before completing their
promotion documents. Support is also given internally to research staff with sample
documents and review of papers by senior members of staff prior to submission. The
IHS director provides feedback to unsuccessful candidates.
(ii)
Induction and training – describe the support provided to new staff at
all levels, as well as details of any gender equality training. To what
extent are good employment practices in the institution, such as
opportunities for networking, the flexible working policy, and
professional and personal development opportunities promoted to staff
from the outset?
The IHS has a ‘buddy’ system for all new staff; this is someone usually of equivalent
grade who has been working in the IHS for some time. The ‘buddy’ is assigned for
two weeks during which they introduce new staff members to key staff at all grades
including the Institute director, as well as showing them around the University e.g.
where the library is located, where other parts of the Institute are based, where
other key buildings are including University and Faculty administration offices and
taking them to the coffee/lunch area to provide further opportunity for networking.
Although formally this relationship only lasts a short period, it generally leads to an
on-going friendship which means that people always have somebody to go to with a
query in the early days. In addition the new staff member is introduced to key
people in the building for obtaining information and advice about health & safety,
university policies on sickness absence, holiday entitlement, dignity at work etc.
This ‘buddy’ system is also offered to all new PhD students. However, we propose to
offer a longer period of this informal support to overseas postgraduate students if
they feel this would be useful (see action point 2.1 of the action plan).
There is a Newcastle University Women’s network (NU-Women)
(http://www.ncl.ac.uk/diversity/info/gender/nuwomen/) which is open to all
women in the University. This network arranges various activities for women from
inviting inspirational women to speak to the group to discussions on career
development using expertise with the University. There is also a Carer’s network, a
more informal group, which meets to discuss issues relating to caring for
dependents. We endeavour to ensure that all staff are aware of these networks, a
more formal means of increasing awareness by presenting on the networks at the
IHS staff meetings has been added as an action point (see action point 5.2 in the
action plan).
Diversity training is provided by the University’s Staff Development Unit. There is
also a Diversity webpage (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/diversity/) and a Diversity
Consultative Group which can be contacted.
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The IHS policy on staff training is that 10% of working time should be spent on
personal development and training; this applies to all staff. There is a specific
training question in the PDR asking about training needs and gaps identified are
followed up after the PDR meeting by the appropriate person identified on the form.
All staff are encouraged to attend open meetings and seminars. Questions about
flexible working etc are often asked and answered as part of the recruitment
process. The IHS tries to accommodate such requests whilst being mindful of the
requirements of the work being undertaken.
(iii)
Support for female students – describe the support (formal and
informal) provided for female students to enable them to make the
transition to a sustainable academic career, particularly from
postgraduate to researcher, such as mentoring, seminars and pastoral
support and the right to request a female personal tutor. Comment on
whether these activities are run by female staff and how this work is
formally recognised by the department.
All students in the IHS are encouraged to take advantage of anything on offer to staff
and wherever possible are treated the same. There have been a number of staff who
have become PhD students either part-time or full-time by obtaining specific PhD
fellowship funding or as part of their ongoing work, with a considerable amount of
support from the IHS. This means that they can study full-time within a supportive
and vibrant environment and yet feel part of the larger group of students. These
staff generally return to a research role once their studies are complete.
Opportunities for other PhD students may also arise if suitable project work
becomes available on attaining their PhD. We have had two recent examples, where
an IHS PhD student (Fiona Young) and a member of IHS staff (Ben Heaven), have
both been successful in attaining a research associate post within the IHS after
completion of their PhD. We are currently providing support to a female member of
the IHS support staff to undertake a Masters in Business Administration at
Northumbria University, illustrating that we are committed to supporting all staff.
All IHS staff members are aware of the possibilities of applying for awards such as
NIHR fellowships and have excellent examples of people who have gone from
researcher to professor within the IHS.
All new staff are ‘buddied’ (see section 5(ii)) and are invited to attend all Institute
discussion forums and seminars. The IHS was chosen by the Faculty of Medical
Sciences to pilot its mentoring programme and a number of IHS staff have now had
the opportunity to be trained as mentors. Any staff member can request a mentor
and the Institute manager is responsible for marrying the mentee with a suitable
mentor in a timely fashion.
6. Organisation and culture
a) Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly
labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on
their significance and how they have affected action planning.
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(i)
Male and female representation on committees – provide a
breakdown by committee and explain any differences between male
and female representation. Explain how potential members are
identified.
