Welcome to the School of Science, Engineering and Environment Athena Swan Blog!
This is a place where we will share progress and invite contributions related to our application for an Athena Swan Award as the new SEE School. As a team, lead by Professor Haifa Takruri, we co-ordinate the work of the school around Athena Swan; however, we also hope to use the blog to champion successes in the School with a focus on gender equality broadly.
By way of introduction to Athena Swan, here are the 10 key principles of Advanced HE’s Athena Swan Charter. They set out the principles institutions commit to embedding within their policies, practices, action plans and culture, and form the framework for our work at Salford.
1. We acknowledge that academia cannot reach its full potential unless it can benefit from the talents of all.
2. We commit to advancing gender equality in academia, in particular, addressing the loss of women across the career pipeline and the absence of women from senior academic, professional and support roles.
3. We commit to addressing unequal gender representation across academic disciplines and professional and support functions. In this we recognise disciplinary differences including:
- the relative underrepresentation of women in senior roles in arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law (AHSSBL)
- the particularly high loss rate of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM)
4. We commit to tackling the gender pay gap.
5. We commit to removing the obstacles faced by women, in particular, at major points of career development and progression including the transition from PhD into a sustainable academic career.
6. We commit to addressing the negative consequences of using short-term contracts for the retention and progression of staff in academia, particularly women.
7. We commit to tackling the discriminatory treatment often experienced by trans people.
8. We acknowledge that advancing gender equality demands commitment and action from all levels of the organisation and in particular active leadership from those in senior roles.
9. We commit to making and mainstreaming sustainable structural and cultural changes to advance gender equality, recognising that initiatives and actions that support individuals alone will not sufficiently advance equality.
10. All individuals have identities shaped by several different factors. We commit to considering the intersection of gender and other factors wherever possible.