1 Athena SWAN Bronze university award application Name of university: Manchester Metropolitan University Date of application: 28 November 2012 Contact for application: Josie Elson, Head of Organisational Development, Training and Diversity Email: [email protected]Telephone: 0161 247 6496 1. Letter of endorsement from vice-chancellor: maximum 500 words See accompanying letter of endorsement 2. The self-assessment process: maximum 1000 words The Self-Assessment Team (SAT) was established in January 2010 and reports to the Athena SWAN Project Board. The SAT consists of a good cross-section of staff: male and female, at different stages in their careers, with a variety of responsibilities. SAT and the Project Board Membership NAME Job Title ROLE AND OTHER RELEVANT EXPERIENCE Jackie Carter Research Assistant SAT member Working mum with family caring responsibilities Dr Rebecca Chandy Principal Lecturer School of Engineering SAT member Victoria Chapman HR Advisor for Faculty of Science and Engineering SAT member HR Advisor for Science Engineering. Dedicated to gender issues with a degree in Women’s Studies Gavin Deadman Equality and Diversity Manager Athena SWAN co-ordinator Supports the equalities nature of the work undertaken by the group
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Athena SWAN Bronze university award application Name of university: Manchester Metropolitan University Date of application: 28 November 2012 Contact for application: Josie Elson, Head of Organisational Development, Training and Diversity Email: [email protected] Telephone: 0161 247 6496
1. Letter of endorsement from vice-chancellor: maximum 500 words See accompanying letter of endorsement
2. The self-assessment process: maximum 1000 words The Self-Assessment Team (SAT) was established in January 2010 and reports to the Athena SWAN Project Board. The SAT consists of a good cross-section of staff: male and female, at different stages in their careers, with a variety of responsibilities. SAT and the Project Board Membership
NAME Job Title ROLE AND OTHER RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Jackie Carter Research Assistant SAT member Working mum with family caring responsibilities
Dr Rebecca Chandy Principal Lecturer School of Engineering
SAT member
Victoria Chapman HR Advisor for Faculty of Science and Engineering
SAT member HR Advisor for Science Engineering. Dedicated to gender issues with a degree in Women’s Studies
Gavin Deadman Equality and Diversity Manager
Athena SWAN co-ordinator Supports the equalities nature of the work undertaken by the group
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Professor Pete Dunleavy Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering
Project Board member and senior sponsor of the SAT Supports the work undertaken by the group within the Faculty he leads
Josie Elson Head of Organisation Development, Training and Diversity (ODTD)
Chair of the Project Board. Single parent, experience of part-time working, completed higher degree when children school age
Professor Jan Green
Head of Professional Development and Staffing and Professor of STEM teaching Faculty of Education
Project Board member and SAT Adviser
Dr Ian Kay Associate Head of School School of Healthcare Science
SAT member
Catherine Little Principal Lecturer Faculty of Business and Law Ex-Chair of Gender Staff Forum
Project Board member
Keith Miller
Head of School School of Computing, mathematics and Digital Technology
SAT member Single parent, completed higher degree when children school age
Dr Shaheena Murphy
Senior Lecturer School of Computing, Mathematics and Digital Technology
SAT member Working mum (full-time with two children under the age of 10)
Senior Learning and teaching Fellow Faculty of Science and Engineering
SAT member Female scientist with self-funded doctorate, beginning her academic career late due to family commitments
Dr Christopher Rego Principal Lecturer School of Science and the Environment
SAT member Lead academic from Chemistry who initially promoted Athena Swan within MMU. Father of two school aged children
Professor Claire Stewart Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology
SAT member Works part-time; family and caring commitments
Professor Joanna Verran
Professor of Microbiology, Head of Science Communication and Public Engagement, (Acting) Head of School of Research, Enterprise and Innovation
SAT member. Senior member of staff of Faculty of Science and Engineering, parent of two adults, no career break
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Dr Adrian Watson Head of Division,Chemistry and Environmental Science
SAT member. Head of Subject Area that originally promoted Athena Swan in MMU. Father of children in Higher and Secondary education.
The SAT initially met twice per term with sub-group meetings taking place more frequently to carry out specific actions. The SAT meet with the Project Board once per term. The SAT members act as champions for the initiative and as conduits between their departments The SAT have researched and evaluated practices and experiences at MMU in respect of:
- Work life balance - Flexible working practices - Career development
- Networking and mentoring - Recruitment
Through individual and collective action the SAT have:
- Identified key issues and specific challenges facing individuals and departments - Decided on the priorities for action and developed the action plan - Highlighted areas of best practice
Actions that the SAT have already completed include:
- Gathering and analysing quantitative and qualitative data - Carried out a survey using the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) checklist for good practice - Production of the MMU Athena SWAN website - Delivery of Women in Science workshops - Developed case studies to show case the careers and achievements of women in science at
MMU
Consultation, research and data gathering has already taken place with more planned on specific issues identified. So far, this includes:
- 1:1 meetings with female SET staff of varying roles. Outcomes of which influenced the action plan. Some interviewed have been used as case studies for the Women in Science mosaic of achievements on the MMU Athena SWAN website.
- SAT members disseminated information on the Charter during SET learning and teaching events.
- Focus groups highlighted experiences of women in science and established any barriers to progression.
- 1:1 meetings with Heads of School to go through the RSC Good Practice survey. - Analysis of Staff Survey results, specifically split by gender for the faculty of Science and
Engineering - Research Institute seminar focussing on celebrating women in science
The University Athena SWAN website keeps staff up to date with progress and provides a method for staff to provide feedback on their personal experiences of careers in science. The SAT works as an interdisciplinary working group committed to making a difference to gender equality. The work of the SAT supports the achievement of the University’s published staff equality objective ‘to increase female progression rates including in particular, senior roles and
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professorships’. The Athena SWAN action plan is reviewed on an on-going basis to identify actions and good practice that can be replicated across areas where gender under representation may exist. The action plan is reviewed at the termly SAT meetings. Individual SAT members act as champions for specific actions and will continue to do so beyond the Bronze application. Gaining Athena SWAN accreditation is included as an action in the University’s Single Equality Scheme (SES) action plan, which is monitored by the University’s Diversity and Equal Opportunities Committee (DEOC) which is a sub-committee of the Directorate. SAT members have attended learning and teaching away days across all faculties, equality events and gender staff forum meetings to cascade the Athena principles, share good practice and gather feedback. Equality data at a University level is monitored annually and published in the Equality & Diversity Annual Report. Improvements to the data gathering processes at MMU will enable monitoring at faculty, school and programme level for 2013/14. Word count 983
3. Description of the university: maximum 1000 words Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has a student population of more than 37,000 and 4,897 staff. We are the University for World Class professionals with an emphasis on vocational education and employability. MMU is one of the top performing new universities in the UK in terms of its research profile. We pride ourselves on training the future talent of the region as 70% of our graduates stay and work in the North West.
MMU has 8 academic faculties with 40 departments and 8 research institutes. The academic population is 1722, 1453 are established staff and 1269 are sessional staff. Staff who support the work of academic faculties are not counted as faculty or academic staff, but operate in a separate structure. Table 1. Students at the University and in Science and Engineering by Gender
Institution Science and Engineering
Student Gender data
Female % Male % Female % Male %
2008/09 21967 59% 15340 41% 1589 33% 3224 67%
2009/10 22763 59% 15653 41% 1687 32% 3450 68%
2010/11 22794 58% 16359 42% 1756 32% 3721 68%
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The percentage of female students studying at MMU is 59%, reflecting the national rates. MMU students in the Faculty of Science and Engineering has increased from 12.9% to 14.0% from 2008/09 to 2010/11. Female students in the Faculty have also increased; however, the proportion of female students remains constant at about 1/3 of students in the Faculty. The Faculty of Science and Engineering SET schools (5) represent 12.5% of the total (40) departments/schools at MMU. This broadly reflects the proportion of MMU students enrolled in the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Table 2 sets out the differences in Faculty structure for SET subjects following a restructure of the Faculty during the 3 year review period. Due to these changes, meaningful demographic data for the review period at the school and department level would be difficult to show in this section, so it has not been included. Table 2 - List of SET departments:
SET Departments 2008/09 and 2009/10
- School of Biology, Chemistry & Health Science (Divisions of Biology & Conservation Ecology, Chemistry & Materials and Health Science)
- Department of Environmental & Geographical Sciences - Department of Engineering & Technology - Department of Computing & Mathematics - School of Research, Enterprise & Innovation
SET Departments 2010/11
School of: - - Computing, Mathematics and Digital Technology (Divisions of Mathematics & Computation,
Computer Science & Information Systems and Digital Media & Entertainment Technology) - Science & Environment (Divisions of Biology & Conservation Ecology, Chemistry &
Environmental Science and Geography & Environmental Management - Engineering (Divisions of Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical & Electronic Engineering) - Healthcare Science (Divisions of Healthcare Science, Manchester Institute of Healthcare
Science and Institute of Biomedical Research into Human Movement & Health) - Research, Enterprise & Innovation
Lecturer Senior Lecturer Principal Lecturer /Reader
Professors Researcher TOTAL
Academic and Research Staff at MMU by Grade
Male
Female
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Figure 2
Female academic and research staff have risen over 10% from 2008/9 to 2010/11. The female: male ratio has increased across the institution over the 3 year period and to almost 50% (Fig.1). In contrast, women make up about one quarter of staff in Science and Engineering, similar to others in the sector. At MMU, the proportion of female staff in Lecturer/Senior Lecturer roles reflects the overall proportion of female staff. There is a slightly lower proportion of female staff in senior roles, albeit improving slightly from 2008/09 to 2010/11. Figure 3
Academic turnover has reduced from 2008/09 to 2010/11. Turnover of male staff is slightly higher than female. The converse is true for Science and Engineering where turnover of female staff is generally higher. HR plan to revise the Exit Interview process and analyse the data, which will inform further Athena SWAN actions.
