Athena SWAN

The UCL Division of Surgery & Interventional Science is proud to be an advocate for gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine). As part of this commitment, we have been actively engaged with the Athena SWAN Charter, which supports and recognises our efforts to create a fair, inclusive, and supportive environment for all staff and students.

Following our previous Athena SWAN Bronze award in 2019, our Division was awarded the Athena SWAN Silver Award in 2022, acknowledging our progress beyond institutional policies to address gender-specific challenges. This recognition reflects our continuous efforts in pursuing a fair, balanced, and diverse academic and clinical environment.

What are we doing to drive change?

• Promoting gender balance in leadership positions.
• Providing mentorship and career development support for staff and students.
• Supporting staff through flexible working arrangements, maternity leave, and clear return-to-work policies that are also supportive.
• Ensuring transparent and fair recruitment and promotion processes.
• Taking proactive action to prevent and address bullying and harassment.

Impact at a glance

• Increase in female professors across the Division from 23% in 2015 to 30% in 2020.
• More women in senior leadership roles, including 2 out of 3 Heads of Research Departments.
• Provision of fully-funded PhD studentships (valued at £100,000) to new lecturers to jump-start their career progression.
• Establishment of mentorship programmes for staff and students to support career development and progression.

2025 International Women’s Day Celebration

Women in leadership roles

Two female Research Department Heads, Professor Marilena Loizidou and Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, are leading groundbreaking work. Professor Marilena Loizidou is Co-Founder and Director of the MSc in Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine and the MSc in Surgical and Interventional Sciences. She is also the Deputy Director of the Division. Professor Ramani Moonesinghe is the National Clinical Director for Critical and Perioperative Care at NHS England and NHS Improvement. She was awarded an OBE in 2021 for ‘service to anaesthesia, perioperative and critical care’.

Women hold key faculty and UCL-wide leadership positions, influencing institutional strategy. For example, Professor Umber Cheema is the Vice Dean for Innovation and Enterprise, and Associate Professor Zahra Mohri is the Equity Lead of Disability and Neurodiversity for the Faculty of Medical Sciences.

Women play a significant role in education leadership within the department, with Professor Eirini Velliou as Graduate Tutor (Research), Professor Eleanor Tillett as Postgraduate Tutor, and Associate Professor Flaminia Ronca as Undergraduate Tutor.

Several of our female academic staff are pioneers leading groundbreaking research at the intersection of surgical science, regenerative medicine, and translational nanotechnology. Their work drives innovation in areas such as targeted drug delivery, biomaterial design, and tissue engineering, directly impacting clinical applications. Their leadership and research contributions exemplify our commitment to excellence and gender equality.

Our Division promoted the first woman Professor of Urology in the United Kingdom, Professor Caroline M. Moore.

Achievements and progress

Supporting career development

• Fully-funded PhD studentships (valued at £100,000) to help new lecturers establish their research careers
• Mentorship programmes pairing junior researchers (staff and students) with more experienced academics.
• Dedicated grant application support system, including weekly appointments with methodologists for grant-writing guidance.
• Robert Brown Travel and Training Awards for postgraduate students.
• Funds for Education Staff Development.
• Mandatory annual appraisals for all staff, facilitating structured discussions about career progression and promotions.
• We support our staff to apply for and take sabbaticals, for example, in 2024, Professor Helen Birch was supported to undertake a 3-month sabbatical to enable her research activities.

Creating an inclusive workplace

• Zero tolerance to bullying and harassment: we have made anti-bullying training mandatory for all staff and commissioned an independent review to ensure accountability
• Inclusive recruitment: we have embedded gender-neutral policies in hiring, ensuring at least 25% female representation on recruitment panels. We also try, wherever possible, to ensure that recruitment panels are ethnically diverse.
• Supporting non-traditional career pathways: we encourage technical and professional staff to transition into academic roles and vice versa.

Current and ongoing initiatives

Work-Life balance and support for parents

• Flexible working and study leave options for parents and caregivers.
• Improved maternity and parental leave policies to support return-to-work transitions: e.g., the ‘Keep in touch’ programme enabling staff to stay informed and ease their return to work.
• Coverage of parental leave with well-advertised secondments or by recruiting externally on a fixed-term basis.
• Career breaks following maternity leave.
• UCL’s Parents and Carers Together events.
• 6 months’ sabbatical leave for academic staff returning from career breaks, relieving individuals from teaching and administrative roles, enabling them to concentrate on their research.
• We are exploring how to best establish a Parents and Carers Group within the Division to offer support, guidance, and a community for staff with caring responsibilities.

Outreach and engagement

• UCL Women in Surgery Conference: annual event showcasing female leaders in surgery.
• Collaboration with In2ScienceUK to encourage students from underrepresented backgrounds into STEMM careers.

Looking ahead: our future action plan

While we are proud of our Athena SWAN Silver Award, we recognise there is still more work to be done. Based on feedback from DSIS staff and students, our key priorities for the next five years are:

• Comprehensive inductions: delivering a structured induction for all new staff and monitor its effectiveness
• Career Progression: establishing a clear framework and support system for career development, ensuring staff and students have the guidance and resources needed to advance. We are also strengthening our mentorship programs to support growth and encourage more eligible staff to apply for promotion.
• Addressing bullying and harassment: taking action to eliminate bullying and harassment while fostering an open culture where staff feel safe to speak out
• Healthy work-life balance: reducing excessive working hours for all and promoting sustainable work practices

We recognise that these challenges are complex, but we remain dedicated to creating an inclusive and supportive environment where every individual at DSIS can thrive.