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Athena SWAN

Scientist in lab coat and goggles, stood in front of a brain scan

At Anglia Ruskin University we are committed to gender equality, and have been awarded the Institutional Athena SWAN Silver Award.

We have ambitions to achieve awards in all of our faculties over the next few years, and to further build on the success of our Institutional Silver Award.

The Athena SWAN Charter

Recognising advancement of gender equality: representation, progression and success for all.

The Athena SWAN Charter was established by the ECU (Equality Challenge Unit) in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment in higher education and research.

In May 2015 the charter was expanded to recognise work undertaken in arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law (AHSSBL), and in professional and support roles, and for trans staff and students. The charter now recognises work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression that affect women.

What are we doing?

We became members of Athena SWAN in December 2012 and were first awarded our Institutional Athena SWAN Bronze Award in April 2015. We were delighted to have this re-conferred in November 2018. We received the Silver Award in 2024.

As a part of our commitment to the principles laid out by the Athena SWAN Charter we are exploring avenues to enhance our culture and to develop our policies and practices to further promote gender equality throughout our University. We are doing this in a number of ways, through our:

  • appointment and selection processes
  • promotions processes
  • career development programmes and initiatives
  • workplace flexibility
  • career breaks
  • return to work support
  • staff support networks.

Athena SWAN not only covers gender equality for staff, but also for students. At ARU this is very important to us and we are dedicated to breaking down any existing barriers for our students, particularly in areas of underrepresentation of women in STEMM areas, as well as subsequent career progression of women into an academic career in these areas.

Read about the experiences, work and careers of some of our women staff and students in STEMM.


Our University Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team

The University Athena Swan Committee comprises representatives from our four faculties and at an institutional-level from our student, staff and academic services teams. The committee is responsible for the oversight of all Athena SWAN related activity and for ensuring that gender equality remains at the top of our University’s agenda.


Contact us

If you would like further information about Athena SWAN at Anglia Ruskin University, please contact our Athena SWAN Coordinator, Anika Bloomfield ([email protected]).

We are always keen to improve on practices and processes, so if you have any comments or ideas we are keen to hear from you.

Institutional Silver Award

Please contact us for a copy of our institutional Silver submission.