Anglia Ruskin University has received an Athena Swan Silver Award for the progress and impact across the institution to promote gender equality in education and research.
The Athena Swan Charter was established in 2005 by Advance HE and is used worldwide as a tool to enable organisations to advance gender equality, address barriers, and create a more inclusive university culture and experience for staff and students of all genders.
The Silver Award, for ARU as a whole, follows similar recognition for the Faculty of Science and Engineering in February.
ARU is one of 33 UK universities to achieve Silver status, having first achieved a Bronze Award in 2014 and renewing that in 2018. Part of the submission for the Silver Award includes creating a five-year university-wide action plan which focuses on key priorities that were identified using data obtained following various staff and student consultations.
Achievements that helped ARU secure the Silver Award were enhanced policies for maternity and adoption; its framework to support career development among academics; increasing the percentage of female professors; gender-balanced submissions to the Research Excellence Framework; and student support.
Professor Roderick Watkins, Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “This Silver Award demonstrates our sustained progress in advancing gender equality within Higher Education and research.
“The progress we have made reflects our shared commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the hard work of colleagues right across ARU.
“We will now focus on achieving our new Athena Swan Silver Action Plan taking us up to 2029, where our priorities include furthering our student and staff development.”
