LSE is a specialist social sciences university, with a global community in the heart of London and commitment to shaping the world. Advance HE’s Athena SWAN award is a national charter mark that recognises the advancement of gender equality in higher education, aiming to improve representation, progression, and success for all.
The Athena SWAN Charter was established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment by higher education institutions in the United Kingdom to advance the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM). The Charter was relaunched in 2015 to address gender equality issues more broadly in all subjects so now includes AHBSSL subjects (arts, humanities, social sciences, business, law).
Members (universities) who sign up to the charter are expected to apply for an Athena SWAN award. There are three levels of Athena SWAN awards; Bronze (planning), Silver (doing), Gold (sustaining). LSE received an institutional Bronze award from the Athena SWAN Charter in April 2020, in recognition of our commitment to the advancement of gender equality: representation, progression and success for all.
In 2020, our Department of Statistics was awarded the Athena Swan Bronze Award, and in 2021 our Department of Mathematics was awarded the Athena Swan Silver Award. The Athena SWAN framework helps us achieve our aims outlined in our LSE 2030 strategy by identifying a programme of work that leads to positive structural and cultural changes to advance gender equality.
The LSE Athena SWAN submission has the following four main aims, which are underpinned by the action plan.
- Aim 1: Ensure women are being promoted at the same speed as men within the same discipline
- Aim 2: Increase the overall proportion of women in the academic roles
- Aim 3: Address issues of bullying and harassment and ensure that incidents that do occur are reported and well-handled
- Aim 4: Support and encourage LSE departments to apply for their own Athena SWAN awards
The implementation of the Athena SWAN action plan is led by the Gender Equality Steering Group (GESG) established in October 2019. Members of the GESG own and are responsible for actions to embed them in their respective departments and divisions. The Gender Equality Steering Group is led by the School Secretary.
LSE is committed to long-term improvements, which is why we have the following specific Key Performance Indicators for gender equity in the LSE 2030 strategy to:
- Improve the proportions of female faculty professors to 30%, associate professors to 45% and assistant professors to 50% by 2024
- Increase the proportion of female professional services staff at bands 8-10 (the most senior levels) to 50% by 2024
- Consider how our gender and ethnicity targets intersect as part of our Race Equality Charter self-assessment.
The European Commission is committed to promoting gender equality in research and innovation and the Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025, which sets out the Commission’s broader commitment to equality across all EU policies. The Commission has implemented a new eligibility criterion as part of the Horizon Europe application process that requires institutions including higher education and research organisations to formalise their commitments towards gender equality in order to receive research funding.
With Horizon Europe, the Commission reaffirms its commitment to gender equality in research and innovation. The Factsheet on Gender Equality: a strengthened commitment in Horizon Europe summarises the key new provisions and requirements, with a particular focus on the new Gender Equality Plan (GEP) eligibility criterion. For calls with deadlines in 2022 and onwards, having a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) will be an eligibility criterion for all public bodies, higher education institutions and research organisations from EU Member States and Associated Countries wishing to participate in Horizon Europe.
LSE’s commitment to gender equality is evidenced through its institutional Athena SWAN Bronze Award and Athena SWAN action plan. Our Athena SWAN action plan was signed by the School’s senior management committee (SMC) which includes the Director of LSE, Minouche Shafik. This demonstrates that LSE has a solid foundation and strong evidence- based plan in place to eliminate gender bias and develop an inclusive culture. These plans include objectives to increase the recruitment of women and promoting the career development of female staff. View the Athena SWAN Action Plan here.
LSE has a dedicated team to lead and support the design, implementation, and monitoring of GEP. At full capacity the EDI Team has eight members including a Head of EDI, two EDI Managers one of whom specifically works on Gender Equity at LSE, one EDI Graduate Intern, two EDI Engagement Officers, an EDI Data Analyst and an Anti-harassment Support Advisor with an expertise on sexual harassment and sexual abuse.
LSE collects, analyses and monitors EDI data regularly. The latest equality and diversity data regarding staff and students can be found on the LSE’s Equality Data webpage.
Other examples of regular data monitoring and analysis in the School include the annual Gender Pay Gap Report and LSE’s Staff Surveys. Additionally, LSE carried out extensive data analysis and action planning as part of its Athena SWAN application in 2019 and conducted an Independent Bullying and Harassment Report in 2020.
The School’s institutional Athena SWAN Bronze application and action plan identified and recommended specific areas of training including:
- Unconscious bias training
- Mandatory anti-bullying, and anti-harassment training for SMC, Heads of Departments, Departmental Managers and Professional Services division leaders (e.g. where do you draw the line training)
- EDI training as part of Head of Department induction
- Equality and Diversity online module to ensure promoting equitable treatment, championing diversity and developing inclusive LSE which can be accessed at online training and resources page
- Equality Impact Assessment of policy training for decision-makers, a framework to advance gender equality and eliminate gender bias.
In addition to Horizon Europe’s mandatory requirements of dedicated resources and training as part of GEPs, they recommend reviewing the following 5 thematic areas to progress gender equity:
- Work-life balance and organisational culture
- Gender balance in leadership and decision-making
- Gender equality in recruitment and career progression
- Integration of the gender dimension into research and teaching content
- Measures against gender-based violence including sexual harassment.
LSE’s institutional Athena SWAN action plan covers the five thematic areas of the Commission’s GEP. LSE’s institutional-level action plan themes focuses on work-life balance, inclusive culture, women’s recruitment and progression and bullying and harassment.
LSE also encourages departments to apply for departmental Athena SWAN awards and prepare their action plans which need to integrate with the institutional action plan. We recognise that we need to expand on the integration of the gender dimension into our research and teaching content and are working with the Director of Research and Pro- Director of Education to develop actions which will be embedded into our Athena SWAN action.
LSE’s Athena SWAN journey has been an opportunity to apply our research and analytical skills to focus specifically on gender equity. Our founding aim is to understand the causes of things for the betterment of society, which must also include understanding, and more importantly, acting, on the causes of inequalities within LSE.
Over the years, we have progressed in our commitment to advancing gender equity. Whilst many challenges remain, we are fundamentally committed to reducing gender imbalances across our community by identifying the patterns which prevent women from fully leveraging their talents and contributions, and using that knowledge to make systemic changes.
As demonstrated through the GEP page, corresponding documentation, and our activities - LSE remains committed to gender equality for all and will continue in providing dedicated resources to meet this goal.