Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield
Action
Athena SWAN Action Plan 2012
1
1.1
Description of
action
Action taken already Further action
and outcome at
planned at
November 2012
November 2012
Transforming culture
Engagement with
TUoS-run mentoring
training, networking schemes are available
and mentoring
and open to
opportunities.
participation by all.
Women-specific
programmes such as
Springboard for
Women and
Women@TUoS
NETwork provides
additional mentoring
opportunities.
APS staff provided
with a mentor when
hired but the process
is largely informal with
little oversight.
Responsibility
Create an APS
Athena SWAN
Mentoring
Committee
Committee that
determines and
implements best
practice relevant for
the department.
Timescale
Success Measure
1/1/13onwards
Increased satisfaction in APS
and TUoS mentoring for
research and academic staff,
determined via our survey and
HR feedback.
1.2
1.3
Unconscious bias
training for all staff
members
Improved induction
document for
researchers and
staff
Only 7% of APS staff Focussed training
have formal training in session on
unconscious bias.
unconscious bias
for all APS staff
New staff are provided
with an induction,
assigned a mentor
and meet with the
Director of Teaching
regularly.
Athena SWAN
Committee,
HoD, HR
Induction handbook Athena SWAN
to reflect APS
Committee, HR
culture on the wellrounded academic,
including flexible
working
arrangements,
TUoS policy on
gender, equality
and diversity,
parental/carer
leave, and
mentoring and
networking
opportunities within
APS and TUoS.
Beginning
1/1/13, with
goal of all
current staff
trained by
Autumn
2013.
1/3/13 – to
be
completed
by Autumn
2013, and
subsequent
annual
updates
and review
Increased awareness of gender
bias issues in all staff, but
particularly those making
policy/recruitment decisions.
Consequently, increased
recruitment and retention, either
within APS or within STEM (e.g.
for researchers who take up
contracts elsewhere) of females
across all hierarchical levels
Increased awareness of the
positive actions APS takes to
encourage female staff at all
levels as measured by staff
survey
1.4
Creation of APS
“Support for You”
web page reflecting
APS female-friendly
culture.
Family-friendly culture
embedded by: 1) APS
Facebook page
regularly highlighting
success stories of
female staff and
students, 2) APS foyer
displaying successful
female images, and 3)
continual evaluation
that APS web sites
use many female
images.
Make family-friendly Departmental
culture more
Web Support
externally visible
Team
and internally
accessible,
including case
studies of flexible
working, continuing
to celebrate
success,
particularly of
female staff, and to
link with improved
induction material
(Action 1.3)
emphasizing
policies that
positively impact
female researchers.
Autumn
2013,
following
completion
of Action
1.3 and
updated as
required
Web page serves as a
reference resource to support
managers and staff in
understanding, providing
guidance, and implementing
family friendly policies, advice
on promotions, etc. Measured
internally by increased
awareness of such policies on
staff survey.
Indirect positive effects on other
external facing actions,
including increased numbers of
applications from females (see
also Action 4.3).
1.5
Increase the
visibility of female
role models.
Departmental seminar
in which the seminar
organisers manage
the invitation process
to include successful
female academics.
See also Action 1.4
Approach female
speakers earlier in
the invitation cycle.
Seminar
organisers; HoD
Create a named
seminar as a
celebration of
female success
See also Action 1.4
1.6
Review timing of
meetings, social
gatherings and
teaching.
APS avoids setting
meetings in half-term.
Most APS meetings
held between 930400.
Consult with staff to Athena SWAN
determine best
Committee
solution.
Speakers
Increase the proportion and
approached visibility of female speakers in
one
departmental seminars.
semester in
advance
(so Autumn
2013
speakers
will be
approach
by April
2013),
continued
every
semester
Launch of
named
seminar
Autumn
2013;
annual
event
thereafter
1/1/13 –
1/3/13
Greater staff satisfaction as
evidenced by improved survey
scores.
1.7
1.8
Implement a
STEM faculties
departmental
currently have protoworkload allocation WAM.
model (WAM) that
is aligned with APS
values.
