Equality in Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics

IOP Institute of Physics: Juno PractitionerOnly 23% of all Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) jobs in the UK are held by women (WISE 2017).

athena swan silverAt the School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics we encourage all our students to pursue careers in STEMM professions and support both the Juno project and the Athena SWAN Charter.

Meet some of our female role models

rainbow flag logoHow we create a supportive environment for people  in science

We are a welcoming department and are active in promoting a safe, diverse and inclusive environment for everyone.

PAM’s Equality Committee works to remove barriers for LGBT+, BME and women to create an equal workspace beneficial to all.

PAM has a zero-tolerance non-discrimination policy informed by the UH Equality and Diversity department and underpinned by University-wide Bullying and Harassment policy.

Project Juno and Athena SWAN

Science cannot reach its full potential unless it can benefit from the talents of the whole population, and until women and men can benefit equally from the opportunities it affords. Project Juno and Athena SWAN act as catalysts to achieve this cultural shift.

rainbow over bayfordburyIn the School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, the commitment to progressing women's careers in science and mathematics spans all levels, from undergraduate students to the Dean.

Our engagement with equality and diversity to date has been recognised by the following awards:

  • More about Project Juno and the Athena SWAN Charter

    The Juno project

    IOP Institute of Physics Juno PractitionerProject Juno was established by the Institute of Physics (IOP) in 2007 in order to recognise and reward departments that can demonstrate they are actively encouraging good practice and addressing the underrepresentation of women in university physics.

    The School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics was first awarded Juno Practitioner status by the Institute of Physics in January 2015, and was renewed for a further 3 years in January 2018.

    The panel judging the renewal application commended the following areas: the considerable development of the ‘Women in Science’ programme, achieving 50% female speakers for colloquium series, implementing cross-school activities to promote networking, the overhaul of appraisal structure to focus on staff development requirements and the positive E&D statements in job adverts.

    Commenting on this achievement, the Dean of School Professor Mark Thompson said: “I’d like to thank everyone who worked on this and everyone in PAM who has helped to keep equality and diversity at the top of our agenda. I would like to particularly single out Kristen Coppin for overseeing the effort and Sean Ryan who worked really hard on eloquently capturing all that PAM had achieved over the last 3 years. I’m looking forward to moving onwards to Juno Champion and Athena Swan submissions in the near future.”

    The school hosted a visit in March 2018 with the IOP’s Juno Diversity Panel who provided constructive suggestions for moving forward towards Juno Champion status in the near future.

    Athena SWAN

    athena SWAN silver logo

    The Athena SWAN Charter is an initiative run by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) recognising commitment and excellence to addressing the underrepresentation of women and in advancing gender equality in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) in Higher Education.

    The Charter covers women in academic roles, the progression of students into academia, and the working environment for all staff.

    PAM was successful in winning an upgrade to the Athena SWAN Silver award in April 2018, having previously achieved the Athena SWAN Bronze departmental Award in 2015.

    Read more about the Athena SWAN programme at the University of Hertfordshire.

  • The Equality Committee: Meet the team

    We have assembled an Equality Committee in the School of Physics Astronomy and Mathematics. The Committee is chaired by Kristen Coppin (k.coppin@herts.ac.uk).

    Members of the team cover a range of roles including:

    • the Dean of School.
    • teaching staff from new lecturers to professors.
    • technical and administrative staff.
    • undergraduate and graduate students.
    • researchers.

    They all bring a rich range of real-life experiences to the Committee, including:

    • caring or childcare responsibilities.
    • dual-career families.
    • recent recruitment or promotion.

