The prestigious Gold Athena Swan award was granted to the Faculty of Medicine in December 2023 to acknowledge its successful commitment to creating an inclusive culture. The awarding panel commended the Faculty’s efforts which it described as ‘transformative’. The award was the culmination of over twelve years' work embedding equality into the Faculty's culture, processes and practice.
The Faculty is one of only seven in the UK to hold an award at this level, which is valid until 2028.
Winning an Athena Swan Gold Award in Medicine at Queen Mary for advancing gender equity reflects our collective commitment to making our Faculty a fairer, more inclusive place that celebrates diversity. I am so grateful to our EDI leadership team that has worked tirelessly to make this happen. Our Athena Swan future action plan has been described as ‘ambitious’ and I will ensure that we deliver on it. We will continue to strive to be the most inclusive university of its kind anywhere.— Professor Sir Mark Caulfield Vice Principal (Health)
The Athena Swan Charter was established in 2005 to encourage and recognise the commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM), but this has now been expanded to look at gender and wider equality across all departments, including Professional and Technical Services.
In addition to the Gold award now held by Medicine, the Insitute of Dentistry holds a Silver award, and the University, as an institution, holds an Athena Swan Silver award.
Examples of some of our transformative work are provided below: