Athena SWAN charter
The Athena SWAN (Scientific Women's Academic Network) charter, launched by the Royal Society in June 2005, recognises, celebrates and disseminates excellence in science, engineering and technology employment in higher education.
The Charter aims for 'the advancement and promotion of the careers of women in science, engineering and technology in higher education and research, and to achieve a significant increase in the number of women recruited to top posts'.
Charter principles
The six charter principles which underpin the Athena Swan Award :
- To address gender inequalities requires commitment and action from everyone, at all levels of the organisation;
- To tackle the unequal representation of women in science requires changing cultures and attitudes across the organisation;
- The high loss rate of women in science is an urgent concern which the organisation will address;
- The system of short-term contracts has particularly negative consequences for the retention and progression of women in science, which the university recognises;
- There are both personal and structural obstacles to women making the transition from PhD into a sustainable academic career in science, which require the active consideration of the organisation;
- The absence of diversity at management and policy-making levels has broad implications which the organisation will examine.