There is a NU policy on appointing staff to committees (see section 6 b (i) below).
Committee representation within the IHS is wide and varied since staff are
encouraged to sit on committees both within and outside the University. Within the
Institute the IHS Executive is selected from the most senior members of staff each of
whom has a specific area of responsibility. For other groups representatives might be
selected with a view to enhancing their CV with an eye on promotion prospects. This
is regardless of gender. The University asks for volunteers to sit on various
committees and names are submitted by the IHS director. The choice of people on
these committees will be governed by the need for a spread of representatives
across University Faculties and will take into account gender balance. The IHS is
often asked for representatives to sit on University Working groups. People will be
chosen for these either based on their specific knowledge or interest or for career
development purposes. When the Institute’s academics were surveyed on this
question for this submission, over 50 committees were mentioned. A sample of the
committees and a breakdown of their membership is shown below illustrating the
breadth of committees that IHS staff at all grades contribute to.
Examples of committee membership
Committee
Total
membership
No.
of No.
of
males
females
Institute:
IHS Executive
9
3
6
Faculty of Medical Sciences:
Ethics Committee
Graduate School Committee
32
28
13
13
19
15
Newcastle University:
Wellbeing Group
6
3
3
2
3
10
6
External:
Department of Health Public Health Research 5
Consortium
North East Quality Observatory Technical 16
Group
(ii)
Female:male ratio of academic and research staff on fixed-term
contracts and open-ended (permanent) contracts – comment on
any differences between male and female staff representation on fixedterm contracts and say what is being done to address them.
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The IHS is committed to transferring all employees onto open-ended contracts
where possible. The IHS is able to do this by pooling income acquired though nonresearch work and recovered from full economic costing and overheads. This
cooperative approach to budgeting is unusual at NU. This enables the IHS to provide
support beyond the funding period when necessary to complete the writing of
papers for publication, essential for any researcher’s career development. Openended contracts show a commitment from the Institute to keeping people in work
and reduces the stress caused by fixed-term contracts. The IHS is working towards
offering fewer fixed-term contracts and has appointed people directly on to openended contracts when it is highly likely that funds will continue on a regular basis or
to attract people to apply for hard to fill posts.
The graph below shows that the number of women on open-ended contracts has
increased over the last three years and the IHS plans to continue this trend.
IHS Employees by Contract Type and Gender 2008-10
60
50
Fixed Term Contracts Female
40
Fixed Term Contracts Male
30
Open Ended Contracts
Female
20
Open Ended Contracts Male
10
0
2008
2009
2010
b) For each of the areas below, explain what the key issues are in the
department, what steps have been taken to address any imbalances,
what success/impact has been achieved so far and what additional
steps may be needed.
(i)
Representation on decision-making committees – comment on
evidence of gender equality in the mechanism for selecting
representatives. What evidence is there that women are encouraged to
19
sit on a range of influential committees inside and outside the
department? How is the issue of ‘committee overload’ addressed
where there are small numbers of female staff?
Committee membership at University level is governed by Newcastle University
policy:
(http://www.ncl.ac.uk/executive/assets/documents/DiversityProfileCommitteesMay
2010.pdf) on appointing staff onto committees. Membership of committees is
discussed at the PDR and if any member of staff was experiencing ‘committee
overload’, this is when it could be discussed and acted upon. As the IHS has a large
number of female staff, there is always a pool of female staff to draw upon if female
representatives are required and therefore ‘committee overload’ has not been a
problem and there are no actions points in relation to this.
(ii)
Workload model – describe the systems in place to ensure that
workload allocations, including pastoral and administrative
responsibilities (including the responsibility for work on women and
science) are taken into account at appraisal and in promotion criteria.
Comment on the rotation of responsibilities e.g. responsibilities with a
heavy workload and those that are seen as good for an individual’s
career.
The Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University uses a Faculty-wide
Workload Planning Model. Pastoral and administrative responsibilities come under
the ‘other administrative duties’ agreed with the Institute director and are
recognised as ongoing agreed activities. Workload and responsibilities are discussed
as part of the PDR process. In the spirit of openness and transparency, the IHS is
currently seeking views from academic staff about making workload plans available
within the organisation so that everybody sees the spread and type of workload
across the IHS. Representation on committees is reviewed by the IHS director on a
regular basis in order to give people experience on different bodies and enhance
career development.
(iii)
Timing of departmental meetings and social gatherings – provide
evidence of consideration for those with family responsibilities, for
example what the department considers to be core hours and whether
there is a more flexible system in place.
