Athena SWAN

Athena SWAN Charter

The Athena SWAN Charter is about advancing gender equality within the HE sector. The scheme recognises excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) in higher education. In May 2015 the Charter was expanded to Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Business and Law (AHSSBL) and in professional services roles.

The beliefs underpinning the Charter are:

The advancement of science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine is fundamental to quality of life across the globe
It is vitally important that women are adequately represented in what has traditionally been, and is still, a male-dominated area
Science cannot reach its full potential unless it can benefit from the talents of the whole population, and until women and men can benefit equally from the opportunities it affords.

The six principles which Charter members are asked to accept and to incorporate into their action plans are:

To address gender inequalities requires commitment and action from everyone, at all levels of the organisation
To tackle the unequal representation of women in science requires changing cultures and attitudes across the organisation
The absence of diversity at management and policy-making levels has broad implications which the organisation will examine
The high loss rate of women in science is an urgent concern which the organisation will address
The system of short-term contracts has particularly negative consequences for the retention and progression of women in science, which the organisation recognises
There are both personal and structural obstacles to women making the transition from PhD into a sustainable academic career in science, which require the active consideration of the organisation

Athena SWAN Bronze Award 2022

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve been successful in renewing our Athena Swan Bronze award! The award is a framework used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research and is given by Advance HE.

The renewal award is the culmination of months of work by our Self-Assessment Team (SAT), led by co-chairs Professor Nicola Menzies-Gow and Dr. Sharon Kendall. Our thanks and congratulations to Sharon and Nicola for their leadership, and to the whole team for their hard work on our submission.

Here’s a link to the full news story.

Athena SWAN Bronze Award Renewal Submission 2022

The Athena SWAN Bronze Charter Mark is awarded for a period of 5 years (2017-2022). A Self-Assessment Team (SAT) was established to support the preparation for the Athena SWAN renewal award in 2022. THE SAT consisted of 22 members of staff each representing a different area of the RVC, including the Principal, and was established in 2021. The Athena SWAN renewal was submitted in July 2022 to Advance HE, which is the awarding body for the charter.

Athena SWAN Charter Bronze Award 2017

The RVC successfully achieved the Athena SWAN Bronze Award in October 2017. The Equality and Diversity Committee (EDC) plays a pivotal role in steering the implementation of the Athena SWAN Action Plan. Members of the EDC are acting as departmental Equality & Diversity Champions to promote equality and diversity within their departments. A key area of their work is supporting the implementation of Athena SWAN actions through the development of their Departmental Equality and Diversity Action Plans. To find out more about your Departmental Equality and Diversity Action Plan you can contact your local Equality and Diversity Champion.