Athena SWAN Silver department award application

Name of university: University of Liverpool

Department: Institute of Infection and Global Health

Date of application: April 2016

Date of university Bronze and/or Silver Athena SWAN award: Bronze November 2013

Contact for application: Professor Tom Solomon

Email: tsolomon@liv.ac.uk

Telephone: 0151 795 9626

Departmental website address: http://www.liv.ac.uk/infection-and-global-health/

Level of award applied for: Silver Department Award

Institute of Infection and Global Health staff and students, at Infection and Global Health Day 2015

1. Letter of endorsement from the head of department

29th April 2016

Sarah Dickinson

Equality Charters Manager, Equality Challenge Unit 7th Floor, Queens House 55/56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields London WC2A 3LJ

Dear Sarah,

It gives me great pleasure to demonstrate the Institute of Infection and Global Health’s continued

strong support for female academics through this Athena Swan Silver Award application. I, along

with everyone in the Institute, remain totally committed to the programme’s success. I became

chair of our Athena SWAN team following our Bronze award in 2013. This has helped ensure

Athena SWAN principles are at the core of everything we do, and facilitated the speedier

implementation of huge improvements, which include:

- Women now constitute at least 50% of all Institute Committees, including the Institute

Management Team and the External Advisory Panel.

- An increase in the number and percentage of applications, offers and acceptances for

female postgraduate students, so that our percentages for both Home/EU and Overseas

students, are now above the national averages.

- A growth in the number and percentage of female academic staff confirming the

effectiveness of our mentoring programme, leadership training and other initiatives; this

includes an increase in non-clinical Teaching and Research Staff, with higher grades and

more female professors.

- An especially successful drive supporting female clinical academics applying for their own

research fellowships, with many of these individuals now progressing through the key

transition point into lecturer positions (again we are above the benchmark, on average for

the relevant national disciplines)

- Greatly improved data on promotion for women, with an active drive encouraging them to

apply, a 100% success rate, and two individuals promoted straight from Senior Lecturer to

Chair, bypassing Reader; for one of these, we made the strong case that their career

progression had, in the past, been unfairly hampered due to maternity leave. A third

woman was promoted directly from Tenure Track Fellow to Chair.

Professor Tom Solomon Director Institute of Infection and Global Health University of Liverpool Ronald Ross Building 8 West Derby Street Liverpool L69 7BE T +44 151 795 9626 E tsolomon@liv.ac.uk www.liv.ac.uk/infection-and-global-health www.liv.ac.uk/braininfections

1

- As a result fo such actions, the number of non-clinical female professors has tripled, from 2

to 6, since 2012.

-

The positive atmosphere for women within our Institute is reflected in our family-friendly policies,

for example allowing staff to bring their children to meetings where there is no alternative

available, and “Maternity Mentors” to support those planning maternity leave, or returning from

it. The prominence of women in our Public Engagement and Science Communication activities

champions their role within the Institute, and encourages the next generation of female scientists.

Despite these changes and major successes within the Institute, we are aware there are areas we

still need to address, through our Silver Action Plan. We are especially keen to continue supporting

the key transition from post-doctoral researcher to lecturer through our FLIGHT (Fostering

Liverpool Infection and Global Health Talent) initiative, and our tenure-track programme, which

was featured in The Times Higher. We will also ensure full implementation of our Workload

Model, which we see as a particular useful tool to ensure balance and fairness, especially for those

not working full time.

Yours sincerely,

Director - Institute of Infection and Global Health and Athena Swan Lead Professor Tom Solomon, FRCP, PhD

Chair - Neurological Science

Head - Liverpool Brain Infections Group

Director - Institute of Infection and Global Health

Word Count – 471 (maximum = 500)

2

2. The self-assessment process Describe the self-assessment process. This should include: a) A description of the self assessment team: members’ roles (both within the department and as

part of the team) and their experiences of work-life balance

There are 10 female and 8 male members of the self assessment team (SAT; Table 1), with

membership reviewed annually, with approximately 10% turnover being achieved (Bronze Action

Point [BAP], 1.1 – completed). The Athena Swan (AS) team is well represented on the Institute

Management Team (IMT): eleven AS members sit on IMT, including Institute Director, Institute

Manager, Research Strategy Lead, three Heads of Department, Knowledge Exchange Lead, Deputy

post-graduate research (PGR) Director, Postdoctoral and Postgraduate Association Leads and AS

Maternity Mentor. SAT meets monthly to review progress against the Action Plan and ensures AS

objectives are speedily met. The Institute Director sits on the Faculty Management Team and the

Faculty AS Steering group, ensuring that Institute AS initiatives integrate with those across the

Faculty/University and that senior management is aware of the challenges that need to be

addressed at the highest strategic levels.

Table 1: Members of the Institute Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team (2016)

Team member Team role and experience of work-life balance

Professor Tom Solomon, Institute Director and AS Lead

Set up the AS team; has a major role in driving the initiative across the Institute and Faculty. Four children; dual academic career household.

Professor Matthew Baylis

IGH Research Strategy Lead from 2015. Three children, in a dual career

household.

Dr Cyril Caminade, Postdoctoral Researcher

Postdoctoral Research Associate working full-time on a variety of

projects.

Dr Robert Christley, Reader

Interim Head of Department of Epidemiology and Population Health

(2015). Works full-time with caring responsibility for two young

children.

Dr Jo Cummerson, Institute Manager

Manages IGH’s resources and people, develops and implements policy

and practices. Works full-time with caring responsibility for three

children.

3

Professor Nigel Cunliffe

Head of Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and

Immunology. Has shared parental responsibilities for three children.

Dr Jo Fothergill, Tenure-Track Fellow

Fellow on independent research career pathway and TTF. Dual

academic career household with caring responsibilities for one child.

Ms Christina Gill, PhD Student

Student representative. Co-founder of the Institute’s Postgraduate

Society. Has caring responsibilities for one child.

Professor Miren Iturriza-Gomara

AS Maternity Mentor. Full-time academic with caring responsibilities

for one child. A Tenure Track Fellow in 2012 and promoted to Chair in

2014.

Dr Anne Jones, Postdoctoral Researcher

Works part-time and flexibly to allow caring for three children. Took

maternity leave as PhD student and Early Career researcher.

Ms. Sally Middleton

Full-time Gender Equality Officer for the University. Supports activity

across the University and individual departments.

Mr Matthew Moore, PhD Student

Student representative. Provides feedback for the AS team and informs

student body on AS principles.

Dr Gina Pinchbeck, Senior Lecturer and AS Deputy Lead

Deputy Director Postgraduate Research. Working 0.8 FTE since 2010

due to caring responsibilities for two children. Dual academic career

household.

4

Dr Mark Senior, Senior Lecturer

Creator of IGH’s Veterinary Academic Clinical Fellowship Scheme which

gives opportunity for individuals to develop applications for external

Fellowship funding.

Dr Maya Wardeh, Postdoctoral Researcher

Postdoctoral Research Associate working full-time on several projects.

Played a major role in setting up a new system for IGH workload model.

Professor Diana Williams

Head of Department of Infection Biology. Has two daughters, and

caring responsibility for elderly parent. Promotes female academia and

progression.

Professor Nicola Williams

AS Maternity Mentor. Working full time, with two children, appreciates

the difficulties for parents in maintaining work-life balance.

Dr. Daniel Wootton Full time clinical academic. Coordinator of Fostering Liverpool Infection

and Global Health Talent (FLIGHT) scheme. Dual working household.

b) an account of the self assessment process: details of the self assessment team meetings, including any consultation with staff or individuals outside of the university, and how these have fed into the submission

2.b The Self Assessment Process

Since the renewal of our Bronze AS application in April 2015, we have continued to meet monthly

to address the Action Plan . The monthly meeting objectives include an overview of data, a review

of the Bronze AS Action Plan and development of pro-active initiatives to retain and build upon

best practice.

In developing the Silver AP (Section 6) we consulted widely within the Institute of Infection and

Global Health (IGH) through our regular Staff-Student Forum, Principle Investigator meetings, IGH

Internal Advisory Panel, departmental meetings, focus groups and staff surveys to better

understand local issues and perceptions and areas of concern (e.g. mentoring, career progression,

work-life balance); these have then been the focus of targeted interventions. Most recently

(February 2016) we held maternity and paternity focus groups. We also consulted with members

of AS Teams from Institutes with AS Silver awards. Robust mechanisms are in place to ensure AS

5

data are captured and stored in a shared file on the Institute intranet, where they can be readily

reviewed by AS team members and reported to IMT. This appraisal and progress culminated in the

team being keen to make an application for a Silver Award.

c) Plans for the future of the self assessment team, such as how often the team will continue to meet, any reporting mechanisms and in particular how the self assessment team intends to monitor implementation of the action plan.

2.c Plans for the Future of the Self-Assessment Team

The AS team will continue to meet on a monthly basis to review actions and benchmark activities

against the Action Plan time-frames (Silver Action Point [SAP], 1.1). AS will continue to be a

standing item on the IMT agenda, so there is regular reporting to senior management of activity

and achievements against the Action Plan, and proposals for future actions discussed. We have

established recording systems which generate a rolling 6 month data repository; this in turn allows

analyses of trends and the impact of implemented changes as we work towards higher level AS

goals. We will continue to make staff and students aware of AS issues and progress, through the

meetings, the AS webpage, a ‘Women in IGH’ webpage (SAP, 3.4), and fortnightly Institute

Newsletter, “IGHLites”. (see below).

We will have approximately 20% turnover of AS members each year, by inviting new members to

join the team and offering existing members to step down if appropriate, to refresh the

committee, bringing in new ideas and perspectives, with the rest of the committee remaining for

continuity (SAP, 1.1).

Word count: 513 (maximum = 1000)

6

3. A picture of the Institute of Infection and Global Health

a) Provide a pen-picture of the department to set the context for the application, outlining in particular any significant and relevant features.

IGH’s mission is to improve the health of humans and animals by tackling key infectious disease in

the UK and globally. IGH is a dynamic and exciting place to work, as indicated by: our success in

the recruitment of new academic staff from Europe, USA, Asia and Africa, many of whom are

women; our world class research which is impacting on national and international human and

animal health; and our vibrant outward-looking approach, interacting with local, national and

international communities, with many public engagement and outreach activities. Our world class

research was recognised in 2015 when IGH was awarded the Educate the North Award for

excellence in specialist research.

IGH is one of five research Institutes within the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, formed in 2010

following major restructuring (Figure 1). The Faculty has Medical, Dentistry and Veterinary

Schools, within the Institute of Learning and Teaching, dedicated to undergraduate and MSc-level

teaching. IGH has three departments; one department head is female.

IGH is managed by the Institute Management Team (IMT), comprising 12 men and 13 (52%)

women, similar to the gender balance of the Institute. Several strategic academic posts are held by

women (e.g. Knowledge Exchange Lead; Clinical Trials Lead; International Lead, Overseas

Postgraduate Research Lead).

Figure 1: Schematic illustrating the Faculty and IGH structure

IGH academic staff are classified as follows, reflecting differences in career structure and contractual status.

(i) Research: basic scientists and veterinary-qualified staff who are mostly employed on fixed-term contracts to undertake research, usually funded by research grant income.

7

(ii) Non-clinical Teaching & Research: basic scientists and veterinary-qualified staff who have tenured or permanent posts with the university to undertake teaching and research.

(iii) Clinical: medically qualified staff who have tenured or permanent posts with the university to undertake teaching and research often combined with clinical work.

In addition to academic staff, IGH has 118 postgraduate research (PGR) students (75 women:43 men).

As of January 2016, IGH has 127 academic staff, 50% female (Table 2).

Table 2: IGH Staff (updated January 2016) Contract type

Number of male staff

Number of female staff

Total number

% of total % F

Research only

18 34 52 41% 65%

Teaching and Research

31 19 50 39% 38%

Clinical 15 10 25 20% 40%

TOTAL 64 63 127 50%

IGH occupies three sites on the main campus and one on the Leahurst campus, 15 miles outside

Liverpool. Communication across sites is enhanced by video and teleconferencing technologies,

also used to include staff in meetings when they are working from home. Communication is

supported by the fortnightly “IGHLites” newsletter, social media, and an Annual Report.

b) Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on their significance and how they have affected action planning.

Student data

(i) Numbers of males and females on access or foundation courses – comment on the data and describe any initiatives taken to attract women to the courses.

(ii) Undergraduate male and female numbers – full and part-time – comment on the female:male ratio compared with the national picture for the discipline. Describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and the impact to date. Comment upon any plans for the future.

(iii) Postgraduate male and female numbers completing taught courses – full and part-time – comment on the female:male ratio compared with the national picture for the discipline. Describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and the effect to date. Comment upon any plans for the future.

8

IGH does not have any students on access, foundation, undergraduate or taught postgraduate courses.

(iv) Postgraduate male and female numbers on research degrees – full and part-time – comment on the female:male ratio compared with the national picture for the discipline. Describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and the effect to date. Comment upon any plans for the future.

