Athena Swan

The Dental School and Hospital is pleased to announce that we have been awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to addressing unequal gender representation across the school and promoting an environment of equal opportunities for all.

During a two-year period of intense work on conducting a self-assessment, the AS team identified key issues related to gender equality in the DSH and has proposed an Action Plan to address these.

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee (EDI) will now progress the Athena SWAN agenda and work collaboratively with staff and students to ensure principles of equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded in all aspects of the Dental School’s work.

Below are the Athena SWAN Charter principles, which will guide our works towards gender equality.

Athena SWAN Charter Principles

• We acknowledge that academia cannot reach its full potential unless it can benefit from the talents of all.
• We commit to advancing gender equality in academia, in particular, addressing the loss of women across the career pipeline and the absence of women from senior academic, professional and support roles.
• We commit to addressing unequal gender representation across academic disciplines and professional and support functions. In this we recognise disciplinary differences including:
• the relative underrepresentation of women in senior roles in arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law (AHSSBL)
• the particularly high loss rate of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM)
• We commit to tackling the gender pay gap.
• We commit to removing the obstacles faced by women, in particular, at major points of career development and progression including the transition from PhD into a sustainable academic career.
• We commit to addressing the negative consequences of using short-term contracts for the retention and progression of staff in academia, particularly women.
• We commit to tackling the discriminatory treatment often experienced by trans people.
• We acknowledge that advancing gender equality demands commitment and action from all levels of the organisation and in particular active leadership from those in senior roles.
• We commit to making and mainstreaming sustainable structural and cultural changes to advance gender equality, recognising that initiatives and actions that support individuals alone will not sufficiently advance equality.
• All individuals have identities shaped by several different factors. We commit to considering the intersection of gender and other factors wherever possible.

Dental School achieves Athena Swan Award

Athena Swan Award Letter April 2020

Dental School Bronze Departmental Application Charter June 2020