Athena SWAN

The Athena Swan Charter is a framework used across the world to advance gender equality within higher education (HE).

Our most recent Athena Swan Award was in August 2023, when we renewed our Bronze, as one of the first departments to do so under the Transformed Athena Swan Charter. This is designed to address gender and intersectional inequalities inequality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression affecting women. You can download our 2023 Athena Swan submission here:

Politics_AthenaSwan_2023BronzeRenewal (PDF , 4,887kb)

The submission provides a summary account of our progress in the last five years and our priorities for the next five, including our new action plan.

An essential indicator of the success of Athena Swan is the level of engagement of a broad range of staff and students in equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) initiatives. Truly inclusive cultures can’t be designed. They can only emerge as a result of the input and active participation of all stakeholders.

Testimonies:

Professor Tony Heron

Head of Department, Politics

"At York, we place equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything we do, from teaching and scholarship to research and impact, to the organisation and administration of all our activities. The Athena Swan bronze award reflects the hard work and commitment of, first and foremost, Professor Monica Brito-Vieira and the EDI Committee, but also our entire staff that have contributed in various ways to this outcome. The Action Plan set out in our Athena Swan submission will set the course for our EDI strategy for the next five years and, as Head of Department, I am committed to ensuring we not only meet but exceed the goals and outcomes set out in this document."

Professor Karen Rowlingson

Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences

"We are committed, at York, to creating a diverse and inclusive staff and student community which fosters a sense of belonging. This Athena Swan bronze award serves as testimony to that commitment within the Department of Politics and International Relations and I would like to thank all those within the Department and broader University who contributed to our success here. I would particularly like to congratulate Monica Brito Vieria for her leadership in the Department on EDI issues and also Lorna Warnock for her support as the University's Athena Swan coordinator. And I would also like to offer my full support to the Department in implementing their Action Plan because the award, however pleasing to receive, is not enough in itself. We need to continue to make change happen and deliver on our mission to be a university for public good where everyone can flourish."