University’s commitments recognised with Athena Swan Institutional Silver

Posted on Tuesday 24 March 2026

York was an early adopter of the Athena Swan Charter, and this Silver status has been achieved as the University prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of our first award. 

In addition to the Institutional Award, the University now holds 22 Departmental and School awards.

The Silver Award has been made in recognition of key achievements in the period from 2018 to 2025.

Kiran Trehan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise, Partnerships and Engagement, said “This Athena Swan silver Award marks a significant moment for the University of York - reflecting seven years of sustained, collective effort. Across our departments, our professional services and our leadership teams, colleagues have worked with genuine commitment to make this a more equitable institution. This recognition matters, but what matters more are the values it represents: we take seriously our responsibility to ensure that everyone at York can contribute fully and be valued equally.”

In figures

• 92% of academic departments (22 out of 24) now hold an Athena Swan award, with four Gold, seven Silver and 11 Bronze awards. This represents one of the highest levels of departmental engagement in the sector.
• In the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for gender equality (SDG5), York ranked 4th in the UK, entering the global top 100.
• Female Heads of Department increased from 22% to 43%.
• Female professors increased from 25% to 35%.

Expanded family‑friendly support

• £8.2m investment in a state‑of‑the‑art campus nursery, opened 2024, increasing capacity from 39 to 94 places overall, with baby places increasing from 9 to 30.
• Enhanced parental leave, above the statutory expectation:
• Paternity/partner leave increased from 2 to 6 weeks on full pay
• Maternity and adoption leave increased from 18 to 26 weeks on full pay
• Our Carers Fund was launched in 2023, supporting 15 staff (86% of them women) by removing barriers to personal and professional development

Significant increase in leadership diversity

• Female leadership representation at senior levels reached 50% on UEB between 2022 - 2024. We appointed Dr Heather Melville as our first Black female Chancellor in 2022 and the disability champion Dr Alice Maynard became Chair of Council in 2023.
• 445 staff (56% of them women) completed leadership programmes between 2017 and 2024.
• York contributed to the White Rose Equity in Leadership Programme, supporting Global Majority colleagues between 2024 and 2026.

High engagement with EDI training and stronger policy development

• 92% of staff have completed Unconscious Bias training
• 95% of staff have completed the new EDI module (launched in 2024)
• 100% of 2021 REF panel members had completed EDI training
• Our Dignity at Work and Study policy was fully updated in 2025
• The Report + Support platform provides support to students and staff. Increased reporting via the platform (395 reports in 2023, rising to 486 in 2024) demonstrates growing trust in, and awareness of, the process
• Our trans and non‑binary support has been strengthened with new guidance, training and visibility initiatives

Addressing pay inequalities

Over the period assessed (2018 to 2025), we have seen overall reduction in pay inequalities and have reported on all pay gaps (beyond statutory requirements):

• Gender pay gap reduced from 19.1% (2020) to 15.3% (2024)
• Ethnicity pay gap reduced from 29.4% (2021) to 21.3% (2024)
• First disability pay gap report published in 2025

However, our Pay Gap Report recognises the need to intensify our efforts where gaps persist. Addressing this is an ongoing commitment.

“The achievements captured here are real - and they matter. As a university, we are at our best when we hold ourselves to high standards and then act on them. Our continued commitment to closing gender and ethnicity pay gaps is a reflection of exactly that: a responsibility we hold to one another, and one we are committed to upholding.

York was recently ranked the fifth best university to work for in the country by the Financial Times. Alongside that, this award speaks to the genuine strides we are making in building a York where everyone can thrive - something that we should all feel proud of.” Kiran Trehan