6 10 12 25 25 26 15 13 9 4 4 7
20 16 14 70 68 68
20 25 27 91 85 81 37 37 38 28 21 30
39 46 44 215 214 220
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Academic and Research Staff in Science & Engineering by Grade
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Female
15.3% 15.3%
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9.6% 12.2%
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MMU S&E MMU S&E MMU S&E
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Academic and Research staff turnover
Female
Male
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Figure 4
Figure 5
Figures 4 and 5: the proportions of permanent to fixed term staff at MMU and in Science and Engineering have remained stable throughout the monitoring period. There is no significant difference in ratios of males and females. The higher proportion of fixed-term contracts in Science and Engineering reflects the number of time-limited externally funded research. Pay Comparison A University equal pay review was carried out in 2010. This highlighted the positive impact of the HERA job evaluation scheme aimed at supporting our commitment to equal pay for work of equal value.
558 667 576 635 618 649
86 99 70 100 78 92
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Female Male Female Male Female Male
2008/09 2009/10 2010/11
Academic and Research staff contract type at MMU
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50 158 51 150 51 165
16 49 18 62 18 55
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Table 3. Academic staff (Research and Enterprise)
Grade Male Female Total Base Pay Gap Total Pay Gap
Grade 11 1 1 2 0.00% 0.00%
Grade 10 43 20 63 0.69% 1.07%
Grade 9 14 19 33 -1.01% -0.79%
Grade 8 26 21 47 -4.65% -5.00%
Grade 7 0 0 0 0.00% 0.00%
Grade 6 1 1 2 8.48% 8.48%
Grade 5 13 9 22 -4.42% 0.24%
Overall 98 71 169 2.16% 2.67%
Table 4 Academic staff (Teaching)
Grade Male Female Total Base Pay Gap Total Pay Gap
Grade 11 5 3 8 0% 0%
Grade 10 77 81 158 1.22% 1.78%
Grade 9 400 441 841 0.46% 0.86%
Grade 8 72 56 128 0.86% 0.80%
Grade 7 5 2 7 3.90% 3.90%
Grade 6 3 6 9 3.33% 3.33%
Overall 562 589 1151 0.09% 0.44%
Table Notes: Table 3 and Table 4 Notes: Pay gaps in favour of men are shown as a +%, and those in favour of women as a -%. * Gender Pay Gap Comparison of Females against Males based on mean hourly earnings excluding overtime. Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS, 2010) MMU’s headline pay gaps are lower than across the UK workforce.
Table 3 and Table 4 show that for teaching and research & enterprise staff only 1 grade (Grade 6) is subject to a pay gap of more than the recommended 5%. This is due to a difference in starting salaries and is not indicative, as there is only one male and one female in this grade. Table 5. UK Workforce Comparison
Pay Gap UK Workforce* Manchester Metropolitan University
Full time Staff 15.50% 4.95%
Part-time Staff 11.70% 6.78%
All Staff 19.30% 10.43%
Pay gaps in favour of men are shown as a +%, and those in favour of women as a -%. * Gender Pay Gap Comparison of Females against Males based on mean hourly earnings excluding overtime. Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS, 2010)
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Table 6. UK HE Comparison
Pay Gap UK HE Workforce* Manchester Metropolitan University
Full-time Staff 17.80% 4.95% Pay gaps in favour of men are shown as a +%, and those in favour of women as a -%. * Gender Pay Gap Comparison in Higher Education based on mean hourly earnings, Full-time Employees 2010. Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2010 (New JNCHES Equality Working Group Report, 2011).
Tables 5 and 6 provide an overview of pay gaps for benchmarking. MMU compares favourably in to both the UK Workforce and the UK HE Workforce. RAE 2008 and REF 2014 Table 7. Female: male ratio of staff in the Research Assessment Exercise
RAE 2008 RAE 2008 submissions relative to headcount
Men outnumbered women in the MMU RAE 2008 submission by 1:1.8 and the situation appears more skewed in SET subjects. However, women from Science and Engineering were more likely to be submitted than from the University overall. Word count: 834
4. Supporting and advancing women’s careers: 4500 words in total
Key Career Transition Points Application and Appointment The data shows a gradual improvement in applications and proportion of women being offered and accepting posts. In 2010 the faculty introduced the requiring for at least one woman on selection and recruitment panels.