We present data for PGR students on basic science and veterinary PhD programmes, and

postgraduate clinicians undertaking PhDs or Doctorates in Medicine. The number of PGR students

has increased year on year, from 68 in 2011/12 to 118 in 2015/16 (Figure 2). The percentage of

female students has increased from 49% in 2011/12 to 64% in 2015/16.

Figure 2: Numbers of postgraduate students by gender 2011-2016. The data show an increasing number of PGR students, and increasing percentage of females, since our Bronze award

It is helpful to distinguish Home/EU from Overseas PGR students, since the former are the primary

route to academic careers within UK higher education. Numbers of Home/EU PGR students have

increased year-on-year and the percentage of females has increased in the last two years, since

our Bronze award (Figure 3a). Numbers of Overseas students, and the percentage that are female,

have also increased since our Bronze award (Figure 3b)

9

Figure 3: Number of (a - top) Home/EU and (b - bottom) overseas PGR students, by gender, 2011-2016. . The data show an increasing number of PGR students, and increasing percentage of females, since our Bronze award

In all years, the percentage of females has been less for Overseas than Home/EU PGR students.

This reflects application rates, and notably that most Overseas students obtained scholarships

from their home countries before applying to IGH, the majority tending to be male. For example,

in 2014/15 the ratio of applications from funded overseas PGR applicants was 33:43 (43%: 57%)

female:male.

In 2016, the majority of IGH’s Overseas PGR students originate from Africa (5), Asia (13) and the

Middle East / North Africa (9). Gender ratios are roughly 1:1, with no evidence of a gender

imbalance in any region.

Benchmarking: the percentage of female Home/EU PGR students in IGH is above or equal to the

national HESA benchmark for students in related areas of science (Table 3).

10

Table 3: Institute percentages for Home/EU research students by gender, compared with relevant national disciplines

Discipline % Male % Female

Institute of Infection and Global Health 36.0% 64.0%

Biological Sciences * 40.4% 59.6%

Medicine and Dentistry* 43.3% 56.7%

Veterinary Science* 35.7% 64.3% *Source: National HESA Data 2013-14

(v) Ratio of course applications to offers and acceptances by gender for undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research degrees – comment on the differences between male and female application and success rates and describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and their effect to date. Comment upon any plans for the future.

The PGR application process is managed centrally by a Student Experience Administrator who collates applications, records gender details and organises selection committees ensuring gender balance (BAP, 1.2 - completed).

Trends for females over the last five years are summarised in Table 4:

Applications from females have increased from 33% to 52%, especially since our Bronze award

Offers to females have increased from 45% to 54%.

Acceptances by females have increased from 38% to 51%.

Table 4. Applications, offers and acceptances for PGR research degrees at IGH over 5 years

2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16* Average

% (no.) PGR applications female 33% (39) 36% (60) 36% (61) 53% (75) 52% (59) 42%

% (no.) PGR offers female 45% (13) 55% (17) 52% (25) 72% (33) 54% (22) 55%

% (no.) PGR acceptances female 38% (10) 59% (16) 61% (20) 69% (31) 51% (19) 56% * 2015/16 data is incomplete (5 months data is presented)

In most years the percentage of offers to, and acceptances by, females has exceeded the percentage of female applicants. Averaging across years, offers to females exceeds applications received by 13%. These data confirm the positive impact of our recruitment practices (BAP, 1.2 - completed). However, the situation will be continuously monitored (SAP, 1.2).

(vi) Degree classification by gender – comment on any differences in degree attainment between males and females and describe what actions are being taken to address any imbalance.

For full-time PGR students, thesis submission is expected within 4 years from registration date. Table 5 compares submission rates by gender and origin, for students who were registered between 2007/8 and 2010/11; full data for later years are not yet available

11

Table 5: Number of full-time male and female PhD students submitting within 4 years by year of registration/due submission date, and residency A) Home/EU and B) Overseas

A) Home/EU

Enrolled Submitted

No. male PGR students submitted < 4 years

No. male PGR students submitted > 4 years

No. male PGR students withdrawn

No. female PGR students submitted < 4 years

No. female PGR students submitted > 4 years

No. female PGR students withdrawn

2007/8 2011/12 0 1 0 3 1 0

2008/9 2012/13 3 0 0 4 1 0

2009/10 2013/14 2 0 0 5 0 0

2010/11 2014/15 2 1 0 3 2 0

Total 7 2 0 15 4 0

B) Overseas

Male Female

Enrolled Submitted

No. male PGR students submitted < 4 years

No. male PGR students submitted > 4 years

No. male PGR students withdrawn

No. female PGR students submitted < 4 years

No. female PGR students submitted > 4 years

No. female PGR students withdrawn

2007/8 2011/12 0 0 0 1 0 0

2008/9 2012/13 3 0 0 0 2 0

2009/10 2013/14 3 1 0 1 0 0

2010/11 2014/15 7 2 2 1 1 0

Total 13 3 2 3 3 0

Most (50 of 52) PGR students accepted into IGH completed their PhDs. Two men (and no women) withdrew from their studies for academic or personal reasons. Several initiatives have contributed to the high submission and completion rates:

PGR Buddy scheme (BAP, 4.3 - completed)

Support provided by Postgraduate Society

Annual development events such as ‘Becoming an Academic, How to Survive your PhD, How to survive your Viva’ (BAP, 4.2 - completed)

Of the 50 awarded PhDs, 25 were women and 25 men. For Home/EU students, 15 (79%) of 19 women, and 7 (78%) of 9 men submitted within 4 years. For Overseas students, only 3 (50%) of 6 women, but 13 (81%) of 16 men submitted within 4 years. Although these frequencies are not different statistically, and may therefore reflect chance effects from small numbers, we are discussing with the supervisors whether there are lessons to be learned. We will continue to collate and analyse submission times for Home/EU and Overseas PhD students (SAP, 1.2) and we

12

will hold a focus group for Overseas PGR students (SAP, 4.3) to investigate the issues they face as students in a foreign environment.

Academic Staff data

(vii) Female:male ratio of academic staff and research staff – researcher, lecturer, senior lecturer, reader, professor (or equivalent). comment on any differences in numbers between males and females and say what action is being taken to address any underrepresentation at particular grades/levels

Since 2012, the total number of academic staff (i.e. those employed on fixed-term or permanent contracts) has increased by 41%, from 90 to 127 . During this time the total percentage of female staff has increased from 46% to 50% (Table 6).

Table 6: Trends in IGH staff numbers and proportion of females 2012 – 2016

Male Female Total % Female

Jan-12 49 41 90 46%

Jan-13 46 48 94 51%

Jan-14 60 59 119 50%

Jan-15 59 59 118 50%

Jan-16 64 63 127 50%

Research staff (~40% of staff)

From 2012-2016, the percentage of women working in a research role has ranged between 62% and 76% (Table 7).

Table 7: Numbers of research staff in the Institute by grade and gender. Most Research staff are Grade 6 or 7 postdoctoral researchers. Only a small number are higher grade; these mostly reflect personal circumstances (such as a staff member who does not teach, and thus stays on a Research contract)

Research Only

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F

Grade 6 0 6 100% 0 8 100% 4 11 73% 3 7 70% 5 13 72%

Grade 7 7 13 65% 6 19 76% 13 22 63% 14 22 61% 11 18 62%

Grade 8 3 4 57% 3 4 57% 4 3 43% 1 2 67% 0 2 100%

Grade 9 2 1 33% 1 1 50% 2 1 33% 2 1 33% 2 1 33%

TOTAL 12 24 67% 10 32 76% 23 37 62% 20 32 62% 18 34 65%

Although numbers are small, in 2016 the highest percentage of females is in Grade 8 (Figure 4).

13

Figure 4: Percentage of Research staff by grade and gender in 2016

Non-clinical Teaching & Research (T&R) staff (~40% of staff)

From 2012-2016, the percentage of women on non-clinical Teaching and Research contracts has ranged between 26% and 38% (Table 8). There is strong evidence of a trend over time, with the total number of female staff increasing from 10 (26%) in 2012 to to 19 (38%) in 2016. This changing profile confirms the effectiveness of our initiatives, including:

Mentoring programme (BAP, 2.1 – ongoing)

Establishment of Fellowship ‘Champions’ and other initiatives to support fellowship applications (BAP, 2.2 - completed)

Gender balance on recruitment panels (BAP, 1.3 – ongoing)

Focus groups held to understand the enablers and barriers to seeking promotion (BAP, 2.4 - completed)

Increased transparency around the promotion process

Encourage leadership training and ensuring early career researchers have completed Leadership training (BAP, 2.5 - completed)

Table 8: Numbers of Non-clinical T&R staff in the Institute by grade and gender Teaching and Research (T&R)

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F

Grade 7 1 0 0% 1 0 0% 1 0 0% 1 0 0% 0 0 0%

Grade 8 7 6 46% 7 2 22% 6 4 40% 8 7 47% 11 9 45%

Grade 9 11 2 15% 9 5 36% 10 5 33% 9 4 31% 11 4 27%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9

% s

taff

, Jan

20

16

Research Staff

Men

Women

n=13

n=5

n=2

n=0

n=1

n=2

n=18

n=11

14

Professorial 9 2 18% 11 3 21% 12 3 20% 11 4 27% 9 6 40%

TOTAL 28 10 26% 28 10 26% 29 12 29% 29 15 34% 31 19 38%

Before 2016, there was some evidence of a trend by grade, with the percentage of female staff

being lower in the highest (Professorial) grade compared to Grades 8 and 9. There was one male

staff member, but no females, at Grade 7 from 2012-2015. In 2016 there is no evidence of a trend

by grade with more female professors than at Grade 9 (Figure 5).

Since 2012 the number of female professors has increased threefold from 2 to 6; the percentage

rising quickly since our Bronze award.

Figure 5: Percentage of Non-clinical T&R staff by grade and gender in 2016

To further support this trend of increasing female staff at the highest Non-Clinical T&R grades, our Silver award actions include continuing to:

Invest in Tenure-Track Fellowship posts, written into the Institute strategic plan (SAP, 2.2)

Encourage staff to participate with the mentoring scheme (SAP, 2.1)

Encourage women to put themselves forward for promotion (SAP, 2.4)

Invest in leadership and personal development training, for women (SAP, 2.5)

Continue to ensure gender equality on all selection panels (SAP, 1.2)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Grade 8 Grade 9 Professorial

% s

taff

, Jan

20

16

Non-clinical T&R, 2016

Men

Women

n=9

n=11

n=6

n=9

n=4

n=11

15

Clinical academic staff (~20% staff)

From 2012-2016, the percentage of women ranged between 40% and 56% (Table 9). The numbers in each group are small, with no evidence of a trend over time or a trend by grade (Figure 6). We have been especially successful in supporting females in applying for their own clinical research fellowships, from 2012 onwards, and from 2015 these indivduals have begun to be appointed as lecturers.

Table 9: Numbers clinical staff in the Institute by grade and gender Clinical staff

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F

Clinical Research Fellow 3 5 63% 1 4 80% 0 6 100% 2 6 75% 0 2 100%

Clinical Lecturer 2 0 0% 1 0 0% 3 0 0% 2 2 50% 9 5 36%

Senior Lecturer/Reader 0 0 0% 2 0 0% 1 1 50% 2 2 50% 2 0 0%

Professor 4 2 33% 4 2 33% 4 3 43% 4 2 33% 4 3 43%

TOTAL 9 7 44% 8 6 43% 8 10 56% 10 12 55% 15 10 40%

Figure 6: Percentage of Clinical staff by grade and gender in 2016

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Clinical fellow Clinical lecturer SL/Reader Professorial

% s

taff

, Jan

20

16

Clinical T&R, 2016

Men

Women

n=2

n=0

n=2

n=5

n=9 n=4

n=3

16

Benchmarking: IGH staff have mixed backgrounds – basic science, medicine or veterinary medicine

– making it difficult to benchmark against any one HESA category. We therefore compare the staff

gender balance (Non-clinical T&R, and Clinical) in all three areas (Table 10), and show that we have

a higher percentage of females in two areas and just 1% less in the third.

Table 10: Institute percentages for Non-clinical T&R, and Clinical staff by gender, compared with relevant national disciplines

Discipline

Academic staff only

% Male %

Female

Institute of Infection and Global Health 61% 39%

Biological Sciences * 67% 33%

Clinical Medicine* 66% 34%

Veterinary Science* 60% 40% *Source: National HESA Data 2013-14

(viii) Turnover by grade and gender – comment on any differences between men and women in turnover and say what is being done to address this. Where the number of staff leaving is small, comment on the reasons why particular individuals left.

Turnover (numbers of staff leaving from 2012-16; Table 11) is highest amongst postdoctoral

researchers as individuals leave at the end of fixed-term contract. At professorial level turnover is

mostly due to retirements. More women than men have left Research contracts in 4 of the 5

years. By contrast, more men than women have left Non-Clinical T&R contracts in all years.

Numbers leaving Clinical contracts are very low, with no difference by gender (4 men, 5 women in

5 years). The net effect is that in the last 5 years, 37 (53%) women and 33 men have left IGH, with

no evidence of a trend over time. We will continue to monitor this (SAP, 1.2).

