Ulster University Business School - Athena Swan

We are proud to have received the Bronze Athena SWAN award celebrating Ulster University Business School's commitment to gender equality.

The Athena SWAN Charter, run by Advance HE, is an internationally recognised gender equality framework which is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research.

This accolade recognises that, in addition to institution-wide policies, UUBS is working to promote gender equality and to identify and address challenges particular to the faculty - marking a significant milestone in its ongoing efforts to foster a diverse, inclusive and supportive environment.

The Athena SWAN application was led by a newly formed Self-Assessment Team, made up of a diverse group of staff and student representatives who each share a passion for advancing gender issues.

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

At an institutional level, Ulster University is committed to providing equality of opportunity for all staff and students.  Recognising this, Ulster University recently secured an Athena SWAN Silver Award. The latest accreditation means that 12 schools at Ulster University currently hold Athena Swan awards.

Promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion at Ulster University Business School

We are monitoring compliance with the Athena SWAN Bronze Award and will prepare for progress towards silver accreditation, reflecting our commitment to gender equality.

A staff forum will continually gather feedback on policies, work-life balance and interventions required to ensure an inclusive culture and confidence within the faculty’s operating model. A focus on engineering enhanced vertical and horizontal collaboration and communication, through social connections will be a priority within an overall people strategy.

Furthermore, we are continuously reviewing the Workload Allocation Model (WAM) to ensure transparency and equity, enabling better management of work-life balance for our staff.

Delivering our action plan

The Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team (SAT), who developed the action plan for our 2023 submission, will continue in the form of a School Athena SWAN committee to ensure the action plan is delivered upon, to continue to promote the expanded chartership and to demonstrate accountability in living out the plan set out in this application.

The committee and subsequent working groups for each action will meet six times annually and will integrate fully into the School, reporting and responding to matters through the School Board (three times annually), disseminating across the committee structures of the School and into the wider Faculty.

The Chair of the committee will, through their role as School Champion, integrate into the Faculty and University Champion structures to maximise a cohesive and synergistic approach across the Institution and the School.

The Ulster University Business School is committed to gender equality and the Athena SWAN expanded charter and the opportunities that it brings to further enhance our work culture together as a team.