Athena Swan application and Action Plan 2018-2024

Supporting our Athena Swan bronze award is a our comprehensive action plan which can be viewed here:

• Athena Swan Action Plan 2018-2024 (PDF , 363kb) (staff login required)

The University's 2018 application Athena Swan bronze award highlights are as follows:

• In 2020/21 we saw a 39% increase in applications from women and an increased success rate of 8.5%.
• In 2020/21 we saw a 111% increase in applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and an increase of 56% in successful applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women.
• In 2022 the University ranked 44th for Gender Equality out of 1,400 institutions.
• Women’s representation on the University Executive Board (UEB) has increased from 25% to 47% since 2014.
• The proportion of women senior managers among professional and support staff (PSS) has increased from 36% to 46% since 2013.
• A dedicated Athena Swan budget and staffing to support departments with their gender equality work and an ambitious set of institutional priorities.
• 21 of our 23 academic departments and schools now hold Athena Swan awards, including three gold and six silver, with a further department and school working towards applying in the near future.
• Appointment of a Gender Equality Research Fellow to build our evidence base of gender equality good practice.
• We are taking a more positive approach to remote and flexible working with improved communication and promotion of different options, including part-time roles and job-sharing.
• The University has implemented the 'Real Living Wage' with effect from August 2021.

However, despite our decade-long track record with gender equality good practice and Athena Swan:

• The number of women in senior academic leadership positions is low, including heads of academic departments.
• The gender pay gap (18.1% in 2021) is unacceptably high, reflecting an under-representation of women in senior roles and an under-representation of men at lower PSS grades.
• Greater transparency and clarity is required in the academic promotions process.
• Career development support and opportunities for professional and support staff and research staff could be better, including training, mentoring and secondment opportunities.
• Paternity leave uptake is low and we need to review our paid leave provision and support for staff taking and returning from parental leave.

The actions we are committing to in the Athena Swan Action Plan 2018-2024 seek to address these issues and to continue to break down barriers to gender equality, supporting all staff in the University. The plan is part of our broader commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and will work in tandem with the EDI Strategy.

For further information please contact Lorna Warnock, Athena Swan Coordinator via lorna.warnock@york.ac.uk