JIVE - Creating Change for Women & Girls in Science, Engineering, Construction and Technology

LMU - Athena SWAN Charter - Key Achievements

The Athena SWAN Charter, launched in June 2005 with ten founder members, has recently celebrated its first anniversary by more than doubling its membership, now at 23, and holding the first round of the SWAN Awards. The Awards are a recognition scheme for universities who have signed up to the Charter and demonstrated that they are making practical change to achieve the Charter’s aims.

Award winners were announced on March 8, International Women’s Day, at the 2nd Annual Conference of the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET, which examined the issues of gender and leadership in SET.

In the inaugural round of the SWAN Charter Awards, Imperial College, London and the Chemistry Department at the University of Edinburgh achieved silver status. Nine universities achieved bronze.

Lord Rees of Ludlow, President of the Royal Society, presented the ten groundbreaking universities with their awards at the annual Royal Society Athena Lecture in March.

On the importance of the Athena Swan Charter, Sir Peter Williams, Chair of the first Charter Assessment panel said “In the competitive world of the 21st century, the UK, with its science and technology based economy cannot afford to continue to trash 50% of its intellectual capacity”