Our Department has recently been successful in receiving the Athena Swan Silver Award, but what does this mean?
The Athena Swan Charter is an international framework supporting and transforming gender equality in higher education and research. Originally, it was launched in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing women's careers in STEMM. Now, the charter also addresses gender inequality more broadly and embeds good working practices across higher education and research.
We asked our Head of Department, John Chew, and Department Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair, Hannah Leese, their thoughts on this achievement.
"This is a remarkable accomplishment and testament to the dedication, hard work, and commitment to gender equality in our community. Receiving this award is a significant milestone that reflects not only our progress but also our ongoing commitment to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment." - John Chew
"My sincere gratitude to all Department members for our collective efforts. For all the different ways we shaped the submission together - through our community initiatives, survey participation, discussion groups, away days, enabling actions, feedback on drafts and creating and shaping our future action plan. A special thanks to the Department self-assessment team - Antonio Exposito, Bernardo Castro Dominguez, Chloe Turner, Creina O'Shea, Sandhya Moise, Tom Arnot, and Head of Dept for unwavering support!" - Hannah Leese
What's next?
We're now implementing our action plan, focusing on five priorities:
- improving self-assessment, and data and processes monitoring
- zero tolerance for bullying and harrassment
- career development for all job families in the Department
- inclusive culture that supports recognition and wellbeing
- supporting students from recruitment to graduation
All our Department's leadership and management roles have been actively involved in setting goals and reviewing progress against assigned objectives and with the support of Hannah, our ED&I lead.
It's a top priority that all staff have an awareness of our vision and embed ED&I and inclusion into all aspects of their practice. We have hit a significant milestone, but we are not done yet!
International Women's Day (IWD)
On Friday 8 March, we celebrated IWD in the Department and Faculty with the theme #inspireinclusion.