UCL DoP receives Silver Athena SWAN award

The Athena SWAN awards recognise good practice in higher education and research institutions towards the advancement of gender equality, representation, progression and success for all.

In the latest round of awards, the Division of Psychiatry has achieved a Silver Athena SWAN Award, recognising the action we have taken to successfully reduce gender inequalities. The application and future action plan are available to view on the Division’s Athena Swan page. 

The Division has demonstrated several key achievements since 2018:

• Increased proportion of women Professors, from 40% to 50%
• Increases in the promotion and retention of women academics – a 28% increase in the number of non-clinical women at Grade 9 (Associate Professor)
• Increased leadership positions occupied by women – the proportion of leadership positions held by women increased from 47% to 53%
• Four new leadership roles were awarded to early or mid-career women
• More women and men now discuss promotion during appraisals – an 18% increase since 2018

The panel also recognised our ‘honest and thorough self-assessment, which supported the identification of a number of future challenges and opportunities. Our new five-year Action Plan contains strategies to:

• Address intersectional inequalities related to gender and ethnicity
• Improve awareness and engagement with the processes that are in place to eliminate bullying and harassment; the Division has a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment
• Further improve satisfaction with and support for career development opportunities, promotions and appraisals for all staff and students

UCL Division of Psychiatry has engaged with Athena Swan since 2013. The Division thanks all members over the years who have contributed to improving gender equality. Especially, we thank Dr Gemma Lewis, The Division’s Gender Equity lead, for her work on the recent application.

On receiving the award, Gemma Lewis said: "We are delighted with our Athena SWAN silver award, which recognises the action we've taken to reduce gender inequalities over the past five years. This award also reflects our commitment to continuing to improve Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for all staff and students. We have designed our new five-year Action Plan to represent all members of the Division and foster a fair, inclusive, and collaborative environment."

Professor Glyn Lewis, Director UCL Division of Psychiatry said: “It is excellent news and is a welcome acknowledgement of the support we have in place to address gender inequality. I would like to particularly thank Gemma Lewis who led the application with the support of other members of the Self-Assessment Team (SAT).”

Professor Alan Thompson, Dean of the Faculty of Brain Sciences said: “Many congratulations to Gemma and team. This is a fantastic achievement and I’m delighted to see the Division of Psychiatry’s commitment to addressing gender inequalities recognised. The award reflects the exceptional efforts of our staff to create a culture of belonging and inclusion.”

The Athena SWAN Charter was established in 2005 to encourage and recognise a commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment in higher education and research.

In 2015 the charter was expanded to include non-STEMM subjects and recognise work undertaken in arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law (AHSSBL), and professional and support roles. The charter now recognises work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression that affect women.

Links

• Division of Psychiatry Gender Equity and Athena SWAN
• UCL Division of Psychiatry
• Athena SWAN