Table 11: Number of staff leaving the Institute by gender from 2011 to 2015

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

M F % F

M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F

Research Only

Grade 6 0 0 0% 0 1 100% 0 3 100% 0 3 100% 0 0 0%

Grade 7 2 0 0% 1 4 80% 4 6 60% 0 3 100% 2 7 78%

Grade 8 0 0 0% 0 0 0% 0 1 100% 0 1 100% 1 0 0%

Grade 9 0 0 0% 0 0 0% 0 0 0% 0 0 0% 0 0 0%

TOTAL 2 0 0% 1 5 83% 4 10 71% 0 7 100% 3 7 70%

Non clinical Teaching and Research (T&R)

Grade 8 1 0 0% 1 2 50% 0 1 100% 0 0 0% 1 0 0%

Grade 9 1 0 0% 1 0 0% 4 0 0% 2 0 0% 1 0 0%

Professorial 1 0 0% 1 0 0% 0 1 100% 1 0 0% 3 0 0%

TOTAL 3 0 0% 4 2 33% 4 2 33% 3 0 0% 5 0 0%

Clinical Teaching and Research (T&R)

Lecturer 0 0 0% 1 0 0% 1 0 0% 0 0 0% 0 1 100%

17

Research Fellow 0 0 0% 0 1 100% 0 2 100% 0 1 100% 0 0 0%

Senior lecturer/Reader 0 0 0% 1 0 0% 0 0 0% 0 0 0% 0 0 0%

Professorial 0 0 0% 1 0 0% 0 0 0% 0 0 0% 0 0 0%

TOTAL 0 0 0% 3 1 25% 1 2 67% 0 1 0% 0 1 0%

GRAND TOTAL 5 0 0% 8 7 47% 9 14 61% 3 8 73% 8 8 50%

The numbers of staff leaving are best interpreted in the context of the numbers of staff present

(Tables 7, 8, 9). Staff leaving (as a percentage of those present) is slightly lower in recent years;

with no evidence of an effect of contract type or gender (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Percentage of staff leaving the Institute, out of those present, by contract type and gender. (2016 excluded as only partial data are available)

Reasons for staff leaving

An online exit survey was released in October 2014 to better understand why people leave the Institute. Survey responses are given to the Institute Head and Manager to allow prompt action, should there be particular issues that need addressing; and summarised (anonymously) 6-monthly for IMT. Twenty-three staff have left since the introduction of the Exit Survey. Reasons cited for leaving were moving to a further fixed-term contract (n=4), moving to a Public Sector post (n=1), moving into clinical practice (n=1), end of contract, coincident with starting maternity leave (n=1), moving to another HEI (n=3), moving into consultancy work (n=1), end of contract with no further employment plans (n=1).

Some examples of feedback from individuals leaving are:

“Every aspect … was enjoyable for me. Staff at all levels were great, very good at their job, very willing to help. Work environment was excellent, it was really a great honour ….”

18

“IGH gave me the opportunity to continually learn and to manage own workload and work flexibly.”

“Despite having a couple of pretty major disabilities, within IGH I felt valued and recognised for what I am able to contribute rather than the things that I am not able to do. This has enabled me to establish myself in a new career and rediscover my confidence after some less positive experiences elsewhere.”

However, several pointed out challenges they faced in career development, resulting in specific actions being taken. For example, we allocated funding to support activities of our Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Societies and FLIGHT, and to fund leadership training; and established mentoring for all staff. We have included actions in our Action Plan to further develop our research staff (SAP, 2.1, 2.2).

Academic staff in the Institute work hard to retain postdoctoral staff by naming them on research grants. In the last 3 years, the Institute has secured research positions for 14 women and 3 men by naming them on funded grant applications. Bridging funding for short contract extensions is also available (four applications were awarded awarded in the last year, all to female staff).

Word count: 1987 (maximum = 2000)

19

4. Supporting and advancing women’s careers

Key career transition points

Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on their significance and how they have affected action planning.

(i) Job application and success rates by gender and grade – comment on any differences in recruitment between men and women at any level and say what action is being taken to address this.

In 2011-2015, 24 women and 26 men were recruited to academic posts in IGH (Table 12). There is no trend over time, with the highest percentages recorded in 2011 and 2015.

There were 602 applications from women and 675 from men. The gender balance of applicants is approximately equal, apart from a preponderance of male applicants in 2013.

Table 12: Total IGH staff recruited by gender, 2011-2015

In three years, the percentage of females appointed exceeded the percentage that applied. Of those applying, 4.0% of women and 3.9% of men were appointed. Therefore, there is no evidence of gender bias in staff recruitment.

Analysis of recruitment by gender and grade

Table 12 is broken down by contract type in Table 13. For recruitment into Research posts, approximately half of applications are from women, with an increase over time in the proportion of women appointed (from 43% in 2012 to 100% in 2014-2015).

For recruitment into Non-clinical T&R and Clinical posts, the picture is different. Appointments at this level are low in number and data can be easily skewed. There was an increased percentage of female applicants for both types of post in 2014 and 2015 (Table 14), relative to earlier years, reflecting positive actions taken such as:

Inclusion of a statement to encourage female applicants for academic positions

Athena Swan logo present on all job descriptions

Inclusion of a link to our family-friendly guide

20

Table 13. Total IGH staff recruited in 2012-2015, by gender and contract type

A disproportionate number of men (10 men versus 2 women) have been appointed to these posts, although statistical analysis shows no significant difference in these frequencies, relative to the number that applied. The marked difference may reflect, therefore, chance effects from small numbers. Nevertheless, the situation will be closely monitored (SAP, 1.2).

(ii) Applications for promotion and success rates by gender and grade – comment on whether these differ for men and women and if they do explain what action may be taken. Where the number of women is small applicants may comment on specific examples of where women have been through the promotion process. Explain how potential candidates are identified.

Eight men and 6 women have applied for promotion since 2012, and only 1 man was unsuccessful (Figure 8). The number of female applications is in line with the gender balance of IGH and women are as likely as men to be promoted when their case is put forward. The high success rate of our applicants shows the strength of our mentoring system (BAP, 2.1 - ongoing).

21

Figure 8: Gender breakdown for promotions 2012-2015

In the 2013 Staff Survey, awareness of the promotion process was highlighted as an issue requiring further clarity. In response, several initiatives have increased transparency and awareness of the criteria and process for promotion:

Instructions and reminders are sent to staff at the time of annual review.

The Institute Director and HoDs identify staff to consider for promotion; the individuals are then encouraged to apply and mentored through the process.

Success in promotion is announced in IGHLites and publicised in our Annual Report.

PDR enabler (see below) developed to ensure all activities (e.g. mentoring, pastoral roles, outreach, administration etc) are discussed at PDR.

22

Our initiatives to increase awareness of promotion procedures are effective. In the 2013 staff survey, only 23% of women in IGH agreed that they felt encouraged to apply for promotion; following our Bronze award, this had risen to 45% by 2015. In 2013 only 11% of women agreed that they had sufficient mentoring and support during the promotion process; following our Bronze award, this had risen to 29% by 2015. This indicates that the measures described above are effective in increasing the satisfaction of women with the promotion process, but also that we need to continue these initiatives into the future. (SAP, 2.4). As some women remain reluctant to put themselves forward for promotion, we will investigate why and try to change this (SAP, 2.4).

The Director’s encouragement has resulted in several women going forward for promotion who would not have otherwise done so. Two were promoted straight from Senior Lecturer to Chair, and a third from TTF to Chair:

"I had been too busy to think about promotion from my current Senior Lecturer position. But (Institute Director) Tom contacted me and said he was keen I should be put forward, because he felt I was operating above Senior Lecturer level. Then when he reviewed all my paperwork, he felt that actually I was operating at Chair level, and made a strong case that I should be promoted from Senior Lecturer directly to Chair, especially taking into account the fact I had missed promotion rounds because of my two periods of maternity leave. He contacted me again before the promotional interview to help me prepare me for it. Again, I had been too busy with work and child-care to find the time to contact him. The interview went well, and I am delighted to now be a professor" Academic member of staff, Promoted from Senior Lecturer to Chair in 2014

For each of the areas below, explain what the key issues are in the department, what steps have been taken to address any imbalances, what success/impact has been achieved so far and what additional steps may be needed

(i) Recruitment of staff – comment on how the department’s recruitment processes ensure that female candidates are attracted to apply, and how the department ensures its short listing, selection processes and criteria comply with the university’s equal opportunities policies

The Institute is seen as supportive of women because of the prominent roles women have within IGH, and our externally facing media, such as the website and Annual Report, where 53% of the research highlights for 2015 involved female academics. The supportive atmosphere aides recruitment. For example, a recently recruited female Professor highlighted our strong support for women as something that attracted her to apply. Equality and diversity principles are integral to recruitment; IGH monitors Diversity and Equality training annually, has a 100% completion rate (BAP, 3.1- completed) and will ensure staff renew the training every 3 years (SAP, 3.1). This will be supported by training in avoiding unconscious bias (SAP, 3.1). Since our Bronze award women have been present in 100% of selection panels (Table 14; BAP, 1.3 - ongoing), and the proportion of women on selection panels has risen steadily from 11% in 2012 to 45% in 2015 (Figure 9).

Further best practice initiatives have been implemented since our Bronze AS Award such as including in job descriptions: the AS logo; a positive statement to encourage female applicants; and links to our Family-Friendly Factsheet.

23

Table 14: Composition of recruitment panels for academic posts by gender (academic staff numbers only)

2012 2013 2014 2015

Total of 5 appointment panels*

Total of 25 appointment panels

Total of 10 appointment panels

Total of 17 appointment panels

No. of men on

panels

No of women

on panels

% panels with

women

No of men on

panels

No r of women

on panels

% panels with

women

No of men on

panels

No of women

on panels

% panels with

female staff

No of men on

panels

No of women

on panels

% panels with

female staff

17 2 40% 65 19 76% 20 16 100% 39 32 100%

*Panels interviewed multiple candidates.

24

Figure 9: Percentage of women on recruitment panels and percentage of panels with women. In both cases, there is a marked increase from 2012

(ii) Support for staff at key career transition points – having identified key areas of attrition of female staff in the department, comment on any interventions, programmes and activities that support women at the crucial stages, such as personal development training, opportunities for networking, mentoring programmes and leadership training. Identify which have been found to work best at the different career stages.

In line with the national picture, the key area of attrition for females in IGH is from Postdoctoral Researcher to tenured Lecturer. We have therefore implemented interventions tailored to the needs of female staff at this career stage (see below). The success of these initiatives is now reflected in the high proportion of female academic staff recruited at this key transition point, and exemplified by the recent appointment of a part-time Tenure-Track Fellow at Lecturer level who has taken two periods of maternity leave.

Institute support for early career researchers

Fostering Liverpool Infection and Global Health Talent (FLIGHT) – FLIGHT supports early career researchers in obtaining external funding and taking an important step towards an independent research career. There are regular seminars and workshops. The culture surrounding fellowship applications and independent funding has changed dramatically, particularly benefiting female researchers: 5 non-clinical and 5 clinical female researchers have successfully obtained external fellowship funding over the past 3 years.

Academic Clinical Fellowship & Tenure-Track Fellowship Scheme. IGH established its own schemes, similar to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) academic clinical fellowships,

25

to support vets, and non-clinical scientists. They put early career researchers, particularly those with external fellowship funding, on a tenure-track leading to Lectureship appointments. The Tenure-Track scheme provides protected time for research, with clear criteria for tenure. Eight ‘Fellowship Champions’ guide and advise other early career scientists (BAP, 2.2 - completed). These innovative schemes have now been taken up by the Faculty, with Wellcome Trust funding, as highlighted in a Times Educational Supplement feature.

Postdoctoral Association – Our AS activities led to the development of this association, with allocated funding, which supports career development events (BAP, 2.2 - completed) for Postdoctoral Researchers and represents their interests. It is led currently by 3 female Postdoctoral Researchers.

Institute support specifically for women

We have developed a series of measures which specifically support women (Table 15).

Table 15: Institute initiatives specifically supporting women

Initiative Impact to date Activities planned

Targeted support for career re-entry fellowships for women.

An academic mentored a successful application for a Daphne Jackson Fellowship. These support female scientists returning after a career break.

We are supporting an application for a Wellcome Trust Career Re-entry Fellowship.

We will continue to promote the schemes in our newsletter, IGHLites, and website, with successful case studies (SAP, 2.3).

26

IGH has a dedicated webpage with a case study to raise awareness of these schemes (BAP, 2.3 - completed)

Focus Groups to support maternity/paternity

Maternity leave focus group run in 2012 and 2016 (BAP, 3.2 - completed).

Paternity leave focus group run in 2016 (BAP, 3.2 - completed).

To be repeated every 2 years (SAP, 3.2)

Supporting female staff through promotion

Presentation by University Strategic HR Policy Manager "Want to get promoted, or get a better salary?"

Institute Director and Heads of Department identify women suitable for promotion, who may not have put themselves forwards.

