School successfully retains Athena SWAN Award

The School of Chemistry has successfully retained its Athena SWAN Bronze Award. The School’s submission was led by Dr Alison Paul, Senior Lecturer in Physical Chemistry.

Athena SWAN is one of the Equality Challenge Unit’s (ECU) equality charters and was established in 2005. It aims to recognise and encourage commitment to gender equality in higher education and research, in particular women’s career advancement in the fields of science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine. Since 2015 it also covers gender equality promotion in the arts, humanities, social sciences, business, and law, as well as expanding to include professional services roles, and support for trans staff and students.

Promoting equality is an ongoing and challenging process, and so every few years institutions must reapply to hold their Athena SWAN Award. To achieve the Bronze Award, staff within the School of Chemistry have reflected on the current position and identified key challenges for improvement in order to create an action plan for the years ahead. The action plan addresses ways of improving communications within the School to ensure that all staff groups have a voice, taking steps to raise awareness of equality and diversity and promoting equal representation. In order to address these challenges, the School has committed to a range of positive approaches which include provision for staff training and shadowing, encouraging flexible working, sustained career development support for early career researchers, and continuing to create a positive working environment.

The School is proud that this submission was successful and will stand to highlight its commitment to gender equality in the sciences for years to come and continue to make the School a pleasant, progressive and welcoming working environment for all.