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Table 8. MMU recruitment by Gender 2008/9 to 2010/11
2008/09 MMU SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
Ratio M F Ratio M F
Applications 1:0.86 1377 1179 1:0.66 481 316
Interview 1:1.04 287 298 1:0.53 81 43
Offered 1:1.14 81 92 1:0.6 25 15
Accepted 1: 1.14 66 75 1:0.33 21 7
2009/10 MMU SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
Ratio M F Ratio M F
Applications 1:1 1251 1249 1:0.69 537 372
Interview 1:1.26 249 313 1:0.61 99 60
Offered 1:1.26 72 91 1:0.54 35 19
Accepted 1:1.26 46 58 1:0.5 18 9
2010/11 MMU SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
Ratio M F Ratio M F
Applications 1:1.01 1580 1595 1:0.65 646 423
Interview 1:1.23 296 365 1:0.89 97 86
Offered 1:1.26 70 88 1:0.61 28 17
Accepted 1:1.19 43 51 1:0.56 16 9
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Table 8: recruitment data. The ratios of men to women are highlighted in Figures 6 and 7. For MMU as a whole, men and women apply in approximately equal proportions and women are more likely to be short-listed, offered a post and to accept than men. However, in Science and Engineering the picture is very different. Applicant ratios remain stable throughout the monitoring period, but not in equal measures. It is encouraging to note that the proportion of women interviewed and accepted has increased over the monitoring period in the interview and acceptance stages of the recruitment process. This may, in part, be attributed to the policy to ensure all selection panels have female representation. Table 9. Lecturer Recruitment in 2010/11
2010/11 Lecturer recruitment in S&E
Ratio M F
Applications 1:0.9 945 851
Interview 1:1.07 145 155
Offered 1:0.91 35 32
Accepted 1:0.91 23 21
Data in Figure 2, Section 1, shows that female academic Lecturer grade recruits has doubled in three years. The Faculty has undergone an active recruitment programme during the past two years focussing in particular on the Lecturer Grade 8. This policy of recruiting new entry level lecturers aims to provide excellent student support, developing fields have appropriate expertise and strategic areas of research are supported for REF 2014. Table 9 shows promising figures relating to the equity of stages in recruitment and the ratio of male to female lecturers recruited in 2010/11 into S&E. To ensure such staff are integrated into our strategic research areas Post graduate research studentships were created which forge integrated research programmes between new and established staff (see Mentoring and Networking later in the submission).
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Figure 2 shows an increase in the percentage of female Senior Lecturers from 21 to 24%. The decline in female Principal Lecturers over the three year period represents promotions to Professor or equivalent senior positions. At MMU staff can progress automatically from lecturer to senior lecturer. The University does not operate a promotion scheme for staff moving from SL to PL grades. All vacancies are advertised externally or internally. Promotions to PL grade will take place during 2011/12 in the faculty of S&E which may result in a more representative Gender balance. The action plan includes an action to monitor this and other recruitment activity to measure the impact of activity that promotes STEMM roles to women. Despite some positive changes, it is clear further work is required in this area to promote STEMM roles to women, encourage an increase in application, and offers. It is anticipated that the actions to promote vacancies to women via the MMU Athena SWAN website and mentoring group/women’s network will help with this issue. Promotion Rates Table 10. Promotion comparisons
Female F % Male M %
MMU
2008/09 61 52% 56 48%
2009/10 26 49% 27 51%
2010/11 23 43% 30 57%
Science & Engineering
2008/09 4 20% 16 80%
2009/10 5 29% 12 71%
2010/11 5 21% 19 79%
Table 11. Promotion Relative to Headcount
Promotion relative to academic headcount
Female Headcount % Male Headcount %
MMU
2008/09 61 642 9.50% 56 762 7.30%
2009/10 26 663 3.90% 27 729 3.70%
2010/11 23 707 3.30% 30 739 4.10%
Science & Engineering
2008/09 4 70 5.70% 16 215 7.40%
2009/10 5 68 7.40% 12 214 5.60%
2010/11 5 68 7.40% 19 220 8.60%
Tables 10 and 11: promotion data. Institutional data shows promotion prospects for all staff have declined since 2008/09. The first table shows fewer women are successful in promotion than men, however, relative to headcount, there is no discernible difference between the success of males and females. In contrast, the restructure of Science and Engineering has resulted in a number of promotion opportunities. Again there is no significant difference in the success of males and females during the restructure. Positively, data presented later in this submission shows an increase in the proportion of women in senior management positions in the Faculty particularly at grade 11.