The Institute will run a focus group with female academics to understand the enablers and barriers to them seeking promotion (SAP, 2.4).

Designated facility for nursing mothers and family-friendly support

IGH has set up a room for nursing mothers, including a fridge compartment dedicated to the storage of expressed milk.

IGH will continue the policy allowing parents to bring children to meetings, where there is no alternative available to them (SAP, 3.3).

Leadership Training and Development

The Institute actively promotes and encourages women to attend Leadership and Management Programmes. In 2014, 3 members of staff (1 female Tenure-Track Fellow, 1 female Postdoctoral Researcher and 1 male Senior Lecturer) attended the Research Leaders Programme. In 2015 IGH funded 1 female Reader to attend the Aurora Leadership Training Programme (BAP, 2.5 – completed).

The Institute will continue to: promote and encourage women to attend Leadership training and will strongly encourage all Tenure-Track Fellows to attend the Research Team Leaders Programme within 2 years of being appointed (SAP, 2.5).

In 2016 IGH will fund a female Fellow to attend the Research Team Leader training programme

27

Director’s Meetings To better understand issues, and hear how changes implemented are having impact, the Institute Director has meetings with, female postgraduate students to Professors (BAP, 3.5 - completed). Staff and students agree that these formal meetings are useful .

The formal programme of meetings will continue (SAP, 3.5).

Institute support for all staff

Mentoring programme – IGH has implemented a formal mentoring programme. All tenured academic staff have a mentor; the uptake for Postdoctoral Researchers has been lower (20%), but we plan to increase this to at least 80% (SAP, 2.1). About 44% of women chose a female mentor. There is no gender imbalance in the mentoring workload, with the number of mentees per mentor averaging 1.3 for both female and male staff. Clearly, this number will increase as Postdoctoral researchers take on mentors.

Staff are unsure about the benefits of mentoring. The 2015 Staff survey found that only 37% of staff agreed that being mentored was helpful in developing their careers (and an equal percentage disagreed; BAP, 2.1- ongoing). More men (46%) than women (28%) agreed. To improve on this we will encourage staff to undertake University training for mentors and mentees, which highlights the benefits inherent in both roles. An annual survey will monitor the uptake and effectiveness of mentoring (SAP, 2.1).

Peer review of grant applications – Experienced IGH staff review fellowship and grant applications. There is a compulsory internal grant review process within IGH, to complement university-run peer-review colleges for applications to a number of major funders. There is evidence that this approach is increasing success rates with grants: the percentage of applications by IGH women that were funded has increased year-on-year from 60% in 2012 to 70% in 2015. Feedback from fellowship applicants indicate that they find the support beneficial (BAP, 2.2 – completed).

Internal small grants scheme - Staff can apply to IGH for small grants of £1-5,000. Over the last 3 years, six applications from women have been funded (out of 12 received, 50%). Over the same period, 9 applications from men were funded out of 16 received (56%); the small difference is not statistically significant.

A family-friendly Institute - We operate a flexible working policy, which is particularly useful for those with small children. IGH has a formal policy allowing staff to bring their children to meetings where there is no alternative available to them (BAP, 3.4 - completed). For example, staff have brought their children to a recent Steering Group meeting of a national study, an Open Day (BAP, 3.4 – completed), and Infection and Global Health Day, the annual event celebrating the achievements of Institute staff and students. IGH also provides baby changing facilities in one of its buildings (BAP, 3.4 - completed). In the 2015 staff survey 93% (87% in 2013 staff survey) of IGH respondents felt that staff with care responsibilities are supported by the Institute.

28

Career development

For each of the areas below, explain what the key issues are in the department, what steps have been taken to address any imbalances, what success/impact has been achieved so far and what additional steps may be needed.

(i) Promotion and career development – comment on the appraisal and career development process, and promotion criteria and whether these take into consideration responsibilities for teaching, research, administration, pastoral work and outreach work; is quality of work emphasised over quantity of work?

All staff have a Performance Development Review (PDR) at least annually, undertaken by HoDs for tenured staff and by line managers for researchers. PDR provides an opportunity to review roles, discuss progress and agree future plans. During PDR, activities such as workload, mentoring and outreach activities as well as development are discussed and the evidence is assessed for a reward or promotion case. The recently implemented Workload Model is strengthening this process (BAP, 2.6 - completed). Indeed in the 2015 staff survey 80% of IGH respondents saw the PDR discussion as useful.

(ii) Induction and training – describe the support provided to new staff at all levels, as well as details of any gender equality training. To what extent are good employment practices in the institution, such as opportunities for networking, the flexible working policy, and professional and personal development opportunities promoted to staff from the outset?

New staff complete an E-induction, which introduces the University and key policy areas; they complete online Obligatory Training Modules, including ‘Diversity and Equality’. Secondly, staff attend a Welcome Event, where they can network and meet key contacts. Thirdly, we have implemented our own induction which includes a welcome pack and provides information about flexible working, the PDR process, mentoring, mentor and mentee training and the Family-Friendly Factsheet. The University provides induction for PhD students through its new Doctoral College; and IGH provides an additional 1-day induction on aspects that relate to scientific research methods as well as an induction pack which highlights relevant information. Students have 1 month to complete the induction checklist (BAP, 4.1 - completed).

Seminars. IGH supports regular seminars where eminent speakers present their work to staff and students, preceded by a ‘networking’ lunch. Afterwards, early career researchers meet with the speaker to discuss the seminar, their research ideas and their career aspirations. Initially a high percentage of external speakers were men. Following our Bronze AS award, 50% of invitations for external speakers were women (BAP, 1.4 - ongoing). This has resulted in representation of female

speakers increasing to 45% in 2015 (Figure 10). Seminar organisers will be asked to actively solicit suggestions for female speakers and to ensure 50% gender balance in future seminar series. (SAP, 1.2).

29

Figure 10: numbers of male and female external speakers to IGH, from 2013 to 2015

(iii) Support for female students – describe the support (formal and informal) provided for female students to enable them to make the transition to a sustainable academic career, particularly from postgraduate to researcher, such as mentoring, seminars and pastoral support and the right to request a female personal tutor. Comment on whether these activities are run by female staff and how this work is formally recognised by the department.

Progress Assessment Panel: as of 2016, PGR student progression requires an annual meeting with a Progress Assessment Panel (PAP) comprising two members of academic staff. The PAP is chosen based on scientific need. However, all PGR students have the option of specifically requesting PAP members of the same gender. The Institute Director of Postgraduate Research will ensure that PAP responsibilities are evenly balanced across staff and that there is no gender imbalance. (SAP, 1.2)

Pastoral Group: to meet PGR students’ pastoral needs, IGH will establish a Pastoral Group, comprising one male and one female staff member at each of IGH’s three sites (SAP, 4.3). The Pastoral Group will be available to discuss any areas of concern (academic or personal) that the student may have. However, the group are not trained advisors or counsellors and are expected to direct students, if necessary, to appropriate sources already available within the University Support System.

Postgraduate Society: In response to requests from students, IGH launched and funds a Postgraduate Society (run by 3 student volunteers, currently all female), to provide a voice for PGR students, promote collaboration and support student development. Activities in 2015-16 include a Q&A session with the Institute Director, training events on ‘How to survive your Viva’, ‘How to get a Grant’ and ‘How to write an Abstract’; the development of a PGR ‘Induction Pack’ (BAP, 4.1 - completed); and regular social events. Activities are open to all postgraduate students. The postgraduate society will continue to organise events to support PGR career development (SAP, 4.1)

Buddy System: New students are assigned a 2nd/3rd year PhD student to help them settle in during their early days/weeks and months. Following positive feedback, the buddy system has been formally rolled out (BAP, 4.3 - completed):

30

“I think the Institute Buddy System is really useful. My buddy is a current student and we have met a few times ….. It has been good to have someone to talk to who is going through a PhD and is on the same wavelength. ….. about my project and who I know I can go to for advice if I need it. Overall my buddy is excellent and I think the system should keep going next year! “ 1st year student.

Maternity: All female students can suspend studies for a period of maternity leave and, where necessary, IGH funds student stipends for 6 months to ensure equality with those supported by external funding. This has been advertised to both supervisors and students via IGHLites and the Maternity Factsheet. IGH has recently funded two such maternity stipends. In response to feedback, IGH is will also establish a PGR maternity mentor (SAP, 4.2).

Organisation and culture

Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on their significance and how they have affected action planning.

(i) Male and female representation on committees – provide a breakdown by committee and explain any differences between male and female representation. Explain how potential members are identified.

Considerable effort is made to encourage female staff to apply for Leadership roles (BAP, 2.5 – completed). This has resulted in appointment of a female Head of Department and increased numbers of females sitting on decision-making committees.

Gender ratios on our appointed committees for the last 4 years are shown in Table 16. Of note,

Women make up 54% of our Institute Management Team (IMT), our major decision making committee.

Women make up 50% of the External Advisory Panel (EAP) (BAP, 1.5 - completed).

The average across the 6 committees is 50% women.

We have other meetings of sections of IGH staff and students, such as Staff-Student Forum, and Internal Advisory Panel for senior academics, with gender ratios determined by the composition of IGH, and thus improving over time.

It is Institute policy that committees comprise people from different career stages and genders. We advertise all new committee positions in IGHLites, and encourage individuals who may not think of putting themselves forwards. Key leadership roles are advertised with the option for a shared appointment, to ensure staff can get important experience without being overburdened. The Institute International Lead role, for example, is shared between male and female staff members. We avoid ‘’committee overload’’ by drawing on staff from all levels and reviewing workload, personal factors, career path and potential to enhance promotion at PDR. We will continue to monitor data to ensure men and women are represented appropriately on committees (SAP, 1.2).

31

Table 16: Institute appointed committees

Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F

Institute Management Team

5 3 38 8 4 33 10 8 44 10 8 44 12 14 54

External Advisory Panel

0 0 - 8 1 11 7 3 30 6 5 45 5 5 50

Postgraduate Research Team

8 4 33 6 4 40 6 4 40 6 5 45 2 3 60

Communications Team

3 7 70 3 7 70 3 6 67 3 5 63 2 4 67

Athena SWAN 9 12 57 9 16 64 8 16 67 13 18 58 8 10 56

Regulatory Affairs Committee

4 2 33 4 2 33 5 3 38 6 3 33 3 3 50

Female:male ratio of academic and research staff on fixed-term contracts and open-ended (permanent) contracts – comment on any differences between male and female staff representation on fixed-term contracts and say what is being done to address them.

For the three IGH contract types, the proportion of women on fixed term contracts is not different from the proportion on permanent contracts (Table 17). For example, considering Research contracts in 2016 there were 31 women and 16 men on fixed-term contracts, and 3 women and 2 men on permanent contracts. The difference is not statistically significant.

Although there is no difference between the percentages of women on fixed term or permanent contracts for specific contract types, overall there is a difference. For example, in 2016 more than half of men (38/64 = 59%) and less than half of women (25/63 = 40%) are permanent. This difference is a consequence of the different proportions of men and women on the two most common contract types. As described earlier, women predominate on Research contracts, and these tend to be fixed-term (47/52 = 90.4% were fixed term in 2016). By contrast, men predominate on Non-clinical T&R contracts, and these tend to be permanent (48/50 = 96% were permanent in 2016).

The cause of the gender imbalance in fixed-term and permanent contracts lies, therefore, in the gender imbalance in Research, and Non-clinical T&R posts. As described earlier (see Section 2), measures in our successful Bronze application have led to year-on-year increase in the proportion of women on Non-clinical T&R contracts (up from 26% in 2012 to 38% in 2016). This is, therefore, increasing the overall proportion of women on permanent contracts, which has increased from 29% in 2012 to 40% in 2016; over the same time period, the percentage of men on such contracts

32

has fallen slightly, from 61% to 59%. We are confident, therefore, that existing measures are eroding the gender imbalance in permanent contracts and these measures will continue.

It is likely that women will continue to predominate in fixed-term contracts. Most of these are Research-only, and women predominate in Research-only contracts (see Section 2).

Table 17: Total number of staff in the Institute on fixed-term and permanent contracts.

CONTRACT TYPE 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F

Research Only Fixed 10 22 69% 9 27 75% 20 34 63% 17 26 60% 16 31 66%

Perm 2 2 50% 1 5 83% 3 3 50% 3 6 67% 2 3 60%

Teaching and Research

Fixed 4 2 33% 2 1 33% 1 1 50% 0 1 100% 1 1 50%

Perm 24 8 25% 26 9 26% 28 11 28% 29 14 33% 30 18 38%

Clinical Fixed 5 5 50% 4 4 50% 4 6 60% 4 7 64% 9 6 40%

Perm 4 2 33% 4 2 33% 4 4 50% 6 5 45% 6 4 40%

Total Fixed 19 29 60% 15 32 68% 25 41 62% 21 34 62% 26 38 59%

Perm 30 12 29% 31 16 34% 35 18 34% 38 25 40% 38 25 40%

TOTAL 49 41 46% 46 48 51% 60 59 50% 59 59 50% 64 63 50%

For each of the areas below, explain what the key issues are in the department, what steps have been taken to address any imbalances, what success/impact has been achieved so far and what additional steps may be needed.