Launch of Athena
SWAN
Renewal of Athena
SWAN award
Athena SWAN
Committee met 3
times to gather,
process, and interpret
data relevant to
application process,
and discuss action
plans.
Supported by external
consultants and HR.
Test model in APS
to ensure that
departmental
values (i.e.,
investment in the
well-rounded
academic)
contribute
appropriately to
WAM calculations.
HoD
Ensure responsive
and progressive
action plans are
implemented.
Athena SWAN
Committee
Self-assessment
process embedded
in APS culture
Second
iteration of
APS WAM
completed
by July
2013.
Transparent WAM piloted, with
staff input, by 2013 and used
widely by 2014.
Full
implementation
completed
by July
2014.
Athena
Launch and celebratory event
SWAN
upon award
Committee
to meet
Renewal of award in 2016.
every
semester
commencing January
2013.
1.9
Sharing of Athena
SWAN best practice
Reporting to TUoS HoD @ Equality ongoing
Faculty of Science and Diversity
Equality and
Board meetings
Diversity Committee
APS Athena
SWAN champion
disseminates
information at
other
opportunities
organized by
TUoS (see TUoS
Bronze renewal
application)
2
2.1
Gender balance and student performance
Monitor gender of
Proportionally fewer
Monitor and if trend Director of
applications, offers females applied for
continues,
Admissions
and acceptances
and accepted
investigate potential
for UG
MBiolSci offers in
causes by
programmes.
2011-12 than in the
reviewing the TUoS
previous two years in Decliner’s Survey to
APS.
identify any patterns
in why female
applicants decline
our offers.
2.2
Monitor gender of
acceptances from
Home/EU PGR
students
PGR acceptances
from UK/EU students
has decreased
annually over the last
3 years.
Monitor and
Graduate
investigate potential Committee
causes by
conducting a
Decliner’s Survey.
Contributions to successful
Athena SWAN awards from
other TUoS STEM departments
October
Proportion of females on
2013 after MBiolSci degrees at or above
receipt of
equivalent HEI average
full
admissions
statistics for
2013
admissions
June 2013
following
end of
admissions
process
Proportion of female
acceptances similar to or
greater than proportion of
female applications
2.3
Investigate reasons
for discrepancy
between the
genders in UG
underperformance.
Female UG students
consistently
outperformed male
students.
Identify cause for
Teaching
underperformance Committee
in male UG (i.e.,
analysis of gender
bias in performance
by assessment
method)
Data
Performance ratio in males
analysis by should match that of female UG
May 2013
students
following
next set of
exam
marks.
Determine
whether,
and if so,
implementa
tion of
revisions to
different
assessment
methods by
Spring 2014
(due to lag
between
resulting
actions and
regulation
changes).
3
3.1
Female researcher and PG career development and progression
Identify effective
Postdoc Society holds See Action 1.1.
Mentoring
1/1/13mechanisms for
regular well-attended
Committee,
onwards
discussing career
social and careerMake confidence
Postdoc Society,
progressions,
orientated events with and resilience
Women@TUoS
especially for
APS providing funds
training available
NETwork
females.
to support these
through
activities.
Women@TUoS
NETwork.
Increased retention of female
researchers in STEM as
measured by exit/alumni
survey.
3.2
Enhance career
prospects by
increasing
opportunities to
engage in
professional
activities
The APS survey
revealed that
researchers wanted
more opportunities to
engage with APS at
departmental level via
committee
participation and
research-led teaching.
3.3
Encourage, support
and monitor
fellowship
applications
University-wide
see Action 1.1
fellowship application
guidance courses and
mentoring schemes
available to all
researchers.
APS internal review
system for fellowships
ensures feedback is
provided prior to
submission.
Encourage staff to
create research-led
teaching
opportunities with
appropriate support
and review
committee
membership to
include researchers
in relevant
committee
participation.
