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We are a Bronze Accredited School

The School of Archaeological & Forensic Sciences are delighted to announce that we have recieved the Athena SWAN Bronze accreditation, recognising our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

The Athena SWAN self assessment team members were:

Ms Kath Bridger; Dr Jo Buckberry; Dr Lindsay Buster*; Micheal Butler; Dr Karina Croucher; Dr Shirley Curtis-Summers; Dr Adrian Evans; Dr Edward Faber*; Dr Chris Gaffney; Prof Vince Gaffney; Ms Sarah George; Dr Alex Gibson*; Dr William Hale; and Dr James Walker. (* previous member)

What is Athena SWAN?

The Athena SWAN charter was established by the Equality Challenge Unit in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to the advancement of gender equality. Originally, the charter was launched to advance the careers of women in STEM in higher education and research. In May 2015, the charter was expanded to recognise work undertaken in arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law. The ten key principles which underpin the Charter can be found on the National Athena SWAN website.

Our Athena SWAN Commitment

We are committed to demonstrate a culture change within our School, improving the gender balance at all stages and levels of involvement with our School from initial undergraduate application to senior staff appointments. We continue our work in this area embedding the ambitious activities outlined in the Athena SWAN action plan. We will begin to expand our thinking beyond gender balance considering other issues such as ethnicity, a sector wide issue in STEMM, also identified in our data.

Examples of initiatives that have been undertaken as part of the School’s Athena SWAN agenda are listed on the right:

  • Athena SWAN activities are a standing item at School executive staff meetings and also on Student/Staff Liaison Committee agenda

  • Greater gender balance of speakers at our regular seminar series, and we invite inspiring women to give talks in Athena SWAN run seminars as part of this

  • A new staff handbook to act as a source of information which highlights equality, diversity and inclusion aspects

  • Formal Personal Development Reviews  held annually for all post-doctoral researchers

  • A mentoring scheme for staff on maternity or adoption leave

  • The development of a School Athena SWAN website.

Athena SWAN feedback

Results letter from the Athena Swan Committee

If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact our team. You can also read our Website Accessibility Statement.

School Equality and Diversity Committee

Actions already achieved in the School include establishment of the Equality and Diversity Committee (SEDC) which meets monthly and works hard to implement the objectives of the action plan and leads on all Athena SWAN related issues within the School.

The SEDC is chaired by Sarah George. It feeds directly into the School’s executive committee, the recently launched Faculty Equality and Diversity forum, and the Institutional Self-Assessment Team.

How can I get involved?

If you are interested in speaking to our SEDC lead about what you can do to help and how you can get involved, please contact s.george@bradford.ac.uk.

All staff or students within the school who have any concerns or questions about the School's provisions are encouraged to get in touch.

For matters outside the School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, we encourage you to visit the Equality and Diversity Unit website