(i) Representation on decision-making committees – comment on evidence of gender equality in the mechanism for selecting representatives. What evidence is there that women are encouraged to sit on a range of influential committees inside and outside the department? How is the issue of ‘committee overload’ addressed where there are small numbers of female staff?

The issues of gender balance on committees are being addressed as described above. Across 6 IGH appointed committees women are 50% of the total membership.

(ii) Workload model – describe the systems in place to ensure that workload allocations, including pastoral and administrative responsibilities (including the responsibility for work on women and science) are taken into account at appraisal and in promotion criteria. Comment on the rotation of responsibilities e.g. responsibilities with a heavy workload and those that are seen as good for an individual’s career.

All staff at Lecturer level or above undertake original research, supervise PGR students, and teach on undergraduate and/or taught postgraduate courses. The PDR process provides the opportunity for staff to discuss with their HoD their workload in terms of academic responsibilities, mentoring

33

responsibilities, administrative roles, pastoral roles, future plans and reward or promotion. The 2013 Institute survey indicated staff would benefit from greater clarity over workload. We therefore developed a Workload Model. This comprehensive analysis of an individual’s research, teaching and administration is available to allow transparent discussions over workload. This Workload Model was launched in February 2016 (BAP, 2.6 - completed). Its effectiveness will be monitored in future staff surveys (SAP, 2.6).

(iii) Timing of departmental meetings and social gatherings – provide evidence of consideration for those with family responsibilities, for example what the department considers to be core hours and whether there is a more flexible system in place.

Academic contracts have flexible working hours. In the 2015 staff survey 87% (66% in 2013) of respondents felt that flexible working is promoted in IGH. To help parents and carers of school age children, key institute meetings and seminars are usually scheduled between 10:00-3:30 pm. IMT meetings now start at 10.30 to accommodate the needs of a part-time staff member with childcare responsibilities. Rooms used for such meetings have teleconferencing facilities, enabling staff to attend remotely if they wish; this happens in about 30% of meetings. We keep most meetings within school terms but, where that is not possible, we encourage participation by teleconferencing. In the 2015 staff survey, 100% of respondants with caring responsibilities felt they were supported by IGH.

(iv) Culture –demonstrate how the department is female-friendly and inclusive. ‘Culture’ refers to the language, behaviours and other informal interactions that characterise the atmosphere of the department, and includes all staff and students.

IGH aims to create an open and inclusive environment and treat women and men equally in every aspect of their careers and research. In the 2015 staff survey 89% (83% in 2013) of respondents thought the Institute a good place to work, open and friendly; these opinions did not differ significantly by gender. IGH has taken every opportunity to actively promote women since its inception in 2010 and has a strong track record in highlighting the role of our female academic women and celebrating their success.

Other aspects that influence the Institute’s culture include:

Role models - In the 2015 staff survey the majority (91% in 2015, 80% in 2013) of respondents reported IGH was active in identifying and encouraging women as role models, featuring female academics and students on the web pages, and encouraging junior colleagues to present their research.

Celebrating successful women - To honour outstanding research, IGH has an annual award ceremony, including Researcher of the Year, Young Researcher of the Year, and others. These are presented at the Infection and Global Health Day, which is attended by senior staff from the University. Researcher of the Year award has been given to women on 3 of 4 occasions to date, highlighting and celebrating that women in IGH are achieving at the highest levels.

External speakers present the Tony Hart Lecture during Infection and Global Health Day. In the last five years, we have had three male and two female external speakers; in 2016 we are endeavouring to have a third female and, longer term, we will ensure gender balance. (SAP, 1.2)

International Women’s Day - celebrated annually since 2013 by IGH.

34

An interactive exhibit in 2013 which celebrated influential women in the Institute and beyond.

A Faculty-wide lecture event in 2014, featuring 2 of our female Tenure-Track Fellows

A guest lecture on ‘Women in Leadership’ by the Guardian’s Harriet Minter in 2015

(v) Outreach activities – comment on the level of participation by female and male staff in outreach activities with schools and colleges and other centres. Describe who the programmes are aimed at, and how this activity is formally recognised as part of the workload model and in appraisal and promotion processes.

There is a substantial outreach programme, underpinned by a full-time Public Engagement and Science Communications officer. Public engagement activities are acknowledged in our Workload Model (BAP, 2.6 – completed). These events provide an opportunity for our scientists to inspire the next generation of female scientists. Examples of 2015 events include:

‘Saturday Science’ programme in partnership with World Museum, Liverpool: Events were Healthy Lives, Marvellous Medicine, and Bodyworks. To date, over 5000 individuals have engaged with these events.

The Big Brain Roadshow 2015 – an IGH team took part in The Encephalitis Society’s roadshow – over 200 people attended this event.

Schools programme: we hosted a Christmas Lecture, ‘Rudolph the Sneezing Reindeer’, (Figure 11), and a 5-day Science Summer School event for a group of seven local pupils.

Local and national science festivals: IGH ran activities at festivals including Big Bang North West (Figure 12); British Science Week; and Ness Botanic Gardens’ Family Science Fair, an event which attracted over 300 people

Figure 11: ‘Christmas Lecture 2015 – Rudolph the Sneezing Reindeer’ – Describing viruses to 120 children and their teachers at the first of these events in December 2015

35

Figure 12: Institute scientists at our ‘Bitten by the Bug Stall’ - engaging with pupils and explaining vector disease transmission at the Big Bang North West Fair in 2015

Over 130 IGH staff and students (>75% women) have participated in our Outreach programme. The high percentage of women reflects the significant contribution made by PhD students, and that the majority of our PhD students are female. The contribution of staff to outreach activities is acknowledged within the PDR process and Workload Model (SAP, 2.6); the contribution of PhD students is recognised in their PAP.

Flexibility and managing career breaks

Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on their significance and how they have affected action planning. (i) Maternity return rate – comment on whether maternity return rate in the department has

improved or deteriorated and any plans for further improvement. If the department is unable to provide a maternity return rate, please explain why.

Since the Institute was formed 14 members of staff have taken maternity leave (Table 18). Eleven have returned to work and two are still on maternity leave. One woman’s maternity leave coincided with her contract ending, and she decided to stop work. Of the eleven who returned, ten were still working in the Institute 12 months later; one researcher whose contract ended was redeployed. The maternity return rate is very high, with no evidence of a deterioration over time.

Table 18: Maternity return rate for female academic staff

All female academic and research staff 2012 2013 2014 2015

Number of women who took maternity leave 3 5 3 3

Number who returned to work 3 5 3 0 [2*]

Number still in work + 6 months 3 5 3 0

Number still in work + 12 months 3 5 2 0

36

*Please note that 2 women from 2015 are still on maternity leave and another has only been back in work for around 4 months.

Since our Bronze AS award, we have introduced maternity leave planning interviews by line managers, to identify how IGH can advise and assist with maternity arrangements. This interview has proved useful in ensuring that an academic’s research programme will continue in their absence, by allocating supervisors to cover students and post-doctoral researchers. The University operates paid ‘’Keep in Touch days’’, allowing the employee on maternity leave to meet with her research group, and whoever is providing cover.

We offer flexible work arrangements. As one example, two years ago a 3-year PDRA post was advertised as a full-time appointment or job share. Two female applicants were interviewed and considered suitable for the post; both were interested in a job share arrangement. One was returning from maternity leave and wanted to work part-time; the other wanted to work full-time. To accommodate their wishes, IGH agreed that they could share the role, with the part-timer having a contract for twice the duration of the full-timer.

To raise awareness and seek views around maternity and flexible working, a maternity focus group meeting was held in 2016 (BAP, 3.2 - completed). The attendees considered that IGH had taken many positive steps, including maternity mentors, flexible working, family-friendly policies, paid maternity stipends; and the introduction of baby changing facilities in our main Liverpool building. Some issues were raised for further action (SAP, 3.2):

The flexibility around maternity leave offered by IGH creates some uncertainty – what is or isn’t allowed? We will develop a maternity/paternity fact sheet to outline the main points regarding time off, pay, return to work issues and flexible working arrangements for both mothers and fathers. The facts will also be presented on a new ‘Women in IGH’ webpage (SAP, 3.4)

Workload whilst on maternity leave was identified as an issue. Therefore,

o A maternity PDR will identify potential work needs that may arise during maternity leave (such as a paper or grant returned from review) and identify ways to handle these.

Some female staff felt that arrangements for supervision of their PGR students are inadequate.

o The maternity PDR will identify an additional supervisor to ensure suitable PhD supervision will be in place.

Some PGR students felt uncomfortable approaching staff maternity mentors about maternity issues.

o We will appoint a third maternity mentor from among the PGRs (SAP, 4.2).

37

(ii) Paternity, adoption and parental leave uptake – comment on the uptake of paternity leave by grade and parental and adoption leave by gender and grade. Has this improved or deteriorated and what plans are there to improve further.

Ten male members of staff have taken paternity leave (Table 19) and one has taken adoption leave. All took the statutory leave entitlement. There have been no requests for shared parental leave. One father took exceptional unpaid leave and then moved to working part-time. This example reflects the family-friendly culture of IGH.

Table 19: Staff by grade taking paternity leave each year

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Researcher 1 1 - - 3

Fellow - 1 1 - -

Lecturer - - - 2 -

Senior Lecturer - - - - -

Reader - - - - -

Professorial - - - 1 -

To raise awareness and seek views around paternity, a paternity focus group meeting was held in early 2016 (BAP, 3.3 - completed). Several positives were mentioned, such as IGH’s family-friendly policies and flexible working patterns. No major concerns were raised, although a lack of knowledge and awareness among men about shared parental leave was mentioned. We will include a section on shared parental leave on the aforementioned maternity/paternity fact sheet. (SAP, 3.2).

(iii) Numbers of applications and success rates for flexible working by gender and grade – comment on any disparities. Where the number of women in the department is small applicants may wish to comment on specific examples.

All members of academic staff can work from home without prior approval. There are no instances of a request to work part-time being declined and, therefore, application and success rates are identical. Formal applications are required to reduce working hours. The number of men and women engaging in part-time work in the Institute is shown in Table 20.

More women than men tend to work part-time. The numbers doing so are too low to discern a difference between contract types.

Table 20: Part-time staff by year and gender

Contract Type

Number of staff working part-time

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F M F % F

Researchers 0 4 100% 0 4 100% 1 6 86% 0 6 100%

0 5 100%

Teaching & Research

3 3 50% 3 2 40% 2 4 67% 1 4 80% 1 4 80%

38

Clinical 0 1 100% 1 0 0% 1 0 0% 0 1 100%

0 0 0%

Total 3 8 73% 4 6 60% 4 10 71% 1 11 92% 1 9 90%

For each of the areas below, explain what the key issues are in the department, what steps have been taken to address any imbalances, what success/impact has been achieved so far and what additional steps may be needed.

(i) Flexible working – comment on the numbers of staff working flexibly and their grades and gender, whether there is a formal or informal system, the support and training provided for managers in promoting and managing flexible working arrangements, and how the department raises awareness of the options available.

In our 2015 staff survey 85% of staff report that they work flexibly, including working from home.

Flexible working, and the possibility of working part-time after maternity leave, are promoted in our Family-Friendly Factsheet. Since our Bronze AS Award three female staff have returned to work part-time. We have recently appointed a female member of staff directly into a part-time Tenure-Track Fellowship position. This appointment was featured as an example of best practise in a Guardian Higher Education Section article in 2014:

Sophia Latham, 39, has just been appointed to a Tenure-Track fellowship ……. After five years, if all goes to plan, she will end up with a permanent job. What makes her promotion unusual is that Latham was appointed to the role on a part-time basis only a few weeks after returning to work from maternity leave. “I haven’t seen this kind of prestigious role offered part-time anywhere else,” she says. “Normally if you are looking for a part-time position, you are looking at term-time teaching roles.” Latham is one of the lucky ones.…

http://bit.ly/1yOBHog

(ii) Cover for maternity and adoption leave and support on return – explain what the department does, beyond the university maternity policy package, to support female staff before they go on maternity leave, arrangements for covering work during absence, and to help them achieve a suitable work-life balance on their return.

IGH has adopted several positive initiatives to support staff and students who take maternity/adoption leave:

IGH provides funding to cover the post, if needed.

A formal process to ensure pre- and post-maternity/adoption leave meetings take place. Staff intending to take maternity leave meet with their manager and complete a maternity form which includes an assessment of support needs (e.g. keeping in touch days, methods of communication, whether a substitute post is required, and handover).

To provide face-to-face support, in 2014 IGH appointed two “Maternity Mentors” (with experience of taking maternity leave). These mentors act as advisors and points of contact for issues or queries relating to pre-and post-maternity arrangements. They support staff and liaise with managers and central University over maternity leave, phased return, flexible working and part-time working.