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Figure 2 shows a decline in the number and percentage of female research fellows and associates from 2008/09 to 2010/11. The Faculty is poorly represented in terms of female Professors and in addition, all but one of the Faculty’s 12 Readers are male. This suggests the infrastructure doesn’t provide an environment in which women can develop a successful research career. actions within include the women’s network (which has already identified activities to raise aspirations and inspirational speakers at termly events), targeted promotion of jobs and development opportunities to female STEMM, and promotion of mentoring opportunities. Detailed equality monitoring of appointments made to Professor, Reader and Senior Research Fellow was completed for the Professoriate Committee in 2010-13 and the Single Equality Scheme Action Plan includes an action for the Committee to review three-year trend data in March 2013. Figures 8 to 10 show the trend data for MMU with respect to applications and success rates. It can be said that while fewer women apply for the role of Reader, women who apply are more likely to be successful. For Senior Research Fellows the data is more varied and trends are more difficult to extrapolate. General trends in relation to Professors again suggest that fewer women than men apply, whereas the success rate is more varied for both genders for Professor than the other research roles. Figure 8
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Figures 11 to 13 show the data for Science and Engineering, where the numbers are too few to gain trends. No women applied for the role of Reader from 2010 to 2011, compared to 3 men, all of whom were successful. In 2012 one woman applied and was successful compared to 4 men, 2 of whom were successful. There are fewer Senior Research Fellows. No women from S&E applied for this role from 2010 -2012, one man in each year applied, only one gaining success in 2011. As for Readers, no women applied for the role of Professor. Two men in each year applied with varying success. The Athena SWAN action plan sets out actions to address this imbalance by promoting roles and the journey that leads to them to females in Science and Engineering. Targeted communication, the career development programme, the gender specific network, and mentoring provision will all contribute.
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Career Development MMU has a clear policy on career development and a wide-ranging programme of career development. MMU recently achieved Investors in People (IiP) Gold status, one of only 5 Universities to do so. The IiP assessors said “The University promotes a culture of innovation and continuous learning. The majority of people seen feel that their managers offer good support for career development”. The mandatory Professional Development Review (PDR) scheme the opportunity for reviewees to discuss career development aspirations and identify activities that will support them. PDR reviewers attend PDR training, which covers good practice and equality. A review of the PDR scheme has been completed and new guidance, including consideration of gender related issues, is being drafted. The University runs programmes for Principal Lecturers, Programme Leaders and a Senior Management Development programme (SMDP). The SMDP is aimed at Head of Department level but aspiring senior managers can also take part. Annually Heads of Department are asked to consider nominating individuals for the SMDP. For the next PDR round senior managers will be asked to consider whether there are individuals within their teams from protected characteristic groups for whom the programme would be beneficial. 82 staff have undertaken the SMDP, a significant proportion of which were aspiring Heads of Department who were promoted after taking part in the programme. 12 members of staff from SET departments have completed the programme 5 of whom were women. All 5 have since been promoted. Whilst promotion is not attributed solely to completion of the programme it is recognised as a helpful career development activity. All academic staff in the faculty have a personal annual development allowance of approximately £2000 over 3 years. A conversation about how this allowance might be used takes place during the PDR discussion. The SAT and the Project Board have identified that this is an area where further guidance to staff and reviewers is needed. This will be tackled via the awareness campaign for development opportunities. Researcher Career Support and Training A bespoke development programme developed collaboratively by the Research, Enterprise and Development (RED) office and ODTD has run for 9 years and involves workshop sessions and a conference. A secondment programme for newly-active academic researchers provides a structured period of secondment in Research and Enterprise Services (RES) to develop their research network (internal and external), participate in and actively supporting research staff workshops and ultimately produce one publication and submit a research bid. They also become familiar with University procedures for supporting post-graduate research students. The skills acquired enable them to play an active role and raise their research profile within their relevant Research Institute, Faculty and Department and enables them to inform and promote an understanding of research support to other departmental academic staff.
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A major review and re-structure of MMU’s Research Enterprise and Development (RED) office took place in 2011/12 and a new Research and Knowledge Transfer office has been created. The new department has clear plans to re-energise and support the research and career development of academic staff. At a staff engagement event a group of staff and members of directorate discussed ‘How should we reward, recognise and develop our staff?’ Career development of post-doc research staff and research students was a theme that dominated the discussion and the following points emerged: - How can we encourage young researchers? - Do we get enough out of people we have funded to do PhDs? - Where can you go next after PhD? - Are we helping people to get a higher qualification just to move to a ‘better University’?
