Informatics news

The University of Sussex has won an award for its work to improve the career prospects of women working in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) subjects.

Sussex has received the bronze award by the Athena SWAN Charter for its commitment to improving employment practices in recruiting and promoting women to senior positions in STEMM departments. 

Announced today (Thursday 25 April), the award for Sussex is the first of three Athena SWAN accreditation stages – bronze, silver and gold – and comes 18 months after the University signed up to the Charter.

A letter sent to the University yesterday (Wednesday 24 April) by the Equality Challenge Unit, who co-own the Athena SWAN scheme along with the UK Resource Centre (UKRC), said that the University’s initiatives and plans “clearly reached the required standard for a bronze award”. Planned initiatives include:

• specific training for academic managers on equality issues. The University’s strategic plan includes a commitment that, by 2015-16, all staff taking part in recruitment, selection and promotion boards will have received training;
• staff development courses for women researchers;
• an innovative mentoring programme for women researchers;
• a re-entry and returners scheme for women who have taken time away from a research career;
• a scheme looking at promoting success and celebrating female role models in STEMM disciplines.

Professor Chris Marlin, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International), chaired a self-assessment team at the University that put together the submission for the bronze award. The team comprised 72% women, and included full- and part-time staff and students from professional services and across academic departments in the University’s principal STEMM Schools – BSMS, Engineering and Informatics, Life Sciences, and Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Physical Geography will also participate as the scheme moves forward.

Professor Marlin said: “We recognise that women remain under represented in many of our science and engineering schools and departments, especially at senior levels.

“This bronze award shows that we are moving in the right direction through the action we are taking to attract, support and retain female staff throughout our STEMM departments, and indeed across the University. We have ambitious plans to further improve the representation of women in the relevant areas of the University.”

The institutional award now means that individual STEMM schools and departments at Sussex are eligible to apply for their own Athena SWAN awards.

The Athena SWAN Charter awards have been running since 2005, recognising the commitment of the higher education sector to address gender inequalities, tackle the unequal representation of women in science and to improve career progression for female academics.

The award will be presented at a ceremony at The Royal Society of Edinburgh on 6 June.

The University will now continue with its plans to achieve the silver award.

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