Word count: 4970 (maximum = 5000)

39

1. Any other comments: maximum 500 words

Research Excellence Framework (REF)

The REF is at the forefront of many academics’ and administrators’ minds. For strategic reasons of

focusing on staff of truly international excellence, our Institute returned a lower percentage of

eligible staff to the 2014 REF compared than the previous RAE in 2008, which predates the

formation of the Institute; however, we are pleased to report that 100% of women in the Institute

were returned in 2014 compared with 75% in 2008 (Table 22). In addition, females from within

the Institute led in selected impact case studies, demonstrating and acknowledging the

importance of their work (e.g. Enitan Carrol: "Improving Meningococcal Disease Diagnosis"; Diana

Williams, Diagnosis and Control of Neosporosis in Cattle).

Table 22: Research Excellence Framework Submissions

RAE 2008 REF2014

Eligible Submitted % Eligible Females

Submitted Eligible Submitted

% Eligible Females

Submitted

Male 32 28 88% 37 27 73%

Female 12 9 75% 16 16 100%

Word count: 115 (maximum = 500)

40

6. Action Plan

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

1 AIM: Collection of high quality baseline data and supporting evidence

1.1

AS team will

continue to meet

monthly, to

review actions

and benchmark

activities against

Action Plan time-

frames

Monthly meetings

Composition of AS

team has been

reviewed and

additional members

co-opted, with 10%

annual turnover, to

ensure good

representation at all

levels

Composition of AS

team to be reviewed

annually with 20%

turnover, leading to

average of 4-5 year

terms

AS Lead Review of group

to be undertaken

annually in

November

Success

20% turnover of

AS team achieved

every year

Impact

Increase in

turnover will

speed up the influx

of fresh ideas, and

increase the

number of IGH

members who

have been directly

involved with AS.

Mean term of 4-5

years will

nevertheless help

to maintain

continuity

41

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

1.2

To monitor,

collate, analyse

and present data

on gender

balance of staff

and student

numbers, staff

and student

recruitment, staff

turnover, student

completion rates,

promotion cases,

selection panels,

IGH committees,

external speakers

Gender balance has

been achieved, or

there is a strong trend

over time towards

gender balance, in the

listed areas

50% of staff are

women

100% of recruitment

panels at all levels have

female representation;

45% of selection panel

members are women

in 2015

45% of external

speakers in 2015 were

women

Women make up 50%

of appointed

committee members

To assess gender

balance annually

To monitor the

gender balance in the

listed measures

annually by an annual

collation and analysis

of relevant data

Where gender bias

appears, implement

appropriate measures

Where there is a

strong trend towards

gender balance since

our Bronze award,,

continue existing

measures

Present results

annually to AS team

and IMT

Publish results

annually on website

Institute

Manager

AS Lead

Continuous data

collection by AS

team

Annual collation

and analysis of

data

Annual

presentation of

data

Success

Collection of data

confirming

maintained gender

balance, or

achievement of it

in remaining areas

Impact

Will ensure that

we identify and

deal with any

gender imbalance

in a timely fashion

2 Aim: to support women through key Career Transition Points

42

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

2.1

To ensure high

level of uptake of

mentorship by

academic staff

(including

Postdoctoral

researchers)

100% of academic and

20% of postdoctoral

research staff have a

mentor

Annual monitoring of the mentorship process, including numbers of staff members who have mentors

Faculty surveys seeking feedback about mentorship

University mentor/ and

mentee workshops

have been made

available to staff and

promoted in IGHLites

newsletter

At least 80% of

Postdoctoral

Researchers to have a

mentor

To increase

effectiveness, ensure

all mentors undertake

appropriate training

Present case studies

of successful

mentorship on

website and at staff

meetings

Promote mentoring

workshops in PDRs

Ensure mentoring is

acknowledged in the

Workload Model

Postdoctoral

Association

Leads

Institute HR

Administrator

AS Lead

Institute

Director & PDR

reviewers

Institute manager

Continuous Success:

Survey results will

show that >80% of

staff will have a

mentor by

December 2016

All mentors will be

trained by

December 2016

Survey results

show that at least

90% of mentoring

needs are being

met

Impact

This will ensure all

staff will be

effectively

supported

throughout their

careers

43

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

2.2

Provide high level

of support for

Early Career

Researchers

(ECRs)

Established

Postdoctoral Society &

have embedded FLIGHT

- “Fostering Liverpool

Infection and Global

Health Talent” – within

it

Both have held

numerous events and

initiatives supporting

ECRs, including

presentations from

successful grant

applicants, peer review

process, mock

interviews, abstract

writing, grant writing

Established Fellowship

champions to provide

mentoring to aspiring

fellows

We have helped

develop a Tenure Track

Fellowship scheme to

provide career

Postdoctoral

Association to

undertake survey of

ECRs needs and set

up regular

programme of

activities

Given turnover of

ECRs, events to be on

3-year cycle

Postdoctoral

Association (with

funding from IGH) to

run career

development

workshops - including

“just-for-women"

events

Postdoctoral

Association to hold an

annual retreat

(funded by IGH), and

continue to input into

IGH strategy via

attendance at

Postdoctoral

Association

Leads

IGH Director

Fellowship

Champions

Immediate.

Regular series of

events throughout

year

Success:

Increase in the

numbers of

applications for

research

fellowships by

women and

increase in their

success rate

Increase in the

number of female

Tenure Track

Fellows, on the

pathway to their

first permanent

post

Impact

These measures

support the

aspirations of

female and male

ECRs by helping

them apply for

external funding,

and then provide a

44

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

progression for ECRs

into a permanent post

We have promoted

recruitment at Tenure

Track Fellowship level

to replace some posts

that arise at higher

level in IGH, thereby

creating new job

opportunities for ECRs

Institute retreat

Ensure ECRs

considering applying

for their own funding

get mentoring from

Fellowship

Champions

career path into a

permanent post

for the most

outstanding

amongst them

2.3

Provide support

for career re-

entry fellowships

for women

Information on Career

Re-entry Fellowships

for women (eg Daphne

Jackson) is available on

the IGH website

One applicant was

mentored by IGH staff

and the DJ Fellowship

was awarded; this

woman now holds a

lecturer position at a

UK university

One Wellcome Trust

re-entry fellowship is

To raise awareness

further of such

initiatives, we will

have a dedicated

page on our website

on Career Re-entry

Fellowships,

highlighting different

schemes, and

supported with case

studies

Fellowship

Champions

Institute

Science

Communication

Officer

Webpage will go

live in April 2016

Success

Increase the

number of

enquiries for

career re-entry

Fellowships; and

increase in the

number of

proposals

submitted

Impact

Facilitate the re-

entry of women

into scientific

45

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

currently being

supported by the

Institute

Applicants are

mentored by IGH staff

and their fellowships

peer-reviewed

internally

research after a

career break

2.4

To increase the

percentage of

women who put

themselves

forward for

promotion

We have produced and

disseminated a ’10 Key

Facts PDR Enabler’

document to help busy

academics to

effectively engage with

the PDR process

Institute Director and

Heads of Department

actively identifying

women suitable for

promotion, who may

not have put

themselves forwards;

and then encourage

and mentor them

through the application

IGH will continue with

initiatives to

encourage women to

put themselves

forward for

promotion

The Institute will hold

a focus group

meeting to

understand why

some staff are

reluctant to put

themselves forward

for promotion

Institute

Director and

Heads of

Department

Focus group to

be held by end

2016

Other actions

undertaken

annually in time

for annual

progress review

Success

50% of applicants

for promotion to

be female

Sixty % of female

respondents to

report in 2017

staff survey that

they feel

encouraged to

apply for

promotion

(increase from

40% in 2015)

Impact

Women will be

better informed

46

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

and interview process

In the 2013 Staff

Survey, only 23% of

women agreed that

they felt encouraged

by their Head of

Department/School/In

stitute to apply for

promotion; Following

our Bronze award, in

the 2015 survey this

had risen to 45%

about promotion

and the Institute

will have a better

understanding

about perceived

barriers and will be

able to respond

accordingly

2.5 To increase the

number of

women

embarking on

Leadership

Training

Institute promotes

Leadership Training

opportunities via

IGHLites newsletter

and during PDRs

HoDs also approach

women directly about

leadership training

opportunities

IGH has funded

attendance by women

at several leadership

programmes

Continue to promote

internal and external

leadership

opportunities via

IGHLites

Ensure all Tenure-

Track Fellows

complete Leadership

training as part of

their Fellowship post

Continue to fund

female staff wishing

to attend Aurora

Science

Communication

Officer

Heads of

department

Tenure-Track

Fellows to have

undergone

Leadership

Training as part

of their

Fellowship

Success

Increased

percentage of

women having

undertaken

Leadership

Training and filling

leadership roles in

the Institute

Impact

Helping women to

gain confidence

and skills in

47

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

Programme

The Institute will

provide appropriate

leadership roles for

women who

complete leadership

training, so their skills

can be reinforced and

put into practice

leadership, and to

take up leadership

positions

2.6

To use a

workload model

to ensure that

workloads are

balanced and fair,

taking into

account personal

circumstances

surrounding

career breaks &

part-time hours

A new Workload

Model has been

launched

Comprehensive

analysis of each

member of staff's

relative contribution to

research, teaching and

administrative duties

has been carried out

and made available to

HODs. Staff data sets

are then discussed at

PDR

Workload model to

include information

on previous career

breaks

Workload model to

be used to support

PDR discussions,

including assessment

of possible

overloading of

women with

administrative duties

(eg senior women

sitting on selection

panels, committees

etc)

Institute

Manager

Heads of

Department

Annually, during

PDRs

Success

Future staff

surveys to indicate

that most staff are

satisfied with the

Workload model

Impact

This will impact on

a wide range of

Institute activities

and processes,

ensuring greater

transparency and

fairness, and

supporting

promotion

48

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

applications.

Inclusion of

information on

career breaks and

part-time working

will be particularly

beneficial to

women

3 Aim: To support women through Organisation, Culture and Communication

3.1

To ensure that all

staff are aware of

Diversity and

Equality issues

All staff are required to

undergo Diversity and

Equality training; we

have 100% compliance

Continue to ensure all

new staff complete

Diversity and Equality

training as part of

their Induction

Continue to ensure

existing staff refresh

training every 3 years

Highlight

opportunities to

attend, and monitor

uptake of, other

relevant courses eg

Unconscious Bias

Institute

Manager

Institute HR

Administrator

New staff will be

expected to

complete training

within 3 months

of joining the

Institute

Completion of

training is

recorded online

Success

all staff trained in

Diversity and

Equality

Impact

Staff will have a

better

understanding of

D&E in the

workplace.

Repeated

exposure to this

and other courses

will lead to a

changed culture

49

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

surrounding

women in the

workplace

3.2 To support staff

and students

during or

returning from

maternity or

paternity leave

Maternity focus group

in 2012 identified

issues which were then

addressed, eg facilities

for nursing mothers,

appointment of

maternity mentors,

pre- and post-

maternity interviews,

and raised awareness

regarding maternity

benefits

Maternity focus group

in 2016 raised issues

regarding workload

during maternity leave

Paternity focus group

in 2016 raised issue

regarding lack of clear

information

To organise an annual

HR-led briefing

session on maternity

& paternity issues

To develop and

distribute fact sheet

regarding issues

surrounding

maternity and

paternity (leave

entitlement, pay,

return to work rights,

part-time working,

and sources of

information)

To use the ‘pre-

maternity PDR’ to

make arrangements

regarding workload

and (PGR) supervision

To repeat maternity

and paternity focus

Maternity

Mentors

IGH HR

administrator

Annual briefing

session

Fact sheet

developed by

end 2016.

Baby changing

facility – by end

2016

Next

maternity/patern

ity focus groups

in 2018

Success

Future focus

groups to find that

staff feel informed

about maternity &

paternity issues;

and workload is

managed

effectively during

leave

A higher number

of parents taking

shared parental

leave

Impact

staff will be able to

plan more

effectively for

maternity or

paternity

50

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

groups every 2 years

to confirm

effectiveness of

existing measures,

and identify new

issues

3.3

To strengthen

family friendly

policies and

initiatives

Institute

Management Team

meetings usually

timed to allow school

drop/pick-up; and to

avoid school holidays

Meetings held in

rooms with

teleconferencing

facilities to allow

participation from

home

Have formalised the

policy allowing

parents to bring

children to meetings,

where there is no

alternative available

to them

Continue to promote

IGH policy allowing

parents to bring

children to meetings,

where there is no

alternative available

to them.