The University’s Continuous Improvement Forum (CIF) has established a Task and Finish Group to consider the issues raised and develop recommendations for supporting the development of research students and early career researchers, and 1* and 2* researchers. Objectives of the Task and Finish Group - Carry out a baseline assessment of the University’s current approach to the support provided
to post-doctoral staff and early career researchers. - Gather data on the current locations of 1* and 2* researchers. - Formulate recommendations to the CIF and the Directorate on the support and career
development for post-doctoral students and staff. The work of this group will feed into further actions that can be implemented under the Athena SWAN banner. There are areas for development with regard to encouraging women to take up research activity. The SAT will put in place specific mechanisms for supporting women which include: - providing a greater awareness to women of the MMU and national fellowships available – via
the Athena SWAN web and briefings - providing opportunities for women to network with established researchers to gain advice
and peer support - Network sessions targeted at women to encourage more celebrations of achievements in
research and enterprise. - Presentations to new staff by senior female academic staff.
Two recent Faculty-based examples of researcher career support include the recent appointment of two female staff in the Division of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences. Dr Kirsty Shaw was appointed as a Forensic Science lecturer, and Nicola Teague was appointed as a part-time (0.5) Academic Support Tutor (AST). Nicola was previously a technician in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and was keen to progress her academic career. On Nicola’s appointment the Division took the step to support her, by sponsoring her fees for a part time PhD study under the direction of Dr Shaw. In combination with the AST role this has allowed Nicola to fund a PhD study and receive training for a future research career. Nicola has also been sent on a introductory lecturers course to provide training for her AST role and again, help her prepare for a future role as an academic.
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At the same time Nicola’s appointment has allowed Dr Shaw to start creating a research group within the first few months of her appointment, and has thus provided support for her research career. Mentoring and Networking MMU runs an Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) coaching and mentoring level 5 programme. The University provides staff with the opportunity to receive mentoring from a wide network of mentors and coaches who have undertaken the ILM level 5 in coaching and mentoring. The opportunities for mentoring are discussed at PDR with line managers. Guidelines for mentoring are hosted on the MMU website and the MMU Athena SWAN website. In order to further the University’s published staff equality objective, members of the SAT are working with the Gender Staff Forum and colleagues in HR to develop a mentoring programme for women. The initiative will be piloted in the faculty of Science and Engineering with a view to rolling this out across the University. This work is highlighted in the context of Athena SWAN in the action plan under the section of Key Career Transition Points. Recent consultation has highlighted that female staff felt they would benefit from a dedicated workshop to explore the benefits of STEM/SET mentoring for Women at MMU and the Athena SWAN The action plan has provision in the plan for an informal network to be implemented during 2013. Raising profile of Women at MMU The Faculty has had an active Graduate Student Support Group in which female leadership has been prominent. The Group delivers induction programmes for new post-graduate students and social activities for all. Student representatives initiated a photography competition, with winning entries being collated into a calendar for 2012 (and 2013), and students participate significantly in public engagement activities. During the current academic year we have created a new Centre for Post graduate and Early Career Research in the faculty with its own PL grade leader and part of the School of Research Enterprise and Innovation. Our Faculty has established an Early Career Researchers team with representatives from all Schools, and from different career stages, including a newly appointed female Reader. In 2011, the Faculty magazine, Research Matters, was launched. The magazine presents a balanced view of our research successes. Professor Nancy Dise is highlighted in Research Matters for her cutting edge work on peatlands and pollution. Prof Dise, Professor of Biogeochemistry, researches the environmental science of land-based ecosystems and how they respond to subtle human perturbations like air pollution and climate change. In response, MMU is leading the £1.6m PEATBOG project, funded by the European Research Association along with other partners in Europe. The project aims to quantify the impact of nitrogen deposition on the health and functioning of peat lands. Providing spokeswomen for internal and external media opportunities. Academic staff are encouraged to highlight their areas of expertise through a web-based ‘Media Ambassadors’ list. This is a useful resource for media companies who regularly contact MMU for expert comment. The profile of staff is highlighted through ‘MMU in the News’, a web link of all
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interactions with the media. The SAT and the Project Board have identified that this resource is useful for promoting women for the media ambassador role. The action plan contains actions that relates to this area under the ‘Culture Change and Gender balance in Decision Making section’. The MCD department will be engaged to update the directory, ensure gender equality so the expertise of our female academics are included, and to look at ways to encourage female experts to come forward with details of their expertise. Opportunities for media training are available to academic staff. As a consequence a number of women in the Science and Engineering Faculty have high media profiles. Professor Val Edwards-Jones (School of Healthcare Science) is a regular contributor to the media, the most well-known appearances being the Embarrassing Bodies and Embarrassing Illnesses television series. Prof Claire Stewart has spoken on BBC Radio Manchester providing expert comment on a national news story relating to the use of stem cells in treatment of problems in ageing, an area she is currently heavily researching. Heads of School actively encourage and support nominations to public/professional bodies and external prizes. Professor Joanna Verran (School of Healthcare Science) has a number of awards including the Peter Wildy Prize for Innovation in Microbiology Education, the Communication Prize by the Society for Applied Microbiology, and the Mike Pittilo award. In 2011 Professor Verran was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy (HEA). For information, her website www.hsri.mmu.ac.uk/intheloop describes activities in more detail. Professor Verran has been a successful microbiologist and has been submitted by the University for every RAE since the inception of the scheme. She is currently Head of Science Communication and Public Engagement in the Faculty as well as Acting Head of the School of Research, Enterprise and Innovation, where has initiated several actions that fall within the vision of Athena SWAN.
