Athena SWAN
Source: https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/about/equality/athena-swan/ Parent: https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/discovermore/contact/
The University of Manchester’s Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) has been awarded the Athena SWAN Silver Award.
The award is designed to help institutions achieve gender equality and meet equality legislation requirements. It also identifies areas for positive action, recognises and shares good practices, and supports the promotion of inclusive work environments.
- Athena SWAN Achievement Plan (PDF)
- Athena SWAN Silver application 2024 (PDF)
- Athena SWAN data 2024 (Word)
Athena SWAN History
The Athena SWAN Charter was established in 2005 by the Equality Challenge Unit (now part of Advance HE).
It aimed to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) employment in higher education and research.
In 2015, the Charter was expanded to include non-STEMM disciplines, professional and support staff, and trans staff and students. The Transformed Charter recognises work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly, not just barriers to progression that affect women.
See our certificate of commitment to Athena SWAN principles (PDF).
Athena SWAN in the Faculty
All three Schools (School of Biological Sciences, School of Health Sciences, School of Medical Sciences) were holders of individual Silver Athena SWAN awards since the formation of FBMH. In 2024, the Faculty consolidated efforts into one Athena SWAN Award application and successfully achieved the Silver Award.
The Silver award highlights the Faculty's commitment to creating structures, processes and a culture that enables the University to move towards greater gender equality. Leadership and senior buy-in of the Athena SWAN Charter Mark helps to ensure the EDI agenda is woven through all aspects of the Faculty.
"Achieving this Athena SWAN Silver Award is a proud moment for us, not only because it represents a huge amount of work from the team putting in the application, but also because it is recognition that we are putting into daily action the principles of fairness and equity that we hold at the heart of our Faculty."
Professor Allan Pacey MBE / Interim Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
Our commitment
The Faculty has identified eight key priorities to help guide actions and future work related to gender equality.
- Priority 1: Creating an inclusive learning and teaching environment.
- Priority 2: Addressing progression for female academic staff and the under-representation of female academic staff on senior boards and committees.
- Priority 3: Continuing to improve diversity and representation on EDI-related boards, increase EDI-resources, and inclusive leadership.
- Priority 4: Addressing gender/BAME under-representation across cohorts in the PS community, with clearly defined routes of progression.
- Priority 5: Establishing a sustainable and stable community of academic and PS staff.
- Priority 6: Tackling sexism, bullying, harassment and discrimination.
- Priority 7: Improving workload, work-related stress, and wellbeing.
- Priority 8: Enhancing a sense of community and belonging.
To achieve our eight priorities, we have created an ambitious, gender-focused and intersectional Action Plan to tackle the priority areas identified over the next five years.
We have mapped the actions against the University's EDI strategic priorities and relevant Faculty Action Plan to ensure colleagues are aligned with our goals and are equipped to assist us in achieving them.
More information
To find out more about Athena SWAN in FBMH, please contact us.
Natalie Gardiner (Vice Dean for Social Responsibility)\ Email: natalie.gardiner@manchester.ac.uk
Beth Micakovic (Executive Director of Faculty Operations)\ Email: elizabeth.micakovic@manchester.ac.uk
Katie Samosa (EDI Officer)\ Email: katie.samosa@manchester.ac.uk
Getting involved
If you would like to get involved with an EDI and/or Athena SWAN team, please submit your details via our online form.
Alternatively, you can get in touch with the relevant School Director/Lead for EDI lead:
School of Biological Sciences\ Email: suzanne.verstappen@manchester.ac.uk
School of Health Sciences\ Email: juhi.gupta@manchester.ac.uk
School of Medical Sciences\ Email: katharine.dibb@manchester.ac.uk and neil.pemberton@manchester.ac.uk
Athena SWAN and EDI initiatives are supported by regular network events, meetings and workshops, and everyone is welcome to attend.