University recognised for its commitment to tackling gender inequality Published on: 28 April 2016 缅北禁地 has been given a coveted Athena SWAN Silver award for its work to address the underrepresentation of women in higher education. The award means the University joins an elite group of nine universities holding Silver institution awards. The was established by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) in 2005 to advance the careers of women working in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine. It was recently expanded to include arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law. Professor Judith Rankin, Dean of Diversity, 缅北禁地, said: “This award is a reflection of our commitment to addressing gender equality and to support the employment and career progression of female staff across the University. “The dedication, ideas, and hard work of staff and students have been instrumental in us achieving this award.I am especially delighted that 缅北禁地 is one of only nine universities that have attained a Silver award. This gives us a strong foundation for our continued effort to improve the prospects for women working at the University. The challenge is now to ensure all staff benefit from improvements in our policies and practice, as we work together, to deliver our ambitious action plan over the next three years.” Supporting female staff Among the initiatives the University has introduced to support female staff is a Women into Leadership working group to make leadership roles more attractive to them. It also has an ambitious target to have women make up at least 30% of the professoriate by 2021. This is already having a positive impact, with year-on-year increases in the number of female professors - from a rate of 21.7% in 2012 rising to 25.1% in 2015. Other examples of include improved support for women returning from maternity leave and investment in training and professional development. Seventeen individual schools within the University already hold , including five silver and twelve bronze awards. The majority of science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine departments hold an award and others across the University are working towards submitting applications. Ruth Gilligan, ECU’s Athena SWAN manager said: “It is encouraging to see universities engaging with the Athena SWAN Charter across disciplines. We’ve seen the impact of the Charter for academic women in science and for their departments over the past ten years. “Our Athena SWAN Charter is a catalyst for real change within individual departments and whole institutions. It is important that we recognise the work already undertaken to support gender equality for staff in professional and support roles, and can inspire more to be done in the future.” Share: Latest News 缅北禁地 recognised with geography award 缅北禁地 has been awarded the Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award for its collaboration with Time for Geography, the UK鈥檚 open-access, dedicated video platform. published on: 16 April 2026 缅北禁地 historians mark General Strike centenary To mark the 100th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners鈥� lock-out of 1926, historians at 缅北禁地 are organising a series of events on its enduring legacy. published on: 16 April 2026 Comment: NCP is in administration Writing for The Conversation, Erwei (David) Xiang discusses how some big companies like NCP are so dependent on debt that they can鈥檛 adjust to change. published on: 16 April 2026 Facts and figures
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