Organisation and Culture Gender Balance in Heads of School/Faculty/Department Table 12. Proportion of gender differences in Senior Positions
Table 12 and Figure 14 show that both at institutional and in SET departments women are emerging in management positions. While the proportion of female Heads of Department at Faculty level does not reflect the overall gender profile at institutional level, the proportion of female staff in Science and Engineering has increased over the monitoring period. The career transition work in the action plan may help to address this imbalance further. Gender Balance on Senior Management Teams Figure 15
Figure 15 shows the gender mix of MMU’s Directorate. Women hold key University posts, including Director of Human Resources, Registrar and Director of Services. Two of the three most recent appointees to Dean of Faculty positions are women. The University has published its staff equality objectives, one of which is to increase the representation of women in senior posts and academic posts. The work contained in the Athena SWAN action plan will help in supporting this objective.
10
30
0
6
15
23
1
8
21
38
4
13
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Women Men Women Men
MMU S&E
Number of women in Head of School/Department positions
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
5 5 6
10 11 11
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2008/9 2009/10 2010/11
Numbers of men and women on MMU Directorate
Female
Male
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Gender Balance on Influential Committees Figure 16
The Academic Board membership remains pretty much the same across the three years as Figure 16 shows, with only one third of the board’s membership being held by women. The Single Equality Scheme requires MMU to monitor committee structures for all Equality Groups including gender and to encourage a more diverse membership. In 2011, a review was conducted of the committee structures and arrangements for appointment. Recommendations from this paper include advertising positions more widely and holding ‘Reserved places’ on Boards and Committees for persons with protected characteristics. The SAT have included actions in the Athena SWAN Action Plan referring the increased promotion of opportunities for women in S&E, and there is a specific action point relating to the membership of committees to women in STEM roles. Transparent Workload Models During the academic year 2010 the University required all faculties to develop and implement transparent and comparable workload descriptors for all staff incorporating research, teaching and administration activities. These are published to all staff in the relevant departments. In Science and Engineering, workload models were developed in all departments by 2010/11. Faculty of Science and Engineering Workload Model Principles The model has components that aims to achieve balance in research and scholarly activity and includes: -
- Teaching: Maximum contact per 20 credit unit = 48 hours [75 hours for 30 credit units] - Preparation (2 hours per hour contact) and allowance for new units (an additional
maximum of 2 hours per hour contact) - Marking is allocated per student per unit
Further activities accounted for include Research and Scholarly Activity, Supervision of undergraduate project students and personal development. The model is reviewed annually in consultation with those holding particular roles and members of the School Management Group.
11 11 10.5
18 17 17.5
0
5
10
15
20
2008/9 2009/10 2010/11
Gender mix of MMU Academic Board
Female
Male
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The target per individual is 1600 hours (acceptable range within 200 hours of this either side, although not on a sustained basis). Staff who are over hours are targeted for help either by moving work to those under hours or by using part-time staff, ALs and demonstrators. Staff who are under hours are targeted to help those over hours and when extra loads become necessary during the year. Within the workload model there have been frequent examples of women shifting from full-time to fractional posts to facilitate caring arrangements for both children and other relatives (see sections below). It is recognised that such changes may have an effect on an individual’s career. This is recognised in the action plan as it includes an action to collect data regarding ‘family friendly’ leave and create further appropriate actions from that activity. Furthermore, an action is included to create a programme of support for employees returning from maternity leave and career breaks. Additionally, recent moves to enable paternity leave and the allowance recommended under the REF will be embraced by managers in the Faculty. Publicity materials Following an Equality Impact Assessment that audited the University’s website and associated key literature, it was concluded that the university needed to diversify its image bank, including the need to reflect more women and men in non-traditional roles. Since the review, more digital images have been made available for promotional use. An excellent example of this is in the Researcher CPD guidance and the web pages that support the Faculty departments where women are actively promoted through visual images and publicity about women in research. The SAT will encourage greater promotion of women’s achievements and those of women in science. There are opportunities for this through the Research Matters magazine, and through the newly developed public engagement website (www.sci-eng.mmu.ac.uk/engage).
