LSBU has this month (April 2020) been awarded the Athena SWAN Bronze Charter by professional membership body, Advance HE, for achieving a strong foundation in addressing gender bias and developing an inclusive culture that values all staff within the University.

The Athena SWAN Bronze Charter award sits within LSBU’s developing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (PDF File 257 KB) (EDI) strategy, which seeks to ensure that diversity and inclusion are at the heart of all LSBU initiatives and activities, empowering all staff and students to thrive in a university environment.

The Athena SWAN Bronze Charter is typically awarded to an institution that has successfully achieved significant progress in:

• gender equality and representation in the workforce;
• a four-year plan that builds on this assessment, including information on activities that are already in place and what has been learned from these;
• an organisational structure, including a self-assessment team, to carry forward proposed actions.

Professor Pat Bailey, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of LSBU, said:

“This achievement recognises the importance LSBU places on embracing the principles of equality and diversity as fundamental to the University’s growth.

“I would like to thank all the staff who invested so much effort and hard work into ensuring the University achieved the Athena SWAN Charter award.  We can now look forward to building on these excellent foundations in future, ensuring equality and fairness for all.”

Advance HE’s Athena SWAN Charter was originally established in 2005, in response to the under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) careers.

The Charter was later expanded (May 2015) to recognise work undertaken in the arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law (AHSSBL), including in professional and support roles, and for trans staff and students.

Athena SWAN initiatives are framed around removing barriers to progressing careers in higher education and research institutions. Although the Athena Swan Charter is generally awarded for progress in achieving gender parity in an institution, it is not exclusively applicable to women.

Athena SWAN awards are subject to an in-depth self-assessment, reviewed by a panel of higher education professionals drawn from across the UK.