The University of Glasgow has been officially recognised by the Institute of Physics (IOP) for efforts made to reduce gender inequality among staff and students in the School of Physics and Astronomy.

The School has met the five principles set out in the Juno Code of Practice, a set of actions recommended by IOP to address the under-representation of women in physics higher education, and is now Scotland’s first Juno Champion. 

The Juno Code of Practice seeks to redress a long-sustained issue of under-representation of women at the very highest level of physics academia in the UK and Ireland. While approximately 20% of physics undergraduates and lecturers are female; the same can only be said of 5% of professors.

James McNish, Diversity Programme Leader at IOP, said, “To effectively tackle the barriers to the progression of female physicists in academia, a department must undergo fundamental cultural changes.

“For this, a department needs to examine all aspects of how it operates to identify how to make changes in policies and practices for the benefit of all staff and students.

“This is a challenging process, but our new Juno Champion has shown how much can be achieved – Glasgow’s approach to tackling the issues will act as a beacon of good practice for others in the physics community.”

Members of the School at all levels have co-operated in a review of practices and helped provide quantitative and qualitative information to work towards creating a level playing field for all staff and students.

Professor Andrew Long, Head of the School, said, "Obviously it is important to us to ensure that there is no discrimination, overt or hidden, against women in the School.  In considering this question in depth, we have taken the chance to examine critically all of our internal processes, identifying and tackling any weaknesses found, and this has been to the overall benefit of all members of the School, male and female. "

Dr Lyndsay Fletcher, the School’s Juno lead, “We are very happy to be the first institution in Scotland to become a Juno Champion, an achievement which reflects the enthusiasm shown for the aims of Juno by colleagues across the School." 

Dr Fletcher was presented with the Juno Champion certificate at the IOP Awards Ceremony on Thursday 6 October. The award reflects the enthusiasm shown for the aims of Juno by colleagues across the School, and the hard work of the Juno Committee, which consists of Dr. Marina Battaglia, Dr. Morag Casey, Dr. Lyndsay Fletcher, Ms. Erin Macdonald and Dr Ian MacLaren.

Glasgow’s accreditation takes the total number of UK physics departments accredited with Juno Champion status up to six.  The School joins departments in the Universities of Cambridge, Imperial, Royal Holloway, Warwick and York.

 

---

First published: 13 October 2011