Flexibility and Managing Career Breaks Flexible working The opportunity to request flexible working is available for all employees with caring responsibilities. Applications and uptake are not monitored centrally due to the varied nature and outcomes of applications. The process for application is through line managers with HR Advisor support for advice and guidance. Each application is considered on it’s merit, and if not able to be provided, alternatives are explored to seek a solution to the application that fits all. Employees are also entitled to bring a companion to any formal discussions that take place. Built into the process is an appeal stage to allow employees to air issues they may feel have not been addressed in the earlier stage. Flexible working solutions that arise include altered times and hours of work, job-share, and compressed hours.
Parental leave (including maternity, paternity, and adoption leave) Systematic monitoring at a University level has not, up until now, been carried out. With the introduction of the new e-HR system recording and monitoring will be possible. The University operates paid ‘Keep in Touch’ days for women on maternity leave to keep them up to date with developments and to ease their return to work. Employees are able to use up to 10 KIT days which are used for a range of activities such as training, meetings, or even to simply support returning to the working environment. Managers also keep in regular contact with women during their maternity leave, and this helps with the planning of KIT days. Teaching and research will be covered in different ways depending on the circumstances of the person’s role. Childcare The University operates a Child Care Voucher Scheme Up to a certain amount, these vouchers are exempt from National insurance and tax and therefore represent a saving to a member of staff. This scheme is promoted in several ways and advice on the scheme is available to anyone through managers, HR Advisors and the University Reward and Planning Team. Work-life balance Most events are planned within core hours and this is the culture within the University. There are occasional events and meetings held outside core hours and depending on grade, staff are usually compensated for this. The training for managers at MMU emphasises the avoidance of practices which will disadvantage certain groups such as arranging meetings outside core hours. There are several instances where the above schemes have had success in the Faculty. In the Division of Biology and Conservation Ecology, a staff member returned from maternity leave and chose specific dates when staff and planning meetings were taking place. This allowed her to play an active part in the planning process so that she was able to resume her activities in an informed and inclusive manner. Since her return to work, she has also received targeted support and intervention with workload issues, particularly during periods when caring responsibilities had to take a priority. Dr Baihua Li’s in the School of Computing, Mathematics and Digital Technology returned to work in January 2011. Dr Li, a Senior Lecturer in the School, was able to use KIT days and holiday flexibly to support her caring responsibilities, research activity for REF 2014 and teaching preparation. Dr Li also welcomed the assistance she received in supportive timetabling on her return to teaching. Within the Centre for Aviation, Transport and the Environment (CATE) research group, there have been several researchers and postgraduate students who have benefitted from flexible working strategies. Leading up to and after the birth of children, staff have been allowed to work from home for typically 2-3 days per week as the pregnancy was coming to term. This has allowed them to work for longer periods up until the birth of their children, and the continued flexible working allows them to work around their childcare responsibilities. Group meetings are planned well in
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advance and held on a named day of the week to assist with the work life balance. A PhD student supported in this manner has progressed to become a senior research assistant in CATE. Word count: 4476
5. Any other comments: maximum 500 words Royal Society of Chemistry –Good practice checklist Heads of School, with support from the SAT team completed the RSC checklist during 2010/11. The checklist highlighted where good practice exists in relation to career development, PDR’s and work life balance. Identified good practice has been shared across the faculty in order to bring other Schools up to the same standard. The information on those KPIs that were not met by some, or all of the Schools, has been considered by the SAT and the Project Board and appropriate actions incorporated into the action plan e.g. KPI 3: ‘Structures & systems that encourage and support the career progression of staff; 3.08 Role models’ - we have an action to ensure regular features and stories of work of women in SET included in ManMet Life and in the V-Cs start and end of term addresses. The checklist provided the HR Operations and Recruitment teams with helpful feedback about where the HR policy and recruitment practices need to be more closely monitored: tracking of internal applications, progressions, maternity return rates and targeted recruitment for senior posts. Staff Survey results by Gender During 2010/11 the university carried out its first staff satisfaction survey. The survey was developed to better understand the experiences of staff at MMU. The survey included sections on Equality and Diversity, Work Life balance, Learning and Development and PDR. The full set of results were overall extremely positive with an 84% overall satisfaction level. The results were also analysed by E and D categories. There were no significant differences between men and women’s satisfaction levels at MMU for all sections, and especially in relation to career development, Equality and Diversity and workloads. In the staff comments section under ‘things which are good about working for the University’ Working time flexibility is good/home working was highlighted as one the most common things staff said. There were no resulting actions to include in the Athena SWAN action plan. The next whole organisation survey will take place in October 2013 and will provide the SAT with useful data to consider alongside the action plan. Word count: 349
