Bangor University has won a further three Athena Swan Awards from Advance HE. Athena Swan is a UK-wide charter that encourages and recognises commitment to advancing gender equality in higher education and research.
Bangor University already holds a Bronze institutional Award and the Schools of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, Psychology, Business and Ocean Sciences have all achieved Bronze Awards.
Now, the University’s School of Natural Sciences, the School of Health Sciences, and the School of Sports, Health and Exercise Sciences have also been awarded Athena Swan Bronze in recognition of their ongoing commitment to gender equality for staff and students.
Embedding equality into everything we do
Dr Lynne Williams, Head of the School of Health Sciences, said: “We place equality and diversity at the heart of all School business, and we are very proud to have been awarded an Athena Swan Bronze award. I would like to thank all the staff and students, and a special thanks to the members of the self-assessment team for their commitment to the application process. This award affirms our continuing commitment to ensuring equality and diversity are foremost across the School’s teaching and research programmes”
"We are delighted to have received our Bronze Athena Swan Award reflecting our continued commitment to equality previously recognized within the School of Environmental Science and Geography" said Professor Nia Whiteley, Head of School of Natural Sciences.
"We are really pleased with the progress we have made so far in ensuring that the relatively new School of Natural Sciences is committed to advancing equality and well-being for staff and students. We look forward to continuing to ensure we embed equality, diversity and inclusivity in our School’s ethos and culture.
Dr Jamie Macdonald, Head of the School of Sport, Health, and Exercise Science, said:
“We are thrilled with this news. We were the first school at Bangor to receive a Bronze Athena Swan award in 2015 and we are delighted to receive this prestigious accolade for a second time. The school is passionate about promoting equality and recognizes the need to ensure equal opportunities for our staff and students as well as in the wider sport, health and exercise science field. The award is also fantastic recognition for our early career researchers who have driven many recent innovative equality and diversity initiatives in our School.”
Professor Iwan Davies, Vice-Chancellor, said:
I would like to congratulate the School of Natural Sciences, the School of Health Sciences, and the School of Sports, Health and Exercise Sciences on their successful applications. I am delighted that three more Schools have been awarded Bronze Athena Swan awards in recognition of our work towards gender equality at Bangor. We are fully committed to continuing our work in this area and to embedding equality into everything we do.”
The Athena Swan charter was established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) in higher education. The charter was expanded in 2015 to include all academic departments and professional services staff. Athena Swan recognises work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly and the awards recognise commitment to gender equality and diversity, excellent working practices, and an inclusive culture for staff and students at all levels.
