School of Humanities | Sgoil nan Daonnachdan

The School of Humanities / Sgoil nan Daonnachdan is one of the University of Glasgow’s first Athena SWAN Bronze Awards for non-STEM subjects under the new expanded scheme.

It was announced on Friday 6 October 2017 that the University has received four Athena SWAN award in recognition of its ongoing commitment to gender equality for all staff and students.

The University now has 18 Athena SWAN awards in total – one Institutional Bronze and 17, four Silver and 13 Bronze, at school or research institute level.

Professor Roibeard O Maolalaigh, Vice-Principal and Head of College of Arts, said: “Achieving an Athena SWAN award is not an easy task requiring dedication, commitment and a great deal of hard work. I would like to thank everyone involved in helping the School of Humanities / Sgoil nan Daonnachdan achieve this new Bronze award.

“We are at the start of our journey and I hope it will motivate everyone to continue our journey to embed inclusivity into our daily working lives.”

Professor Lynn Abrams, Head of the School of Humanities / Sgoil nan Daonnachdan and Chair in Modern History, said: “We are already working to establish better practices which helps us to improve the recruitment, retention and promotion of women in the School.

“We will be looking for volunteers from students and all staff levels to help us to take this forward and I would urge everyone to help us to embed this into the School.”

Professor Michael Brady, Professor of Philosophy in the School of Humanities led a team made up of staff and students across the School to prepare the submission for the Athena SWAN awards.

Professor Brady said: “This is a wonderful achievement for the whole of the School. It was a very complex submission covering six different subject areas and a major survey of the whole School community.

“This was then distilled into a 108 page submission to the Athena SWAN awards and a 22 page action plan. This action plan will guide our work over the next four years.”

The University of Glasgow has also been invited to host the Athena SWAN awards winter ceremony on the 4 December 2017 for all those receiving awards in UK Higher Education Institutes for this round.

Professor Anne Anderson, Vice-Principal, Head of the College of Social Sciences and Gender Champion of the University, said: “I would like to congratulate all those involved who helped to achieve these awards - it is great news for the entire University.”

Dr David Duncan, Chief Operating Officer and University of Glasgow Secretary of Court, said: “"We are delighted to see the huge amount of work that goes into advancing gender equality at the University recognised through the recent Athena SWAN awards. While we continue to make progress, we recognise there is more to do as part of our overall approach to promoting equality and fairness for all."

It takes more than a year of preparation for a school or research institute to submit an award, so four awards in one round is a great achievement for the University’s staff and students.
There are three levels of Athena SWAN awards: Bronze (planning), Silver (doing), Gold (sustaining).

The University of Glasgow was first awarded an institutional Athena SWAN Bronze Award in April 2013.

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More information is available here: 
https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/

First published: 4 October 2017