HoD,
Departmental
Committees,
Director of
Teaching.
academic yr Increased involvement of
2013
researchers on departmental
onwards
committees and research-led
teaching.
Mentoring
Committee
1/1/13onwards
Greater proportion of APStrained women researchers
applying for research council
fellowships with ambition to
exceed national application
proportions.
Increased attendance at
relevant TUoS-wide courses
and schemes.
3.4
Ensure
See Action 3.1
Postdoctoral
Society continues to
deliver careeroriented and
informal support
3.5
Initiate PG Away
Day
3.6
Initiate female PG
forum
Increase visibility
and academic staff
engagement with
Postdoctoral
Society to broaden
the base of advice
and support to
female researchers.
Postdoctoral
Society, HoD,
Mentoring
Committee
1/1/13 onwards
Improved retention of APStrained female researchers in
STEM measured by exit/alumni
surveys.
Graduate
Committee
Annually,
first in
Spring 2013
Spring 2013
Improved retention of female
PGs in STEM measured by
exit/alumni surveys.
Raised awareness of issues
affecting career development
and progression as evidenced
by survey.
See also Action 1.5
4
4.1
Graduate Committee
already committed to
this process
Establish the
Graduate
formation of a forum Committee
for female PGs to
discuss career
development and
progression,
including inviting
role model
speakers.
Recruitment to and promotion of female academic staff
Recruit cohorts of
In the last
Continued use of
HoD, HR, Job
academic staff
recruitment round we cohort recruitment
panels, Policy
where possible
explicitly used cohort with monitoring and
committee.
recruitment.
assessment of all
methods used.
We ensure there are
females on
Unconscious bias
recruitment and
training (see Action
appointment panels.
1.1)
1/12/12onwards
Proportion of female
appointments similar or greater
than female applicants.
4.2
4.3
Raise awareness
of the
department’s
family-friendly and
supportive culture.
Increase
applications from
females
These aspects of our
culture are currently
internally visible
during formal SRDS
and informally evident
during professional
and social events.
Used endowed funds
to support female
postdoc to apply for
fellowship funding.
Advertising material
encouraged
application from
females.
Formalize induction
process (see Action
1.3) particularly with
respect to retention
and promotion.
Externally visible
family-friendly
policies via Action
1.4.
Ensure continued
supporting material
on job adverts to
encourage
applications from
females
Encourage
additional
advertisement via
appropriate
networks
Make APS female
researchers aware
of recruitment
opportunities and
provide career
support/confidence
training where
appropriate.
HoD, line
managers
1/1/13onwards
Increased agreement with
current staff that department
offers visible and effective
provision in all aspects of this
issue.
HoD, HR and
policy
committee.
1/1/13onwards
Increase in the proportion of
female applicants.
See also Actions 1.4, 4.2.
4.4
4.5
Raise awareness
of promotion
criteria and their
interpretation,
recognising mixed
contribution
portfolio
Ensure career
breaks are
adequately
considered during
promotion.
HoD discusses
promotion cases
during annual SRDS
and feedback
provided by the
Departmental
Promotion Panel.
Publicize promotion
criteria on the
enhanced APS web
site (Action 1.4) and
in induction
materials (Action
1.3).
NB: 75% of eligible
female academic staff
have been promoted
over the last 3 years.
Confidence/Resilience training
through
Women@TUoS
NETwork, offered to
encourage females
to put themselves
forward.
Remain vigilant that
career breaks are
adequately
considered during
promotion at the
Faculty level and
continue to monitor
the impact of this
policy.
Promotion rounds
now ensure that
adequate account is
taken of career
breaks in writing and
when discussing
promotion cases.
NB: All such cases
have been
successful.
HoD
continues;
Women@
TUoS
NETwork
See
Actions
1.3, 1.4
HoD
1/7/13 –
31/9/13
(next
promotion
cycle);
Continued
annually
Promotion applications and
awards reflect gender balance
of eligible staff.
Annual
SRDS
completed
each July
Proportion of successful
promotion applications and
awards do not differ between
staff with and without career
breaks