BU has been successful in our submission for an Athena SWAN bronze award.
This recognises BU’s achievements and commitment to improving gender equality in Higher Education. The Athena SWAN award, which originally covered women working in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM), was expanded in 2015 to recognise work undertaken in both STEMM and Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Business and Law (AHSSBL) and to address gender equality more broadly for all academic and professional and support staff as well as students. It was under the new charter that BU has achieved accreditation.
BU’s successful submission for a bronze award follows our commitment to strive for a gender inclusive culture across the university. Our focus is moving from central to local implementation, embedding the SWAN Charter principles in faculties/services and supporting all departments to achieve SWAN awards. Key aims are to enhance the representation of women in senior academic roles, support and encourage a flexible and family friendly working environment for all staff and ensure gender equality is embedded throughout the university.
Further success has been enjoyed by the Department for Life and Environmental Sciences, which was also successful with its application for a bronze award. This builds on the success of the Department of Media Production, which received a bronze award in November 2018.
Dr Phillipa Gillingham commented: “The Department for Life and Environmental Sciences’ bronze award is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the team and recognition of our commitment to equality for all within the department. Equality and inclusivity are key areas of focus for us and this award is just the start of our ambitions in this area.”
We are currently waiting to hear the outcome for the Department of Psychology’s submission, which will be known in summer 2019.
Julie Northam, who led the institutional submission, commented: “This is a tremendous outcome for BU and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this achievement. It underlines how BU is putting our value of inclusivity into action across the university.” She continued: “We will not be resting on our laurels. We have an ambitious plan for continuing to improve gender equality at BU and we will be sharing progress with staff on a regular basis.”
More information about Athena SWAN can be found on the Advance HE website.