Institute will ensure

baby changing

facilities are available

at Leahurst site

Institute

Director

Institute

Manager

Institute HR

Administrator

By end 2016 Success

Staff survey in

2017 to show that

80% of staff are

aware of our

family friendly

policies (53% in

2015)

Impact

Staff more

effectively

balancing work

/family

responsibilities

51

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

Some staff bring

children to their

office after school

hours or during

school holidays

(children cannot

enter laboratory

areas for H&S)

Institute has set up a

room for nursing

mothers, including a

fridge compartment

specifically dedicated

to the storage of

freshly expressed

milk

Institute has provided

baby changing

facilities in one of its

buildings

3.4 To provide easily

accessible

information on

women in IGH

IGH website has pages

devoted to Athena

Swan and Career re-

entry Fellowships

To develop a new set

of pages, “Women in

IGH”, with pages on

relevant issues:

mentoring;

AS Lead

IGH

Communication

officer

Webpages live by

March 2017

Success

Staff surveys/focus

groups to highlight

new webpages as

important source

52

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

promotion; annual

review; maternity &

paternity; part-time

work and job sharing;

career re-entry; AS;

Case studies; role

models etc; and

downloads of fact

sheets

of information

Number of visits to

pages to be

tracked

Impact

Staff will have a

ready source of

information; and

IGH’s approach

will be visible to

the public

3.5 To monitor the

impact of AS

measures, ensure

they are filtering

through to

women at all

levels, and hear

at first hand any

new issues

Institute Director has

formal meetings with

Institute women, at

various levels, to get a

better understanding

of issues, and hear the

extent to which the

changes implemented

are having the desired

effects

This information flow is

supplemented by

information from

University and Faculty

Formal programme of

meetings to continue

Meetings to include

females at all levels

from PGR students to

Professors

Some meetings to

include all female

staff, others just

subsets (eg PGRs,

Postdocs)

Institute

Director

Formal

programme

developed by

end 2016

Success

2017 staff surveys

to indicate that

>80% of women

feel IGH listens to

their needs

Impact

There will be

better information

flow within IGH,

informal quality

control of the AS

initiative, and

relevant issues will

53

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

staff surveys, and focus

groups

be quickly dealt

with

4 Aim: to better support female PGR students

4.1

To provide career

development

events for

students

The Postgraduate

Society has developed

a career development

programme

Institute has provided

funding to support such

events

Series of regular

events to be held

annually, designed to

improve knowledge

and skills and further

student career

development

Some events to focus

on issues that

particularly concern

female PGRs and

women in science

Postgraduate

Society leads

Ongoing with at

least 4 events

each year

Success

High attendance

rate by PGRs, with

at least 80%

positive feedback

from each event

Impact

Students will

benefit from a

development

framework to

support their

career progression

4.2 To establish a

PGR maternity

mentor

Maternity mentors

created, but some PGR

students report being

uncomfortable

approaching staff on

maternity matters

PGRs face different

maternity issues to

Appoint a maternity

mentor from among

PGRs and provide

appropriate training

Postgraduate

Society

Maternity

mentors

December 2016 Success:

PGRs will approach

new maternity

mentor, and will

report positively in

next maternity

focus event

Impact: PGR

54

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

staff (such as rights to

paid time off) – IGH is

providing financial

support where the

PGR’s funder does not

students will have

ready access to

necessary

information

regarding

maternity issues

4.3 To ensure that

full-time PGRs

submit within 4

years

Monthly formal

meetings with

supervisors, and online

recording of targets

and achievements, help

ensure that PGRs make

satisfactory progress;

Annual checks have

been undertaken by an

Advisory Panel

Our analysis indicates

that fewer Overseas

female PGRs submit in

4 years than their male

counterparts, or

male/female Home/EU

PGRs

New Progress

Assessment Panel

system being

implemented by

Faculty, with stricter

reporting

requirements, to

provide better

assessment of PGR

progress

Discussions being

held with supervisors

to find why some

PGRs goes beyond 4

years

Pastoral groups to be

set up in IGH sites, to

provide better

pastoral care

PGR leads

Discussions are

ongoing

Focus groups to

be held by mid-

2017

Success

>90% of

submissions to be

within 4 years,

with no

differences

between women &

men

Impact

Reduced pressure

felt by full-time

PGR students who

exceed 4 years

Better supported

Overseas PGRs,

who may lack

family networks

and face personal

or professional

55

Action Description of

Action

Action Already Taken Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success Measure

and Impact

Focus groups to be

held with Overseas

PGRs (all, and just

women) to identify

specific issues, and

measures we can

implement to support

them

difficulties on their

own

56

7. Case studies Athena Swan Case Study 1

Dr Adjanie Patabendige – Tenure-Track Fellow

I joined the Institute of Infection and Global Health as a

Postdoctoral Researcher in September 2009 to take up a

challenging research project working with the Brain Infections

Group. At the time, I was also a mother to a toddler but had

the support of Tom Solomon, (Director and Athena Swan Lead

for Institute), who encouraged flexible working practices that

enabled me to have a good work-life balance. During my time

as a Postdoctoral Researcher (2009-2012), I continued to

receive guidance and mentorship from Tom and the FLIGHT

Team which led me to apply for a Fellowship to develop my own research career. I was awarded a

highly competitive David Sainsbury Fellowship in 2012 from the NC3Rs/MRC, which I currently

hold (2012-2015). Because of the positive and flexible working environment in the Institute, I am

able to successfully manage my own research project, and build up a small research group by

taking up the role of a primary supervisor to two PhD students and several MRes students, while

managing school runs, holidays and other caring responsibilities for my daughter. In addition to

the two academic mentors on my Fellowship, I also have a strong female professorial role model

from within the Institute as a personal mentor who offers excellent guidance on managing a

successful research career while continuing to maintain a good work-life balance, despite

increasing responsibilities at work. In February 2014, I competed for, and was appointed as a

Tenure-Track Fellow by the Institute, which will eventually lead to a permanent academic position

at the University of Liverpool.

During my fellowship, I was able to establish several international collaborations that have led to

taking the final year of my David Sainsbury Fellowship as a sabbatical year in Australia (2014-

2015). I relocated to Melbourne, Australia with my family while three months pregnant, fully

aware of the challenges that I would be facing during this time. International experience is

extremely beneficial to an academic’s career, but can be difficult to manage for women with

caring responsibilities. However, I was able to take up this challenge because I am continuing to

receive support and strong mentorship, via skype, email and phone calls, from the Institute during

my time in Australia, and throughout my maternity leave and return to work period.

57

Athena SWAN Case Study 2

Dr Anne Jones – Postdoctoral Research Associate

I moved to IGH in 2013 from another Faculty at the University of Liverpool, to work for 12 months, part time, as a postdoctoral researcher (PRDA) on an epidemiological modelling project. In 2014, a 3-year full-time PDRA post came up on the same project, but I needed to continue working part time in order to care for my two young daughters. The Institute and my line manager were very accommodating in turning the post into a job share, enabling me to work at 0.5 FTE as I requested, and, with no one else available to share the job at 0.5 FTE, employing another researcher full time for half the duration, ie, 18 months.

At this point I was pregnant with my third child, and therefore it was arranged for me to take up the role after returning from maternity leave in May 2015. With three

children to care for, it was now essential for me to work part time in order to balance the demands of work and home. Since part time PDRA positions are very rarely advertised, and given my geographical restriction due to my children’s schooling and my husband’s job, it would have been difficult for me to continue my research career without the opportunity to work part time at IGH. The job share has also been successful from a research perspective, and I have personally found it to be a very rewarding experience.

While my youngest daughter is still a toddler, my line manager has been very supportive in allowing me to work partially from home. This arrangement allows me to use my working time efficiently, cutting down time wasted commuting and enabling me to collect my daughters from school and nursery. Project meetings are always organised in advance, on days when I am able to attend, so I still feel I am working as part of a team. Beyond my research group, early career researchers are well supported at the Institute by the Postdoctoral Association, of which I am a committee member, the FLIGHT and tenure-track schemes, and the peer-review of abstracts and proposals. Having witnessed the recent success of close colleagues in obtaining research fellowships, and the support provided to them by the Institute in their applications, I am confident that I will now be able to move forward with my career while still meeting the evolving needs of my family.

Word count 774 (maximum = 1000)

58

Bronze Action Plan – Progress Log

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

A Baseline Data and supporting evidence

1.1 To review

actions and

benchmark

activities

against Action

Plan time-

frames the AS

team will

continue to

meet monthly

Monthly

meetings

Composition of

AS team has

been reviewed

and additional

members co-

opted to ensure

good

representation

at all levels

Composition of

AS team to be

reviewed

annually and

approximately

10% turnover

of AS team

members

expected to

bring in fresh

ideas whilst

ensuring

appropriate

continuity, and

representation

AS Lead

Review of

group to be

undertaken

annually in

November

10%

turnover of

AS team

achieved

every year.

Annual

updates to

IMT

Impact: This

will bring in

fresh ideas

and a new

perspective

COMPLETED

Composition of SAT team is

reviewed annually in November.

New members of the SAT team

include (page 2):

Three Head of Departments

(Diana Williams, Rob

Christley, Nigel Cunliffe)

Gender Equality Officer (Sally

Middleton)

FLIGHT Lead (Dan Wootton)

Maternity Mentors (Miren

Iturriza-Gomara, Nicola

Williams)

Research Strategy Lead

(Matthew Baylis)

PDRA (Cyril Caminade and

Anne Jones)

59

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

Since our Bronze Award, the

following members have

stepped down from the SAT

team:

Jane Hodgkinson (AS Lead for

Bronze Application)

Science Communication and

Public Engagement Officer

(Nicola Frost)

Human Resources Manager

(Mark Garner)

Postdoctoral Researcher

(Marie Yang)

TTF Adjanie Patabendige

1.2 To improve

gender

balance on all

studentship

recruitment

panels

Up to now

student

recruitment

panels have

had at least

one female

member

Student

selection

panels will

have at least

50% female

membership

This will be

achieved by

centralisation

of the

Student

Experience

Administrator

Implement

immediately

Annual data

analysis and

reporting back

to IMT in

September

and in AS

annual report

Report

annually to

IMT in

September

and in AS

annual

report

Impact:

More

appropriate

COMPLETED

Embedded into IGH

processes.

Organisation of student

recruitment panels is

centralised and the gender

balance monitored for

interviewers. Annual report

on gender balances is

presented to IMT (page 10)

60

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

recruitment

process

gender

balance on

panels will

ensure

continued

recruitment

of female

students

1.3 To improve

gender

balance on all

staff

recruitment

panels

Data collection

already in

place. 100% of

recruitment

panels have

female

representation

with at least

one female

Future

recruitment

panels will

have at least

50% women

Gender

balances on all

recruitment

panels will be

monitored

Institute HR

Administrator

Institute

Manager

Currently

being

implemented

Annual data

analysis and

reporting back

to IMT in

September

and in AS

annual report

Report

annually to

IMT in

September

and in AS

annual

report

Impact:

More

appropriate

gender

balance on

panels

ONGOING

Embedded into IGH

processes. Organisation of

research and academic

recruitment panels is

centralised and the gender

balance monitored for

interviewers with 45% of

interviewers now female.

Annual report on gender

balances is presented to IMT

(page 22)

61

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

1.4 To ensure

good female

representation

among

external

speakers

50% of females

have given the

annual

showcase Tony

Hart Lecture

For the

monthly

Institute

Seminar series

33% of external

speakers were

women in 2014

We will

address gender

balance for the

monthly

Institute

Seminar series,

by requiring

those

responsible to

ensure 50%

are women

Institute

Seminar

Series

organiser

HODs

Institute

Research

Theme Leads

Currently

being

implemented

We expect

50% of

women

speakers will

be achieved

by December

2015

50% or more

of speakers

in the

Institute

Seminar

Series will be

women

Impact: This

will promote

positive

female role

models to

staff and

students

ONGOING

50% of invitations to external

speakers were women. 45%

of those invited came and

delivered a seminar (page 28)

1.5 To improve

gender

balance on the

Institute’s

External

Advisory Panel

Currently have

3 female

External

Advisory Panel

members (30%

female

representation)

In conjunction

with the Chair

of the External

Advisory Panel,

appoint 2

further female

External

Advisory Panel

members to

increase

Institute

Director

By February

2015

50% of

External

Panel

members

will be

women

Impact: This

will ensure a

balanced

view of the

COMPLETED

Embedded into IGH activity.

Gender balance has been

achieved (page 30)

62

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

female

representation

to 50%

Institute’s

activities

2 Key Career Transition Points Development and Support

2.1

To continue to

develop the

mentoring

programme

100% of

academic and

20% of

postdoctoral

research staff

have a mentor

Annual monitoring of the mentorship process, including numbers of staff members who have mentors and the effectiveness of mentoring

Promote the

University

mentor/ and

Ensure 100%

of Postdoctoral

Researchers

and students

have a mentor

To ensure the

mentoring

process is

effective,

ensure all

mentors

undertake

training in how

to mentor

Appoint a male

and female

mentor for

students in

each building

Postdoctoral

Association

Institute HR

Administrator

AS Lead

Institute

Manager

Institute

Director

AS Lead

PDR

reviewers

Ongoing –

progress update

by April 2015

Survey

results will

show that

100% of staff

and students

will have a

mentor by

August 2015

All mentors

will be

trained by

August 2015

Survey

results show

that at least

90% of

mentoring

needs are

being met

ONGOING

Formal mentoring scheme in

place. 100% of staff have

access to a mentor, and

students to a Pastoral Group

Monitoring of uptake is done

every 6 months. All tenured

academic staff have a

mentor; the uptake for

Postdoctoral Researchers has

been lower (20%), but we

plan to increase this to >80%

as part of our Silver action

plan.

