Athena Swan
To actively support gender equality RDM engages with the Athena Swan initiative. The Athena Swan principles support RDM with our aim to enable all staff and students achieve their full potential.
WHAT IS ATHENA SWAN?
Athena Swan is a UK-wide initiative set up in 2005 to promote gender equality and advance the representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM). It evolved from the work of the Athena Project and the Scientific Women’s Academic Network (SWAN), which resulted in the development of the Athena Swan Charter, supported by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU).
In 2015, the charter was expanded to recognise work undertaken in arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law, and in professional and support roles, and for trans staff and students. The charter now recognises work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression that affect women.
In 2021, Athena Swan, which is now run by Advance HE underwent a further transformation to ensure that the charter is inclusive and accessible, with a greater focus on intersectional characteristics.
ATHENA SWAN IN RDM
RDM was awarded a Silver Athena Swan award in April 2016 and again in 2019.
These Silver awards are in recognition that we are working on a number of fronts to improve recruitment, induction, career development, support for carers, and creating a supportive, friendly and open workplace culture. Our focus is to make RDM an exceptional place to work and study.
RDM commits to the principles of the Athena Swan charter.
RDM ATHENA SWAN APPLICATIONS and action plans
The SAT co-ordinated the 2015 successful application for an Athena Swan Silver Award and in April 2019 submitted their second successful silver application. As part of the 2021, Advance HE transformation of Athena Swan, the action plans now run over a five year period.
The updated version of RDM action plan, along with working group updates from the last two years (2019-2021) is available here.
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Martin Phelps
RDM Silver Application
We are working on delivering the 2019 Silver Action Plan, this requires input from a large number of RDM colleagues, including the Head of Department, EDI Facilitator, and RDM EDI Committee.
The RDM AS applications and the updated 2021 action plan are available above, and you can read the 2019 application and action plan by clicking on the button below.
How can I get involved?
Your opinions, ideas and feedback are invaluable, and you can also let us know how we are doing through the staff and student surveys (all survey results and reports are available here).
We encourage you to contact us, if it's just an idea, to observe an EDI Committee meeting, or to join a working group. Whatever your reason, please contact one of the RDM EDI Committee via RDM EDI Committee pages, or email charlotte.smith@rdm.ox.ac.uk.
Athena Swan across Oxford
Find out more about resources across the University including access to the annual equality report. You can also subscribe to the University EDI Hub Newsletter and join the EDI Hub Team
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Colin Beesley, Head of Media Services, DPAG
Diversity Interventions
Diversity Interventions is an ongoing project to unite Athena Swan professionals, researchers, and advocates from across the world to share best practice, discuss emerging innovations, and exchange personal experiences in designing, implementing, and evaluating interventions and action plans.