The IHS have regular discussion forum meetings where less established research and
academic staff are encouraged to present their work. These are held at lunchtime to
ensure all staff have the opportunity to attend. The external seminar programme
similarly is held within normal working hours and, if held in the afternoon, ends by
5pm to allow staff with childcare responsibilities to leave in good time. Institute
meetings are held on a Wednesday as we have found this to be the day on which
most part-time staff work. We do not hold meetings before 9am as we recognise
that not all staff would be able to attend.
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(iv)
Culture –demonstrate how the department is female-friendly and
inclusive. ‘Culture’ refers to the language, behaviours and other
informal interactions that characterise the atmosphere of the
department, and includes all staff and students.
As the Institute with the highest maternity returns in the Faculty, we positively
encourage celebrating good news e.g. births and achievements. We have a central
area where staff can have coffee/lunch which allows for informal networking. Coffee
and lunch breaks are positively encouraged and we regularly support charity
initiatives. We host a lunch for all new MSc students to meet IHS staff. The Christmas
party, to which all staff are invited, starts at lunchtime so that staff with childcare
responsibilities can attend and still meet these. Due regard is given to language used
and respect is shown to people from different cultures including identifying a place
to pray for Muslim members of staff. Any untoward behaviour would be dealt with
under the University’s Dignity at Work policy which all staff are aware of. We have a
Dignity at Work volunteer based in the IHS and the Institute manager has received
specific training and presented on the policy at other staff meetings.
(v)
Outreach activities – comment on the level of participation by female
and male staff in outreach activities with schools and colleges and
other centres. Describe who the programmes are aimed at, and how
this activity is formally recognised as part of the workload model and in
appraisal and promotion processes.
Newcastle University is a member of the Widening Participation programme which
aims to raise aspirations and widen participation in higher education and the IHS is a
partner in this initiative. The IHS staff have been involved in the ‘mini medical
schools’ initiative which takes University medical research to school children
interested in applying to medical school through interactive presentations.
7. Flexibility and managing career breaks
a) Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly
labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on
their significance and how they have affected action planning.
(i)
Maternity return rate – comment on whether maternity return rate in
the department has improved or deteriorated and any plans for further
improvement. If the department is unable to provide a maternity return
rate, please explain why?
The IHS has considerable experience of staff taking maternity leave having had 14 in
the last three years. Of these, one chose not to return to work which gives a return
to work rate of 78.6%. This is a higher return rate than the Faculty of Medical
Sciences where 72% of maternity leavers come back to work. Women from all grades
have taken maternity leave and a number of senior academics have had several
periods of maternity leave. The one member of staff (grade F) who did not return to
work after taking maternity leave, experienced a period of ill health after her baby
21
was born and decided to move to the area of the country where most of her family
were based. We also offer a phased return to work to aid in the transition back to
work.
(ii)
Paternity, adoption and parental leave uptake – comment on the
uptake of paternity leave by grade and parental and adoption leave by
gender and grade. Has this improved or deteriorated and what plans
are there to improve further?
Paternity leave is offered to all new dads. Two male members of staff (one senior
lecturer and one research associate) have taken paternity leave over the past three
years. One female member of staff has taken parental leave on two occasions to
cover school holidays. This part-time member of staff commented that the IHS’
flexibility over working hours has considerably reduced her stress levels at times e.g.
when children are ill.
No requests for adoption leave have been received but this is available to all staff.
Information on policies is readily available on the IHS intranet. However, we plan to
introduce a better data collection system for this type of leave (see action point 5.1
in the Action plan).
(iii)
Numbers of applications and success rates for flexible working by
gender and grade – comment on any disparities. Where the number
of women in the department is small applicants may wish to comment
on specific examples.
Flexible working is available to all IHS staff in agreement with the Institute director.
Three part-time members of staff (senior lecturers) currently work flexibly by
working extra hours during term time so they can spend more time with their
children in the school holidays. Others (research associates) have altered their
working patterns to work longer days so as to be able to spend more time with their
children or to pick them up from school on certain days and others have phased their
return to work after maternity leave by returning part-time (lecturer) and gradually
reverting back to full-time working. There is a new initiative, the Workwise Project,
which will be launched soon by the University to promote new ways of working
flexibly and the Institute will be enthusiastic in supporting this.
b) For each of the areas below, explain what the key issues are in the
department, what steps have been taken to address any imbalances,
what success/impact has been achieved so far and what additional
steps may be needed.
