Gender equality in academia

Equilibrium steering group member, Alice Moncaster, has alerted us to the fact that within academia, the UK research councils have also identified gender inequality as a key issue.

At Cambridge University, where Alice works, positive steps taken by the Department of Engineering to promote a culture in which all staff and students feel valued, respected and supported, have been acknowledged by the Athena SWAN scheme.

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. Established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment, the Charter is now being used across the globe to address gender equality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression that affect women.

This is important not just for women working in academia but for the ‘pipeline’ into the construction industry – the current attrition rate of students who take construction-related degrees but decide it isn’t for them and go to work in a different field, is currently far higher for women than for men. We really hope that the work that Cambridge University is doing with Athena Swan will encourage more women to stay in the technical fields they have chosen.