Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Cell and Developmental Biology (CBD) is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Biosciences Race Equity Committee

The Biosciences Race Equity Committee aims to expedite and extend the actions for race equity already underway in the Division and UCL, to foster further dialogue, identify issues and initiate new campaigns so as to catalyse change in all aspects of Divisional life. We acknowledge that racism, systemic or individual, is pervasive and deeply embedded in our institution. As an educational institution and employer, we have been complicit in perpetuating racism - we accept responsibility for this, for not acting sooner and we promise to do better. CDB is currently represented on the REC by Vilaiwan Fernandes and Ryan Felice. For more information on the REC and it’s recent work, visit their website and Twitter.

Professor Sandip Patel represents CDB and the Division of Biosciences at the Faculty of Life Sciences Equality and Diversity Committee.

Athena Swan

Athena SWAN is a charter committed to levelling the playing field for all personnel in academia and to promoting equality and diversity in career progression. As part of the Division of Biosciences, CDB enjoys Athena SWAN Bronze status.

The Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team (SAT) functions at the Divisional level, acting as a hub that is informed by satellite teams representing Research Departments and Professional Services. This organisation facilitates a bottom up approach for identifying problems and proposing actions to solve them.

The CDB Departmental SAT is formed by:

Arantza Barrios – (Associate Professor, CDB) Chair
Wendy Birch (Anatomy Lab Manager)
Talya Goble (PhD student)
Ryan Felice (Lecturer, CDB)

There is an open call for Postdocs and Technicians to join the SAT. If you are interested, please contact Arantza Barrios.

Some recent actions we have implemented:

Accessible package with guidelines and information on parental leave and return to work. See: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/division-biosciences-support-through-your-pregnancy-and-early-parenthood.
A grassroots Postdoc Committee has been created to connect and promote career development of Early Career Researchers (ECRs).
Two annual workshops for information on the process of junior academic promotions and reward points (January) and senior promotions (October).