    EC membership - updated January 2019

    Undergraduates: Ms. Anya Alfano, Ms. Lucy Buckwell (PAM SCO), Ms. Maddie Burchard (PAMSoc Chair)

    Postgraduates: Ms. Elena Gonzalez Egea, Mr. Vijay Mahatma

    Postdocs: Dr. Donna Rodgers-Lee, Dr. Ashley Spindler (*PAM LGBT+ Champion)

    Professional & Technical Staff: Mr. David Campbell, Ms. Thelma Egunjobi (HR manager), Dr. Sarah Goler-Solecki (UH Athena SWAN Officer), Ms. Naina Bloom, Dr. Samantha Rolfe

    Academic staff: Dr. Salah Beddiaf (*PAM BAME Champion), Dr. Kristen Coppin (EC Chair, *PAM Athena SWAN Champion), Dr. Reto Dorizzi (deputy Chair of the EC), Dr. James Geach, Prof. Martin Hardcastle (Director of CAR), Dr. Steve Kane (Associate Dean of QA), Dr. Alan McCall & Ms. Carrie Ricketts (*PAM Equality Champions), Prof. Sean Ryan, Dr. Jason Stevens (PAM Admissions Tutor), Prof. Mark Thompson (Dean of School)

    Office locations and email addresses for the individuals listed above can be requested in person at the PAM Reception Office in the Innovation Centre.

    The Champion roles indicated specific members of staff that you can go to with any confidential equality-related questions or concerns – but please feel free to approach any member of the EC.

  • What we do in the Equality Committee

    The PAM Equality Committee (EC) meets regularly and is currently ensuring that the action plans from our School's Athena SWAN Silver and Juno Practitioner awards are being implemented.

    Our purpose is to incorporate discussion around broader equality, diversity and inclusion issues at the school level aimed at driving change and generating new insights.

    The EC meets at least three times annually, and the EC chair sits on the School Executive Group and the Learning and Teaching Committee. The EC reports quarterly at School meetings, carries out regular surveys and focus groups of the school membership. Input into this process is always welcome.

    Please contact Kristen Coppin, the EC Chair, to find out more.

  • Women in PAM Network

    The Women in Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics (PAM) network was established in August 2014 and is currently coordinated by Ms. Elena Gonzalez Egea (postgraduate student).

    The network, which has no official structure, complements the PAM Equality Committee which is working towards JUNO Champion Status and Athena SWAN Gold recognition. The Network meets informally once a semester during lunch and maintains a dedicated email list for further discussions.

    The Women in PAM Network lunches give female staff and students within PAM the opportunity to network, discuss ideas for useful events and identify further support structures required.

  • PAM LGBT+ Network

    The undergraduate PAMSoc has set up an LGBT+ network for PAM staff and students, an initiative supported by the PAM Equality Committee.  PAMSoc recently organised and held an inaugural LGBT+ network meeting at the campus pub, and have set up a dedicated PAMsoc LGBT+ network facebook group for discussions and listings of external LGBT+ PAM events.

    PAM has several contact points (“Champions”) for anyone with any equality-related issues they wish to discuss, but we also have a specific LGBT+ Champion in the school (Dr. Ashley Spindler).

  • Case studies

    Read case studies of women in STEMM professions from across the University of Hertfordshire.

  • Initiatives and achievements
    • We have achieved the Juno Practitioner and Athena SWAN Silver awards through our endorsement of the Juno and Athena SWAN principles and demonstrating the impact from our data-informed action plans and renewing our commitment to taking action towards achieving the next award levels.
    • Our School provides support for PAM women (students and staff) to attend national and regional events, e.g. IOP and SEPNet Juno workshops, Women in physics conferences and events (including a SEPNet Diversity workshop in 2018, Achieving your ambitions workshop run by Averil MacDonald in 2014, sending a delegate to the International Conference on Women in Physics in Birmingham in 2017, and an IoP Professional Conduct in STEM workshop in 2018).
    • Our Open Days and outreach events include women from PAM to provide female role models.
    • New staff and postgraduate students undertake mandatory Equality and Diversity and unconscious bias training as part of their University induction.
    • We ensure that women undergraduates have other women students in their tutorial and laboratory groups, so they don't feel isolated.
    • Running an annual Women in PAM talk and networking session for new undergraduates during induction week.
    • In Spring 2017 we undertook interviews and focus groups with female undergraduate and PGR students to understand if there are any underlying equality issues to measure any success markers and to feed into further action items. We also held a staff survey to take stock of E&D in PAM, to help inform our action plan. We plan to repeat this every 2 years.
    • Celebrated International Women's Day in March 2017 by getting PAM staff and students together to share stories about being a female in a STEMM career - this was very popular and will become an annual event! In 2018 we invited the UH community to come and visit the planetarium dome, and view a short movie about female achievements in STEMM subjects.
    • We held an informative LGBT+ session at the 2018 Staff Development Day and are helping PAMSoc create an LBGT+ network for staff and students.
    • Created and update (with help of all staff) the staff and student handbooks/wikis - with the aim to contain local policies and procedures in a central place - so that information is transparent and accessible to all.
    • Written and promoted local policies on bullying and harassment, the arrangements for flexible working / family friendly policies, out-of-hours emails, and workload tapering post-career break policies.
    • Created and maintain the Women in PAM Network.
  • Useful links and resources

    Athena SWAN at the University of Hertfordshire

    Athena SWAN support for students and staff

    Equality and Diversity at the University of Hertfordshire

    LGBT+ Inclusivity in Physics and Astronomy: A Best Practices Guide
    'We present the second edition of a Best Practices Guide for academic departments and other institutions striving to create more inclusive environments for physicists and astronomers in the LGBT+ community. Our recommendations incorporate new research since the original, 2014 edition, and are designed for anyone who wishes to become aware of - and help mitigate - the extra burdens that face members of the LGBT+ community in the physical sciences.'

    Gazing at the future: The experiences of male and female physics and astronomy doctoral students in the UK
    The underrepresentation of women in physics and astronomy is an ongoing concern. This gender imbalance potentially holds back a significant cohort from using their talent and potential in physics. This report presents the findings of a survey of around 1000 male and female doctoral students in physics and astronomy and their differing experiences, and provides a number of key recommendations for departments, funders and professional societies.

    IOP Carers Fund
    IOP members who are carers can access up to £250 towards extra caring expenses.

    Professor Dame Athene Donald's blog
    Athene is a professor of physics at the University of Cambridge working on soft matter and biological physics. She has an active interest in issues around women in science.

    Project Juno at the IOP

    Resources for Women in Physics
    Plethora of grants/awards for carers, women returners, women in science and general collection of useful links and resources for women in physics - should not be missed!

    SCIENCEGRRL
    Resources for women in science, with an interesting report about women in STEM subjects

    SEPnet
    A consortium of physics departments in nine universities

    The Athena SWAN Charter for women in STEMM

    WISE
    Resources and events to help young girls and women on their career paths in STEMM.

    Women in STEMM Network at the University of Hertfordshire

Support from the Dean

I am really happy to support the efforts of our Equality Committee to create an inclusive community in the School where all can flourish, regardless of their gender, ethnicity or background. I am all too aware of the pressures that affect people in pursuing their career choices and as Dean of School I want to foster a culture that promotes equality and diversity amongst the staff and student body in PAM. Athena SWAN and the Institute of Physics’ Project Juno have been incredibly helpful in focusing our efforts toward this.”

Mark Thompson, Dean of the School of Physics Astronomy & Mathematics

Mark Thompson, Dean of the School of Physics Astronomy & Mathematics

Support from the former Dean

"As a husband endeavouring to support my wife in achieving her career aspirations alongside my own, and as a father and primary carer of two young children, I recognise some of the personal and cultural pressures which affect women in pursuing their career choices. When these pressures operate in an environment in which women are already underrepresented, as in physics and mathematics, both conscious and unconscious biases can act against their progression. The Juno and Athena Swan programmes allow us to focus our efforts to address these biases in a more concerted and effective way."

Sean Ryan, Professor of Astrophysics

Becoming a Juno Champion


News

See a list of Athena SWAN news from the University of Hertfordshire.