Athena SWAN 10th Anniversary workshopJuly 2015

Athena SWAN: pre-May 2015

= Recognition scheme of excellence in women’s employment in STEMM

= 2005: 10 founder members= 2015: 132 members STEMM =

ScienceTechnologyEngineeringMathsMedicine

Athena SWAN: post-May 2015

= Recognition scheme of commitment to gender equality across institutions

= Adapted from Athena SWAN and ECU’s gender equality charter mark,based on consultation

= 10 principles

=Does not yet apply to researchinstitutes

STEMM =ScienceTechnologyEngineeringMathsMedicine

AHSSBL =ArtsHumanitiesSoc SciBusinessLaw

Athena SWAN: post-May 2015Principles= Recognise talents of all= Advance gender equality= Recognise disciplinary differences= Tackle the gender pay gap= Remove obstacles= Address short-term contracts= Tackle discrimination against trans people=Demonstrate senior commitment=Make structural and cultural changes= Consider intersectionality

Template to sign up to new principles on our website

Athena SWAN: post-May 2015Principles= Letter of commitment needed before post-

May 2015 applications can be submitted

= All members expected to sign up by April 2017

= c. 20 institutions have signed up to date

Template to sign up to new principles on our website

Athena SWAN: post-May 2015What forms when?=Not required to use new forms until 2017,

except:‒ AHSSBL departments‒ Post-May 2015 members

=New process = new award

=GEM awards converted to post-May 2015 Athena SWAN awards

Athena SWAN: post-May 2015Criteria= Basic criteria remain very similarly worded

= Silver institution eligibility more complex…

= Pre-May 2015 members = majority of STEMM, and plan to progress in AHSSBL

=GEM bronze holders = majority of AHSSBL,and plan to progress in STEMM

= Post-May 2015 members = overall majority

Eligibility ≠ meeting of criteria.Pre- & post-May 2015 awards count

Athena SWAN: post-May 2015Key changes= Inclusion of professional and support staff= Inclusion of trans staff and students= Consideration of intersectionality=Questions rationalised=Questions added= Four year award (and action plan)= Aggregated, extended word count= Combined forms: B/S institution,

B/S department

Athena SWAN: post-May 2015Specific new questions

Professional & Support staffBaseline data (picture of institution/department, heavier requirement for silver inst. apps)Bronze: Flexible working and managing career breaks; Organisation and cultureSilver: all of Supporting and advancing women’s careers section

Trans peopleInstitutional submissions only – new section of formNo requirement for quantitative dataFocus on inclusivityECU currently updating guidance on supporting trans people

= These will be explored further in the workshop

Athena SWAN: post-May 2015Specific consideration required= Applicants are expected to consider the

intersection of gender with ethnicity

= At silver, an explanation of actions and any impact in this area is requested

= This will be explored further in the workshop

Athena SWAN: post-May 2015New questions= Inclusion in the REF

= Support for grant applications

= Contract functions and types: R&T, ZHCs

= Return after career breaks

=HR policies

= Shared parental leave

Also, some req’s made explicit, that had become expected

Athena SWAN: pre and post-May 2015Improvements to both processes= Applicants have right to appeal decision –

application may be put to new panel= Applicants may object to specific panellists=Mechanism for raising objections to

assessment or award= ECU may put application to new panel if the

decision is inconsistent= Chair training=More complete guidance in new handbook

New handbook is specific to post-May process, but guidance applicable

Further information

=Website (including FAQs)www.ecu.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan/

= Emailathenaswan@ecu.ac.uk

=Questions?

=Next: focus on some new elements

FAQ updates ongoing, more complete review in a year

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a framework for thinking about how various forms of inequalities are interconnected for minority women and other under-represented groups. This includes issues of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism (thinking of the world solely from the perspective of able-bodied experiences) and class discrimination, amongst others.

Trans people

Trans is an inclusive term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. The term includes, but is not limited to, transsexual people, cross dressers, intersex people and those who do not identify as clearly into a binary M or F identity. Trans people may or may not alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically. The term trans should only be used as an adjective, for example, ‘trans people’

Professional and support staff

= For institution level applications, this includes any staff not included in the definition of academic staff who are employed by the institution (thereby excluding contractors)

= For departmental level applications, this includes such staff working in the department. This may include administrators and technical support staff