The Athena Swan Charter celebrates success in advancing gender equality in higher education and research. It rigorously examines the steps taken by universities and their departments to improve representation, encourage progress and combat gender-based discrimination. Expanded in 2015, the Charter recognises work undertaken to address gender equality in a broad sense, and resonates strongly with Departmental and Institutional concerns with Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), specifically gender equality, race equality and disability equality.
Dr Rob Bryant, the Department’s Director of One University and lead for EDI initiatives, outlined: “The Bronze Award evidences the Department’s commitment to promoting equality across all of our activities – from teaching to research and in the everyday life of the Department. As our application demonstrates, we have and are continuing to make practical changes and commitments to prioritise equality, diversity and inclusion in everything we do. Our Action Plan sets out a clear and ambitious pathway for further progress in promoting and realising gender equality in the coming years.”
Echoing these sentiments, Professor Matt Watson (Head of Department) explained “The Department has made significant progress in promoting equality, diversity and inclusions across all of our activities – from staff and student recruitment, to fieldclass inclusivity, to career development progression. Developing our application for the Athena Swan Bronze award has allowed us to reflect and consolidate on the progress made so far, while providing key points of focus for the next 5 years. The award itself is welcome recognition of our progress so far and our commitment to further positive change in the coming years.”