Athena SWAN
Advance HE's Athena SWAN Charter is a national scheme aimed at supporting and transforming gender equality within higher education and research. The University holds a Silver institutional award and we are proud that since November 2025 the Department of Mathematics and Statistics has also held a Silver award.
Over the past few years we have developed and championed a number of policies to help make progress in our gender equality work, including those on core hours for meetings, shortlisting and support for Education and Research staff returning from long periods of leave. In our successful application for Silver Athena Swan accreditation, the following aspects were highlighted as progress:
- EDI awareness and governance – the appointment of a Director of EDI, more regular meetings of the WIDER group, and better communication of EDI issues and progress.
- Recruitment, training, progression - Through our single gender shortlist policy, we have improved the gender balance in female staff at Grade E and F. We have increased the proportion of female staff at Grade H (associate professor) compared to 2019/2020.
- Student-related activity – we have continued to hold outreach events, undertaken projects on Decolonising STEM, and neurodiversity, good gender balance on the Mathsoc, and hosted successful Careers and alumni days.
- Culture and inclusion – we have paid attention to our seminars (good gender balance), hosted writing retreats, and supported the Women in Climate group to win a prize from the Royal Meteorological Society.
- Maintaining the visibility and awareness of EDI activities across the department: Continue to communicate regularly and through various media to ensure EDI remains embedded within the department culture and improve awareness of available university networks through induction materials, newsletters, and dedicated points of contact.
- Improve the recruitment and retention/promotion of female staff and students: Focus on increasing gender diversity across all student cohorts and academic levels through improved recruitment processes, and retention through better support and mentoring, continued outreach activities, and support for returners from parental leave.
- Continue and expand our work to tackle bullying and harassment: We will foster a safe and inclusive culture for all our community, building confidence and trust in our reporting mechanisms among staff and students.
- Enhance the inclusive research culture of the department: We will continue to provide opportunities for career development and networking, especially for the Early Career Researchers.
- Improve the transparency of decision making and allocation of resources and workload: We will create fair and robust practises in the department processes to foster an improved sense of belonging.
- Promote visibility and recognition of underrepresented groups: Actively feature women and other underrepresented staff and students in all department media, public events, seminars, and communications to demonstrate recognition and role-models.
- Continue outreach partnerships: Strengthen long-term relationships with schools and community organisations to raise aspirations and widen access to mathematics and statistics among diverse groups.