Committed to equality of opportunity and fair treatment for all.
The Athena SWAN Charter
The University of Brighton is one of over 80 universities and research institutions which have signed up to the Athena SWAN Charter, which encourages and recognises good practice in the employment of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) subjects in higher education.
Athena SWAN Awards
In April 2013 the university was awarded an institutional Bronze Award by Athena SWAN. The Award recognises success by the university in developing employment practices to further and support the careers of women in STEMM departments in higher education. The Bronze Award specifically recognises that the university has established a solid foundation for eliminating gender bias and developing an inclusive culture that values all staff STEMM-related subject areas.
The Bronze Award application included a detailed action plan based on our analysis of gender data in relation to, for example, recruitment, promotion and representation across the STEMM related Schools within the university.
Carol Burns, the university Registrar and Secretary, who lead the university’s self-assessment group which developed the Award application said: ”this Award recognises the considerable amount of hardwork that has been undertaken by colleagues across the university. This has included producing and analying our gender equality data across the STEMM subject areas, and developing an action plan which will support on-going work to address better employment practices that support the careers of women within the institution.”
The award will allow individual schools to now apply for their individual Bronze/Silver Awards which are seen within the sector as marks of individual schools commitments to equality and developing a stronger collegiate culture within schools. The development of these applications within the relevant schools is already on-going and anyone interested in contributing to the development of their school’s application should contact their Head of School.
Research funding
In 2011 it was announced that medical schools will in the future be required to hold at least a silver award at school level in order to be eligible for certain research funding. Similar requirements may also be extended to other STEMM research funding bodies later on.
Feedback and queries
The university welcomes and encourages feedback from staff or students about our work on Athena SWAN. If you would like to provide feedback or have any other query about this, please contact Helen Tatch, Equality and Diversity Adviser, at ht1@brighton.ac.uk; tel: (01273 64) 2835.
