Exeter’s Business School secures Athena SWAN Silver award for advancing gender equality

The University of Exeter Business School has been recognised for its commitment to advancing gender equality with an Athena SWAN Silver Award.

It is among a select number of business schools in the UK to achieve a Silver Award, which reflects its success in achieving high standards of gender equality among its staff and students.   

The University of Exeter Business School previously held an Athena SWAN Bronze Award, which was conferred in 2021. 

Run by Advance HE, the Athena SWAN Charter is a framework used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research. 

It was established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM), but is now used to address gender equality more broadly, and in 2015 was expanded to include arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law departments, as well as professional and support roles. 

Key activities that helped secure the award include targeted interventions to encourage and enable staff to secure promotion; and the Business School’s role as the first UK WEN (Women in Economics) Champion.

Professor Steve Wood, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the University of Exeter Business School, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that the University of Exeter Business School has secured an Athena SWAN Silver Award, which is testament to the hard work of everyone at the Business School and recognises our commitment to ensuring our community is fair and inclusive.”  

Professor Emma Jeanes, who led the Athena Swan submission, added: “We’re incredibly proud of this award, which reflects the culture we’ve worked hard to build over many years. We’ve introduced a range of measures to promote gender equality and support our staff, and we’re committed to making these values part of everything we do.”

See our EDI pages to find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at the University of Exeter.