Athena Swan is an international charter for gender equality in higher education, run in the UK by AdvanceHE. The award recognizes and celebrates the Department’s efforts to ensure all students and staff, regardless of gender, feel supported to thrive.

Athena Swan silver award

The Athena Swan framework allowed the Department to carry out an honest and comprehensive self-appraisal, assessing its context and progress in gender equality, and identifying where it needs to further improve its systems and culture.

The Department examined a range of data, including recruitment, progression, and student representation. This led to the development of a new five-year gender equality action plan, which identifies evidence-based priorities, including action to address intersectional inequalities.

Professor James McEvoy, Head of the Department of Biological Sciences, said: “I am immensely proud of our new Athena Swan Silver Award. It shows that we have made significant progress in addressing gender inequality over the last five years, and we look forward to making the Department still more inclusive in the years to come.”