Gender equality

At Cardiff University, we are committed to equal pay, treatment and opportunity, to supporting diversity and creating an open and inclusive community.

We strive to continuously improve the experiences of our student and staff community and to make sure that we give everyone the opportunity to achieve their potential.

Athena Swan

The University currently holds a bronze award for the Athena Swan charter mark. The Athena Swan Charter is a framework used across the globe in higher education to transform gender equality. The charter initially focused on advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine, but it has since been broadened to address gender equality issues across all disciplines.

We were first awarded the bronze institutional charter mark in 2009, and this has been renewed in 2014 and 2018. Different Schools across the University have achieved School-level Athena Swan awards, demonstrating widespread commitment to gender equality across the university. We are going to submit for the silver award at the institutional level in 2026; our work on gender equality will be guided by our Athena Swan application and action plan.

EMPOWER Network

Our EMPOWER Network for staff is a cross-disciplinary support network for current and prospective principal investigators who identify as women. The network holds events on topics that include grant writing, career building and discussing women's life experiences in academia. They also run a peer mentoring program and offer training and support for this program. EMPOWER works with decision makers at the University to influence policies in areas related to gender equality, offering feedback from network members.

Gender pay gap

Although it is not a legal requirement in Wales, we have published our numbers in line with the gender pay gap reporting guidelines every year since 2017. This is an important aspect of our commitment to transparency about pay. We are serious about, and committed to, identifying the causes of the pay gap and finding and acting on solutions to address this.