Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (SAT), and its Equality & Diversity and Better Workplace Working Groups

Athena Swan SAT

We take diversity seriously. We understand the intersectional disadvantage and while our focus is on gender equality we are committed to improving representation from minoritised and currently underrepresented groups
- Statement from the Athena Swan SAT Members

The NDPCHS Athena Swan SAT work as a group to drive forward the development and improvement of practical steps towards the advancement of equality.  They will be 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. It will meet at least 4 times per year and will report to the Department Senior Management Committee via the Athena Swan Lead. All members of the SAT are expected to contribute in some way to the team and are encouraged to attend events organised by the team.

Membership and Terms of Reference for the SAT are provided below.

NDPCHS SAT MEMBERSHIP

James Sheppard  Chair of Athena Swan SAT and Data Monitoring Group	Vacant Athena Swan Deputy	Catherine Pope Associate Head for People, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion	Richard Hobbs Head of Department
Nicola Small Head of Administration	Clare Wickings Head of HR	Nicola Webb HR Partner	Jo Gearing Head of Communications
Kamal Mahtani chair Personal Development working group	Stavros Petrou chair Workload Allocation working group	Charlotte Albury a  representative of the E&MCR	Claire Friedemann Smith a representative of the E&MCR
Lucy Goddard a DPhil representative	Michelle Yeung a DPhil representative	Johanna Cook a  representative of the Clinical Trials Unit	Kathryn Ungerer  Engagement and Projects Manager and SAT Secretary

Among the representation will be a balance of clinical and research specialist (non-clinical) researchers; professional and support staff; early and mid-career researchers; senior academic colleagues; and an appropriate gender balance. It is the responsibility of the Athena Swan lead and Deputy Leads to ensure that this balance is appropriate in the context of the Department’s overall staffing.

The Medical Sciences Division Athena Swan Advisor will also be invited to attend SAT meetings.

The SAT will connect and engage with the Department’s research groups via a nominated contact person in each group.

Agenda Item: if you wish to raise an agenda item please contact the appropriate rep listed above (CTU, DPhil, E&MCR or P&SS member) or get in touch with the committee secretary.

Observe: Observers are welcome at SAT meetings, please get in touch with the committee secretary to arrange this.

Recruitment: Most SAT members sit on the committee for the duration of an Athena Swan award (five years). The representatives may rotate more frequently. When a position is vacant a call will be put out to all eligible department members and advertised in the weekly newsletter. 

‘Core’ working groups

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

• Personal Development (led by Kamal Mahtani)
• Workload allocation (led by Stavros Petrou)
• Data monitoring (led by James Sheppard)
• Early and Mid-Career Researchers (championed by Catherine Pope)
• Communications and Engagement, which will be a cross-cutting group, supporting each of the working groups listed above. (Jo Gearing and Kathryn Ungerer)

‘Core’ groups will:

• Be supported by the Departmental Engagement and Projects Manager.
• Meet termly.
• Ensure effective monitoring and measurement against agreed actions.
• Report progress, successes and challenges to each meeting of the SAT.

Where a ‘core’ group is not already in existence, it is the role of the lead, supported by the Engagement and Projects Manager, to consider how best to consult and engage colleagues.

Equality & Diversity and Better Workplace Working Groups

The Department will have other working groups whose work supports the broad aims of a ‘better workplace’ but may not be strictly limited to the remit of the Athena Swan Charter. The Department takes a ‘bottom up’ approach to these groups, allowing and encouraging colleagues to identify areas of need and create and run working groups to tackle those areas as needed.

The working groups will:

• Meet on a cycle determined by their membership.
• Report membership and achievements via the Department newsletter.
• Report annually to the SAT on progress, successes and challenges.
• Liaise informally with the Head of Administration, the Athena Swan Lead and Deputy Leads and the Engagement and Projects Manager as appropriate, for advice on how best to share those successes or overcome any challenges faced.

NDPCHS SAT Terms of reference 

ToR updated October 2019

The SAT will be responsible for:

• Upholding equality and diversity standards throughout the Department
• Student and staff training and development
• Departmental processes and procedures relating to equality and diversity
• Coordinating data collection and analysis
• Overseeing  and ensuring appropriate staff survey analysis and distribution
• Implementation and monitoring of the Athena Swan action plan, as well as measuring progress of the actions within it
• Overseeing, guiding and preparing for submission of the Department’s Athena Swan award applications
• Identifying and recommending suitable revisions to the existing action plan, and priorities, actions and objectives to be included in the next iteration of the action plan for the Department’s 2020 award application.