Athena SWAN Silver Success for the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences has received the prestigious Athena SWAN Silver Award.

The Athena SWAN Silver award from the Equality Challenge Unit, the national body that promotes equality in the higher education sector, is given in recognition of our strong and continued commitment to gender equality.

The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences inaugural Executive Dean Professor Nora De Leeuw said,

In the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, we believe that our diverse community is fundamental to the achievement of excellence. We promote a culture of mutual respect where everybody feels welcome and are equally supported to achieve their full potential.

We have a strong commitment to supporting women in STEM and this is reflected in the number of female academics and students working and studying within the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences. We promote and support women along the entire career pipeline, from students to leaders, and to include all staff/student categories. Our holistic equality and inclusion strategy uses gender as catalyst to address broader challenges faced by students and staff from under-represented groups (including gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability). Equality and Inclusion and Athena SWAN underpin our practices, are embedded in our management, and are taken into account in key decisions.

Our Faculty strives to provide an inclusive working and learning environment where everybody feels welcome and equally supported to achieve their full potential. Our integrated equality and inclusion strategy focuses on five priorities: 

• Staff Recruitment: increase the overall diversity of staff across the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, including staff from broad under-represented groups; 

• Career Development: provide equitable career support, development and progression for everyone, in all staff categories and at all career stages; 

• Student Diversity: attract, recruit and support diverse student cohorts in all schools and across all levels, including students from under-represented groups; 

• Inclusive Culture: ensure we have an inclusive, supportive and balanced culture in all schools; 

• Engagement and Support: ensure wider engagement and support for effective actions that influence the Faculty and beyond.

The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences has a dedicated Athena SWAN and Equality and Inclusion committee. The committee and related working grous are continuously working on expanding and broadening the Faculty E&I holistic action plan to ensure all of our staff feel fully supported and are aware of the Faculty and University’s inclusive guidance and policy. The Faculty Equality and Inclusion lead Professor Vania Dimitrova, who led the Athena SWAN application said,

We are proud to have received this prestigious recognition for our continued commitment to gender equality. I am pleased to see the wide support for our holistic equality, diversity and inclusion approach which underpins our inclusive culture across the Faculty.

We are also proud of Footsteps: Celebrating The Diversity of our Staff, a brochure presenting profiles of a selection of colleagues working in the Faculty. The Footsteps initiative is a result from actions within our joint equality, inclusion and diversity strategy, stemmed from Athena SWAN.