Gender

Photograph of three young female university students of diverse ethnic background, having a conversation; two are sitting on the windowsill of a lecture theatre and one is sitting on the floor

The Institute is committed to advancing gender equality for our staff and students. To this end, we consistently analyse student and staff recruitment data to identify potential gaps, survey our community about their study and work experiences, and encourage staff to develop diverse curricula and teaching and learning practices.

Athena Swan

The UCL Institute of the Americas was awarded the Athena Swan Bronze award in 2022. The Athena Swan Charter aims to support and transform gender equality within higher education and research. Our EDI committee also comprises our Athena Swan Self-Assessment, and it is chaired by Dr Francesca Lessa (Co-Chair) the Institute Manager (Co-Chair).

Key Contacts and Resources

UCLU Women’s Officer
UCLU Equity Officer
UCL’s Gender Equality Working Group advise senior management on how to realise a truly gender inclusive culture. [UCL log-in required]
Information on gender equality, parental leave and other entitlements for pregnant staff and students at UCL can be found UCL’s Gender Equality pages
The UCL Gender Equality Network is a means of sharing good practice, ideas and information across the university. [UCL log-in required]
UCLU’s Gender and Feminism Society is an intersectional group for those interested in equality, feminist thought, challenging sexism and perceived ideas about gender
UCL’s Gender and Feminism Research Network brings together scholars and students from across the arts, humanities and social and political sciences.
UCL’s Centre for Gender and Global Health is a multidisciplinary team committed to mobilising dialogue and inciting change around gender and global health
The Centre for Multidisciplinary and Intercultural Inquiry is the home of Gender and Sexuality Studies at UCL.

Family Friendly Working

Caring responsibilities of staff and students at UCL vary widely. UCL supports staff and students in these responsibilities through a range of family friendly policies, schemes, and programmes, ranging from leave options, maternity and paternity benefits, and flexible working from home. All staff are eligible for carer’s leave, regardless of length of service under UCL’s Special Leave policy.

In the Institute we try to timetable meetings during core working hours of 10-4pm. Where requested, we also endeavour to not timetable lectures for academic staff during early morning or late afternoon slots. This is to support those with caring responsibilities to work more flexibly.

Key Contacts and Resources

Officer for Students with Caring Responsibilities email: su-scr.officer@ucl.ac.uk.
Work Life Balance Policy
Annual Leave Policy
Carer’s Leave Policy
Maternity Leave
Paternity and Parental Leave

UCL Americas achieves Athena Swan Bronze Award

We are proud to announce that the Institute has received an Athena Swan Bronze Award, which recognises our commitment, drive and focus to promote and achieve gender equality in the department.

March 2021: this is how we marked Women History Month at UCL Americas!

Check out our dedicated Women History Month page here

[image: photograph of Guatemalan women’s rights activist Rigoberta Menchú, with the caption International Women’s Day March 8 2021 and the title March 2021: this is how we mark Women History Month at UCL Americas, as well as the logos of UCL, UCL Institute of the Americas and International Women’s Day. Image contains a link to the Institute’s Youtube channel]