We are pleased to share recent Athena Swan successes at our University, marking important milestones in our collective commitment to Gender Equity and Representation.

The Athena Swan Charter is a framework which is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research.

The Southampton Law School has successfully attained a School-level Bronze Award, reflecting sustained work to address gender representation, promotion and workload allocation. This achievement means that all Schools across the University now hold an Athena Swan award.

Southampton Law School, Highfield Campus

The process for being assessed for an Athena Swan award involves setting up an Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team. This team is responsible for the collection of data, consultation with the School, and the preparation of the School’s application for the award, which includes a five-year action plan. Overall, the process is concerned with assessing the current state of gender equity (and EDI more generally) in the School and developing a plan to improve the same.

In the School of Law, the assessment team was run by Rebecca Limb, Lecturer in Law (pictured on left below) and Evan Rosevear, Lecturer-Public Law (pictured below right).

Werner Scholtz, Head of School, Southampton Law School says:

“We are proud of our Bronze Award, which signifies our continuous commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. This achievement recognises our pursuit of gender equality at the School”.

iSolutions

We are also delighted to celebrate iSolutions, which has achieved a Bronze Award as a Professional, Technical and Operational (PTO) unit.

This is a significant first for the University: iSolutions is our first PTO award holder and the first IT department in the UK to receive an Athena Swan award. This recognition highlights the growing reach and relevance of the charter beyond academic departments.

Richard Cross, Associate Director IT Infrastructure says:

“We’re proud to be recognised for our inclusive efforts and commitment to gender equality, as one of only a handful of Professional Services in the sector to achieve. Huge thanks to the team for making this happen!”.

A heartfelt thank you and congratulations to everyone involved in developing these applications and delivering on the action plans, not only within Law and iSolutions, but to colleagues across the University who have contributed to Athena Swan work over many years.

Looking ahead, we will shortly be launching an institution-wide Athena Swan pulse survey to gather insights that will inform our next stage of development towards Gold. Further details will be shared in due course.

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