Introduction to Athena SWAN. Sarah Dickinson Athena SWAN Manager

Transcription

1 Introduction to Athena SWAN Sarah Dickinson Athena SWAN Manager

2 Athena SWAN Recognition scheme of excellence in women s employment in STEMM in UK higher education 2005 = 10 founder members 2013 = 94 members, 259 award holders 2 rounds of awards per year April and November

3 Athena SWAN Managed by ECU Funded by: ECU, Royal Society, Biochemical Society, Dept. of Health, Scottish Funding Council Annual membership fee of 1000 per institution from April 2012 until 2014

4 The six principles 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

5 The Athena SWAN awards Bronze university solid foundation for eliminating gender bias and developing inclusive culture

6 The Athena SWAN awards Bronze department identified particular challenges planned activities for the future Silver department significant record of activity and achievement demonstrating impact of implemented activities Gold department significant sustained progression and achievement beacons of achievement in gender equality champions of Athena SWAN and good practice

7 The Athena SWAN awards Silver university significant record of activity and achievement in promoting gender equality and in addressing challenges across the full range of STEMM

8 What is a department? There are many different structures in universities especially around faculties and schools The individual institution decides the composition of units that put forward award applications Athena SWAN will accept applications from faculties and schools including an entire medical school and have extended the word count by 1000 words for larger units/schools/faculties (must be requested).

9 What is a department? However : The panel expects data from all the constituent units in the faculty, not averages Faculties need to clearly demonstrate good practice (and impact) across all units, and that issues specific to different subject areas have been identified Communication of the Charter principles needs to be apparent across the faculty; it should not driven by one single unit within Faculties need to find suitable comparators for benchmarking.

10 Why do it? In 2011, ECU conducted a research study looking at the impact Athena SWAN awards have had within institutions and departments.

11 Impact on organisational structures and practices Providing a focal point and formalising processes Better data and understanding of staff Increasing visibility of senior women Increases in the proportion of women in STEMM departments Better representation of women on committees Improved working practices to support career progression

12 Impact on culture A catalyst for change Better communications Growth in women s networking across institutions Impact on individuals Greater encouragement Good practice activities and targeted support

13 In addition to this, many report that the good practice that they are implementing generally benefits all staff and contributes to improving the working environment and culture within their institutions ( Further independent evaluation commission to the University of Loughborough

14 What do you need to make a successful submission?

15 Letter of endorsement from the Head of Department Should show involvement and engagement in the Athena SWAN work Awareness of the issues Should demonstrate real personal commitment Include one or two key examples of good practice Might like to highlight the head will ensure the resources are in place to deliver the action plan

16 The Self Assessment Process Who What Why the SAT, gender balance, grade experience the team has, self assessment has been carried out, consultation has happened, has already been implemented are you doing this, why is it important, this team

17 The Self Assessment Process When How did the process start, how often the SAT has met, will they meet in the future is it communicated, will the action plan be implemented, the process will be resourced, will you keep momentum going.

18 A Picture of the Department Give an outline of the department: Brief details of numbers of staff and students Location details, especially if the department split over buildings or sites. Describe how this affects staff Describe how the department is organised - how line management works Describe how research groups are organised (this may be related to the line management issue) Any other important and relevant details

19 Data Provide at least three years data (five for Gold and renewals) or explain why you can t Write a commentary on each section identifying the key issues for action. Do not just describe the data. Reflect and analyse. Focus on any gender differences and what action(s) you can put in place to tackle these Plot the full pipeline from UGs to professors to help you identify problematic transition points.

20 Data Use numbers and percentage and CLEAR and well labelled graphs or tables Benchmark where possible

21 Data and evidence around Supporting & advancing women s careers: Key career transition points Appointment and promotion processes Career development Provisions for career development and career development activities Organisation and culture Management structures and organisational values and ethos Flexibility and managing career breaks Flexibility and sustainable careers and managing career breaks

22 Supporting and advancing women s careers Describe processes e.g. for appraisal, how often does it happen? Who does it? What does it cover? Present relevant data around processes e.g. for appraisal, completion rates, satisfaction level Tell the panel what staff consultation has happened and what staff think about the process from surveys, focus groups, interviews Consider postdocs how the departments processes apply Define what actions you will be taking to address any issues.

23 Key career transition points Consider: How job adverts are advertise reference any family friendly policies, Athena SWAN etc The wordings of job adverts Makeup and training of any interview panel How do you attract candidates - are they actively sought Support for staff at key transition points consult them

24 Career Development Consider: Appraisal how frequent is it, who conducts it Promotion is the process is known and understood with clear, easily available, criteria how do you know this? Induction and training (specific to the department) What support is available for academics on probation e.g. Reduced teaching load.

25 Organisation and culture Consider: Committee membership - rotation, shadowing, deputising workload models are they clear and transparent, do they include administration (incl Athena SWAN work) Social gatherings where and when are they, are they family friendly Are meetings held in core hours especially key staff meetings Outreach who does it and is it recognised

26 Flexibility and managing career breaks Consider What support is available before and after a break e.g. Protected research time on return Are there clear policies for covering teaching KIT days Nursery provisions Childcare vouchers

27 Action Plans SMART and linked directly to body of application Referred to throughout application Clearly defined responsibilities Not front-loaded milestones Specific to issues faced by department Aiming to move beyond monitoring (which remains important) Targets significant improvement whilst remaining realistic Measurable outcomes and successes

28 Hints and Tips It takes 2-3 hours to read a submission thoroughly Make things easy for panels to find and assimilate the information they want use page numbers, think about acronyms, font size, orientation of graphs, split graphs Do not assume that all institutions submissions will be seen by the same panel Athena SWAN is about the recruitment, retention and progression of women and you need to bring this out in your submission

29 Hints and Tips Cross reference action points to the action plan so that panels can easily find the relevant actions while they read the submission Although successful submissions are on the internet, remember you don t know which parts a panel thought were good and which weren t. so good

30 Hints and tips Impact doesn t have to be in staff numbers Truth the panel is looking for an honest assessment It s ok to use diagrams Talk to each other share! Join a panel Join JISCmail Use the Athena SWAN resources e.g. awards booklets, website

31 Recent developments and future of the Charter Expansion of team (now 4.8 FTE staff) to facilitate development and increased demand Tapping all our talents report from the RSE Expansion to non HEI-affiliated research institutes Trial of non-stemm (GEM) and race charters In addition to BRU/BRC, NIHR funding for Patient Safety Research Centres also linked to Athena SWAN silver awards

32 Recent developments and future of Charter David Willets announced a 200 million funding scheme for science and engineering in English universities, with a specific focus on getting women into science Athena SWAN called to give evidence to the Science and Technology Select committee s Inquiry into women in STEM careers Online submissions

33 Further information available: