Athena Swan SAT and Better Workplace Groups

Athena SWAN self-assessment team

Our department's Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team works to drive forward the development and improvement of practical steps towards the advancement of equality. They are responsible for substantial self-analysis, and will strive to ensure that the principles of Athena Swan are embedded throughout the culture of the Department.

The SAT works together with the Department’s Better Workplace Groups to enhance working life for all staff and students and to encourage engagement and inclusion

To date, the Group has achieved one Athena Swan Bronze, two consecutive Athena Swan Silver Awards and one Athena Swan Gold Award. 

The SAT will be responsible for:

• Overseeing, guiding and preparing for submission of the Department’s Athena Swan award applications
• Implementation and monitoring of the Athena Swan action plan, as well as measuring progress of the actions within it
• Overseeing and ensuring appropriate staff and student consultation. Including distribution and analysis of pulse surveys, staff and student biennial surveys
• Take practical steps through consultation, recommendations and actions to further equality, and diversity in the department and promote an inclusive working culture
• Coordinating data collection and analysis
• Share good practice from our Gold award with the rest of the University and other departments nationally 

The Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team is chaired by James Sheppard.

Read more about the University of Oxford's participation in Athena Swan.

View our Gold Application (awarded March 2023).

View the Athena SWAN SAT full terms of reference

Core’ working groups

To support its work, the SAT will work through a small number of ‘core’ groups. These are:

• Bullying and Harassment (Kathryn Ungerer)
• Data monitoring (led by James Sheppard)
• DPhil Group (reps Michelle Yeung and Ruya Abdulsalam)
• Early and Mid-Career Researchers (reps Charlotte Albury and Claire Friedemann Smith)
• Personal Development (led by Kamal Mahtani)

Better Workplace and Equality and Diversity Groups

The Better Workplace and Equality and Diversity working groups support the broad aims of a 'better workplace' but are not strictly limited to the limit of the Athena Swan Charter. We allow and encourage colleagues to identify areas of need and create and run working groups to tackle these areas. 

If you wish to join a group, contact the group lead.

Would you like to start a new group? Contact Kathryn Ungerer