(i)
Flexible working – comment on the numbers of staff working flexibly
and their grades and gender, whether there is a formal or informal
system, the support and training provided for managers in promoting
and managing flexible working arrangements, and how the department
raises awareness of the options available.
22
Academic staff of all grades and both genders are able to work flexibly with regard to
hours of working. There is provision for working from home for some part of the
week. The Institute management believe, however, that there is a need for
academics to spend time in the office for their own development, to facilitate
research collaboration, to ensure that the full range of academic duties are covered
and shared as fairly as possible between all staff. As the Institute has a large number
of support staff who are unable to work as flexibly, it is important for their morale
that they see the academics on a regular basis so that the team cohesiveness and
common purpose of the Institute are maintained. Discussion about flexible working
often forms part of the recruitment process and the IHS tries to meet requests for
flexibility where it can. We have been able to support a staff member who wanted to
work part-time when appointed to a full-time post (see case study 2 for further
details).
(ii)
Cover for maternity and adoption leave and support on return –
explain what the department does, beyond the university maternity
policy package, to support female staff before they go on maternity
leave, arrangements for covering work during absence, and to help
them achieve a suitable work-life balance on their return.
As part of its normal human resource management practice, the IHS seeks to cover
maternity leave by using existing members of staff wherever possible. Due to the
nature of short-term funded contracts, we often have researchers coming to the end
of other projects who can step in to cover. Research funders are sympathetic to
suspending projects in some instances and in these cases work will temporarily cease
until the staff member returns to work. This is useful in that the individual is clear
about what she will be working on her return and retains ’ownership’ of the project.
Arrangements for flexible, part-time and home working as described in section 7 (bi)
are on offer.
However, as an Institute we recognise that there is some work required on providing
some more pastoral support to people returning from maternity leave. Whilst our
maternity return rates are high, comments to the SAT suggest that some people feel
overwhelmed on their return and find work and motherhood difficult to cope with,
especially for first time parents. We will address this issue in our action plan by
offering a buddy system for those returning from maternity leave (see action point
3.3 in the action plan) and the Institute manager will organise a meeting between
the maternity leave returner and their line manager to manage work expectations
(see action point 3.4 in the action plan).
Total word count = 3573
8. Any other comments – maximum 500 words
Please comment here on any other elements which are relevant to the
application, e.g. other SET-specific initiatives of special interest that have not
been covered in the previous sections. Include any other relevant data (e.g.
23
results from staff surveys), provide a commentary on it and indicate how it is
planned to address any gender disparities identified.
The recent staff survey conducted bi-annually by Newcastle University highlighted
that 98% of the IHS staff viewed the University as a good place to work with effective
management structures in place. In particular, the IHS was considered good in the
areas of health, safety and wellbeing, treating people equally, clarity of role and
responsibility, satisfaction at work, feeling valued, training and development, work
life balance and communication/information.
However, one issue was raised by a staff member around dignity at work. Since then
we have had a presentation on this at the IHS staff meeting with signposting to
Newcastle University’s dignity at work policy and a dignity at work volunteer has
been appointed, with full support from the IHS director. This role can involve time
during the working week to speak with individuals. Internal mediation, facilitated by
the Institute manager, has been offered when requested; on two occasions this has
been taken up and proved very successful.
The SAT considers the IHS has led the way in a number of gender and diversity issues
and strives to provide a supportive working environment for all staff members with
policies and procedures that adhere to current good practice. However, just as
importantly, the IHS senior management tries to respond, in a timely fashion, to
particular challenges, as illustrated above in the dignity at work example.
Total word count = 222
9. Action plan
Provide an action plan as an appendix. An action plan template is available on
the Athena SWAN website.
The Action Plan should be a table or a spreadsheet comprising actions to
address the priorities identified by the analysis of relevant data presented in
this application, success/outcome measures, the post holder responsible for
each action and a timeline for completion. The Plan should cover current
initiatives and your aspirations for the next three years.
The action plan does not need to cover all areas at Bronze; however the
expectation is that the department will have the organisational structure to
move forward, including collecting the necessary data.
For Silver Department awards only
10. Case study: impacting on individuals – maximum 1000 words
Describe how the department’s SWAN activities have benefitted two
individuals working in the department. One of these case studies should be a
member of the self assessment team, the other someone else in the
department. More information on case studies is available in the guidance.
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