School of Health & Wellbeing

Chair of our Athena Swan professional services working group and MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit research manager Iain Taylor reflects on the experience and benefits of becoming an Athena Swan panellist, with responsibility for reviewing applications from higher education institutions across the UK. 

I’m the Research Manager for the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit and in 2019 I became an Athena Swan reviewer and panellist for the Advance HE Equality Charters Unit.

I first became interested in Athena Swan when I moved from the charity sector to a research organisation in 2013. I was shocked to see decision-making committees dominated by men and to discover other inequalities in academia. Working in roles that involved costing funding applications, I became acutely aware of the gender pay gap, as well as biases and a culture that enabled inequalities to persist. Nine years on, I feel proud to be an Athena Swan reviewer and panellist for the Advance HE Equality Charters Unit working to drive progress on equality and diversity.

I applied to be an Athena Swan reviewer in 2019 by submitting a cover letter and CV in response to a formal call from Advance HE. I then took part in a mock interview panel before being selected. It has been a big commitment but it’s been great to learn about some of the excellent work that other universities and their departments are doing to advance gender equality.

The process for reviewing Athena Swan applications is very thorough – after signing a non-disclosure agreement, I am given 3–6 applications to review ahead of each panel and I have to submit independent assessments (including a recommended award) in advance of the panel meeting. Applications containing lots of data can be up to 350 pages long and we are told to allow 3–4 hours to review each one. At the panel meeting itself, each reviewer takes a lead on one or two applications to provide feedback and lead the discussion.

Although it is time consuming, I would recommend being a reviewer. As part of the panel process you get to meet other reviewers who share their expertise and you become aware of good practice across the sector. I find that this helps me reflect on IHW’s Athena Swan activity and where we could be make improvements. As someone who supports academic colleagues with funding applications in my job, I have also gained useful insights into how panel assessments work. And it has given me greater appreciation of the pressures on academic staff who review applications!

Iain Taylor
Research Manager (MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit) 
Chair, IHW Athena Swan professional services working group

If you are interested in becoming an Athena Swan panellist, there is more information about this role on the Advance HE website

---

First published: 2 October 2021