Effectiveness is monitored via

staff survey. The 2015 Staff

survey found that 37% of staff

agreed that being mentored

was helpful in developing

63

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

mentee

workshops via

IGHLites

newsletter

Survey staff to

monitor

effectiveness

of mentoring

scheme

Promote

mentoring

workshops in

PDRs

Ensure

mentoring is

acknowledged

in the

Workload

Model

HOD’s Impact: This

will ensure

all staff and

students will

be

effectively

supported

throughout

their careers

their careers on an annual

basis

(page 27)

Mentor and mentee training

is provided via various

delivery methods:

- A formal University

organised training

programme

- Face-to face training

organised by IGH

- A training manual has

been developed and

circulated to all

mentors

(page 27-28)

Mentoring training is

discussed at PDR and

acknowledged in IGH

workload model and PDR

enabler (page 21, 28)

2.2

To support

early career

researchers

FLIGHT –

“Fostering

Liverpool

Establish

Fellowship

“champions”,

FLIGHT

Organisers

Fellowship

Champions to

be appointed

30% increase

in the

numbers of

Feedback from fellowship

applicants indicate that they find

the support beneficial (page 27)

64

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

Infection and

Global Health

Talent” - has a

number of

initiatives,

including

presentations

from successful

applicants, peer

review process,

mock

interviews

who have

obtained their

own funding

and can help

guide and

advise other

early career

researchers

Postdoctoral

Association to

run annual

focus group to

assess whether

Postdoctoral

Researchers

feel supported

and enabled in

Fellowship

applications

Postdoctoral

Association to

run career

development

events such as

Postdoctoral

Association

in January

2015

Focus group

held by end of

2015

applications

for research

fellowships,

and 15%

increase in

success

rates, over a

3 year period

Feedback to

IMT

Impact:

Year-on-year

improvemen

ts in support,

as reported

by

Postdoctoral

Association

focus

groups. We

will also see

an increase

in the

number of

IGH provides an annual budget

to support career development

events. To date, the

Postdoctoral Association have

organised the following events:

CV clinic

Grant writing

REF research output and

citations

IGH Summer event

Postdoctoral retreat

Postdoctoral Career Day

Just for women focus groups

have been offered but staff did

not feel the need for gender

specific groups

(page 25)

65

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

CV clinics,

grant writing,

REF research

output and

citations, plus

"just for wome

n" focus

groups

external

fellowships

awarded and

will retain

our talented

Postdoctoral

Researchers

2.3 To raise

awareness

and target

support for

career re-

entry

fellowships for

women

Peer review of

all fellowship

applications

One Daphne

Jackson re-

entry

Fellowship

awarded

One Wellcome

Trust re-entry

fellowship is

currently being

supported by

the Institute

To raise

further

awareness of

such initiatives

we will have a

dedicated page

on our

website, with a

case study, and

promote the

scheme in our

IGHLites

newsletter

Fellowship

Champions

Institute

Science

Communicati

on Officer

Webpage will

go live in April

2015

Increase the

number of

enquiries for

career re-

entry

Fellowships.

Impact:

Increase the

number of

career re-

entry fellows

COMPLETED

Information on Daphne

Jackson Fellowship scheme is

available on our website with

a case study from our Daphne

Jackson fellow (page 25)

2.4 To increase

the

Production and

dissemination

The Institute

will run a focus

Institute

Director

Starting

March 2015

Greater

percentage

COMPLETED

Embedded in to IGH processes

66

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

percentage of

women who

put

themselves

forward for

promotion

of a one page

’10 Key Facts

PDR Enabler’

document to

help busy

academics with

a quick

‘enabler’ to

effectively

engage with

the PDR

process.

Institute

Director and

Heads of

Department

are active in

identifying

women

suitable for

promotion,

who may not

have put

themselves

group with

female

academics to

understand the

enablers and

barriers to

them seeking

promotion

of female

applicants

putting

themselves

forwards for

promotion

Impact:

Women will

be better

informed

about

promotion

and the

Institute will

have a

better

understandi

ng about

perceived

barriers and

will be able

to respond

accordingly

(page 22)

67

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

forwards

2.5 To increase

the number of

women

embarking on

Leadership

Training

Institute

promotes

Leadership

Training

opportunities

via IGHLites

Newsletter and

during PDR’s

Continue to

promote

internal and

external

Leadership

opportunities

via IGHLites

and ensure all

Tenure-Track

Fellows have

completed

Leadership

training as part

of their

Fellowship post

Science

Communicati

on Officer

Heads of

department

Tenure-Track

Fellows to

have

undergone

Leadership

Training as

part of their

Fellowship

Increased

percentage

of women

having

undertaken

Leadership

Training

Impact: This

should result

in more

women

moving into

leadership

positions in

the future

COMPLETED

Leadership opportunities are

advertised in IGHLites

newsletter. (page 26)

Attendance rates for 2014/15

are as follows:

Aurora programme n=2

University Leadership training

n=4

Job specifications for Tenure

Track Fellows posts include the

requirement to complete

Leadership Training. (page 26)

To date, 2 out of 5 Tenure Track

Fellows have completed

Leadership training

2.6

To implement

a Workload

Model

Comprehensive

analysis of each

member of

staff's relative

contribution to

Workload

Model will be

developed

further by

production of

Institute

Manager

Heads of

Department

To be

implemented

during 2015

PDR.

The new

Workload

Model will

be used in

staff PDR

COMPLETED

Staff Activity Reports/Workload

model, which acknowledges

outreach and mentoring

activities, are being used during

68

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

research,

teaching and

administration

has been

carried out and

made available

to HODs. Staff

data sets are

then discussed

at PDR

A new

Workload

Model is

currently being

piloted

individual

activity

reports, which

will be rolled

out across the

Institute in

time for the

2015 PDRs.

Activities such

as mentoring

and

outreach will

be captured

and

acknowledged

in Activity

Reports

meetings.

Impact: This

will impact

on a wide

range of

Institute

activities and

processes,

particularly

ensuring

greater

transparency

and fairness,

and

supporting

promotion

applications

2016 PDR’s (page 33)

3 Organisation, Culture and Communication

3.1

To ensure that

all staff are

trained in

Diversity and

Equality

All staff are

required and

have

completed

Diversity and

Ensure all new

staff complete

Diversity and

Equality

training

Institute

Manager

Institute HR

Administrator

New staff will

be expected

to complete

training within

3 months of

To ensure

that all staff

are trained

in Diversity

and Equality

COMPLETED

Completion rates for D&E

training are reviewed on an

annual basis. 100% of staff

have undergone D&E training

69

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

Equality

training. Annual

monitoring

already

underway

Existing staff

will receive

refresher

training every

3 years

joining the

Institute

Impact: All

staff will

have a

better

understandi

ng of

equality and

diversity in

the

workplace

within the last 3 years

New staff are given 3 months

to complete D&E training as

part of the induction process,

which is monitored by IGH HR

Administrator (page 22)

3.2 To support

staff and

students

during or

returning from

maternity

leave

Maternity focus

group carried out

in 2012 identified

issues which

were then

addressed, e.g.

facilities for

nursing mothers,

appointment of

maternity

mentors, pre-

and post-

maternity

Repeat

maternity

focus group in

2015 to

confirm that

women are

being

supported, and

identify new

issues

Maternity

Mentors

By end of

2015

Assess

feedback

from the

Maternity

Focus Group

Impact: Will

be in further

supporting

staff

planning or

returning

from

maternity

leave

COMPLETED

Maternity focus group was

repeated in early 2016 via an

external facilitator. Feedback

has been assessed and actions

put in place as highlighted in our

AS Silver Award Application

(page 36)

70

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

interviews, and

raised awareness

regarding

maternity

benefits

3.3 To support

staff and

students

during, or

returning

from,

paternity

leave

Information

regarding

paternity leave

entitlement is

included in our

Family-Friendly

Guide which is

available on the

Institute’s web

site

Establish

Paternity

Focus Group in

2015 to see

what issues

there are, that

may need

addressing.

Repeat Focus

Group

meetings at

end of 2015 to

check issues

have been

addressed

AS Lead

By end of

2015

Assess

feedback

from the

Paternity

Focus Group

and report

back to IMT

in January

2016

Impact:

Raised

awareness of

paternity

rights and

potential to

work part-

time

COMPLETED

Paternity leave focus group

held in early 2016 (page 37)

Feedback has been assessed

and actions put in place as

highlighted in our AS Silver

Award Application

71

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

3.4

To strengthen

family friendly

policies and

initiatives

Some staff

informally bring

their children

to meetings,

where there is

no alternative

available to

them

University

provides baby

changing

facilities and

facilities for

nursing

mothers on

campus

Institute has

set up a room

for nursing

mothers,

including a

fridge

compartment

specifically

Formalise the

policy allowing

parents to

bring children

to meetings,

where there is

no alternative

available to

them.

Institute Open

Day, will be

open to the

public. Staff

will

be encouraged

to bring family

and friends

Institute will

also provide

baby changing

facilities in one

of its buildings

Institute

Director

Institute

Manager

Institute HR

Administrator

By end of

2015

Survey staff

and students

to ensure all

are aware of

our family

friendly

policies

Impact: Staff

and students

will feel the

benefit of

the more

relaxed

environment

COMPLETED

Embedded into IGH culture.

Formal policy is published in

IGHLites newsletter. Survey

results showed that 100% of

respondents with caring

responsibilities felt they were

supported by IGH (page 33)

Staff were encouraged, via

IGHLites, to bring their

families and friends to our

Open day and there were

examples of them doing so

(page 27)

Baby Changing facility is

available in one of our

buildings (page 27)

72

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

dedicated to

the storage of

freshly

expressed milk

3.5 To monitor

the impact of

all the

changes, and

ensure they

are filtering

through to

women at all

levels, and

hear at first

hand any new

issues

To get a better

understanding

of the issues,

and hear at first

hand the extent

to which the

changes

implemented

are having the

desired effects,

the Institute

Director has

had occasional

meetings with

small groups of

Institute female

staff at various

levels

These

meetings will

be developed

into a more

formal

programme

from female

Postgraduate

Students all

the way up to

female

Professors

Institute

Director

Introduced

over the next

12 months

Record

numbers and

attendance

at such

meetings.

Impact:

better

information

flow, and

informal

quality

control of

the whole AS

initiative

COMPLETED

Embedded into IGH activity.

Formal meetings occur once a

term. Attendance rates have

varied from 40-60%

attendance (page 27)

73

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

4 Postgraduate students

4.1 Introduce a

student

induction pack

A one page

induction

document has

been

developed and

is given to new

students

Induction pack

will be

developed

further to

include a

checklist which

will be given to

new students

and

supervisors.

Students will

be given 1

month to

complete the

induction

checklist.

Survey

students

annually to

measure the

effectiveness

of the

Postgraduate

Society

Student

Experience

Administrator

March 15

Ongoing

monitoring by

Student

Experience

Administrator

Annual

monitoring

Report to

IMT in

November

AS report

100% of

students will

have been

inducted

within 1

month of

start date

Student

satisfaction

will be

measured.

Impact: All

students will

be better

informed

with

regard to the

facilities and

COMPLETED

Induction pack is now in place

and given to new students

and supervisors. To date, all

students have completed

induction within 1 month of

starting. Induction pack

includes a question assessing

the quality of induction.

Modifications have been

made to the induction

process as a result of

feedback. For example,

students felt they would

benefit from an introduction

to statistics as part of the

induction process. A

statistical master class was

run in 2015 and will continue

as part of the induction

process (page 28)

74

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

induction

process

support

available to

them

4.2

Career

development

events for

students

The

Postgraduate

Society is

currently

developing a

career

development

programme.

Institute has

provided

funding to

support such

events

The first event

“Becoming an

Academic”,

which will also

address the

difficulties

faced by

female

scientists and

how these

might be

overcome, is

due to take

place in

December

2014

Postgraduate

Society

Ongoing with

at least 4

events each

year.

High

attendance

rate.

At least 80%

positive

feedback

from each

event.

Impact:

Students will

benefit from

a

development

framework

to support

their career

progression.

COMPLETED

Career development events

embedded into IGH activity.

How to survive your PhD

How to survive your Viva

How to get a grant

Public speaking, research

communications and media

training master class for

women in science

Overall attendance rates have

been high (ranged from 67% -

85% attendees) and feed-

back has been positive with

62% of students agreeing that

career development events

are important and that they

wanted the IGH Postgrad

Society to continue to

facilitate

(page 29)

75

Action Description of

Action

Action Already

Taken

Further Action

Required

Responsibility Timescale of

Implementation

Success

Measure and

Impact

Progress log and page number

reference Silver application

4.3 To establish a

Buddy System

Buddy System

currently being

piloted

Buddy System

will be formally

rolled out to all

new students

Postgraduate

Society

December

2014

100% of

students will

have a

buddy

Impact:

Students will

be quickly

integrated

and better

informed

COMPLETED

Buddy system is well

established and embedded

into IGH processes. 100% of

all new students have a buddy

(page 29)