HEIs recognised at Athena SWAN award ceremony

The Athena SWAN Charter Awards celebratory lunch is to be held today (16 September 2010) at The Royal Society in London.

Representatives from over thirty award-winning higher education institutions and individual departments have gathered to receive their awards and to celebrate the higher education sector's achievements in recruiting and retaining women in science, engineering and technology subjects.

Professor Dame Julia Higgins DBE FRS FREng, Emeritus Professor of polymer science in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, will present the awards and make the keynote speech. Winners will also hear from Professor Paul H Walton, head of the Department of Chemistry at the University of York - holders of the only Gold Athena SWAN award achieved so far.

The Athena SWAN Charter is funded and supported by Equality Challenge Unit and UKRC.

David Ruebain, Chief Executive of ECU, congratulated the winners:

'I am delighted that so many higher education institutions and SET departments have achieved Athena SWAN Awards this year. It is not easy to meet the criteria, so these awards are a testament to the hard work and commitment of the sector to promoting the career progression of female academics and researchers.

The methodology of Athena SWAN has proven to be transformative and I congratulate the winners for leading the way in encouraging women into science at a time when only 5.3% of working women are working in science, engineering and technology. Not only does this work enrich the careers of individuals, it helps institutions to harness the talents of a diverse workforce.'

All the winners and details of the Athena SWAN Charter can be found on the Athena SWAN website.