Warwick Business School's Athena Swan Gold Submission.
Athena Swan Gold Application
Athena Swan Gold application form for departments
Applicant information
Name of institution
The University of Warwick
Name of department
Warwick Business School
Date of current application
29 September 2023
Level of previous award
Silver
Date of previous award
November 2017
Contact name
Nick Llewellyn and Jo Davis
Contact email
Joanne.Davis@wbs.ac.uk
Contact telephone
02476 528239
Section
Words used
An overview of the department and its approach to gender equality
2,464
An evaluation of the department’s progress and success
2,370
An evaluation of the department’s sector - leading activity
1,382
An assessment of the department’s gender equality context
4,156
Future action plan*
Appendix 1: Consultation data*
Appendix 2: Data tables*
Appendix 3: Glossary*
Appendix 4: 2017 Silver Action Plan
Overall word count
10,372
*These sections and appendices should not contain any commentary contributing to the overall word limit
Overall word limit: 10,000 words + 500 words Covid
Table of Contents
Applicant information ...................................................................................................... 1 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. 2 1. Overview of the department and its approach to gender equality ................................. 3 1.1 Letter of endorsement from the head of the department ..................................................... 3 1.2 Description of the department ............................................................................................... 5 1.3 Governance and recognition of EDI work ............................................................................... 8 1.4 Development, evaluation, and effectiveness of policy......................................................... 10 1.5 Athena Swan self-assessment process ................................................................................. 11 2. Evaluation of the department’s progress and success .................................................. 15 2.1 Evaluating progress against the previous action plan .......................................................... 15 2.2 Evaluating success against the department’s key priorities ................................................. 18 3. Evaluating the department’s sector leading activity .................................................... 22 3.1 Maintaining good practices and innovation: beacon activity............................................... 22 3.2 Supporting others to improve............................................................................................... 24 4. A ssessing the department’s gender equality context ................................................... 26 4.1 Culture, inclusion, and belonging ......................................................................................... 26 4.2 Key priorities for future action.............................................................................................. 37 5. Future action plan....................................................................................................... 39 Appendix 3: Glossary ...................................................................................................... 57
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1. Overview of the department and its approach to gender equality 1.1 Letter of endorsement from the head of the department September 29 th 2023
Head of Equality Charters at Equality Challenge Unit Athena Swan Charter Equality Challenge Unit First Floor, Westminster Tower 3 Albert Embankment
London SE1 7SP
Dear Sir/Madam, As Dean of Warwick Business School, I wholeheartedly support this application for a gold award. I have been closely involved in the work, ensuring our commitments to diversity, inclusion, and gender equality feature prominently in our CORE values statement, and our 2030 school strategy. This submission describes the scale of efforts we have made, and the impacts that have resulted, which I believe are wide-reaching. The activities reported are central to what we do. All members of the Executive Team have been closely involved since we began to lead the school in 2016/17. The chair of the EDIC sits in the Executive Team, as Pro-Dean (Faculty). As Dean, I have sat on the EDIC since 2016, and have been a member of the 2017 and 2023 SATs. The Pro-Dean (Teaching and Learning) has oversight of the s chool’s inclusive education strategy, and sat on the 2017 and 2023 SATs. Our Chief Operating Officer (COO) has been a member of the EDIC since 2016, the 2017 and 2023 SATs, and has been central to initiatives reported in the submission. A marked improvement in key metrics is observable from 2016/17 onwards. The team have been closely involved because inclusivity and diversity are key drivers of our strategy. We operate in a highly competitive field. The programme of work assessed in the submission is critical to how we strive to attract and retain talented staff and students. Quality and diversity are the drivers of everything we do educationally, from recruitment through to course review. All our courses are RAG rated and we develop and close courses to drive diversity. Our student intake is gender balanced year on year. The diversity of our staff population is likewise constantly monitored. From the last assessment, over half of all academic hires have been female (55%), but only 22% of leavers have been female. For the first time in our history, faculty are now gender balanced at all but the professorial grade, where only 6% of professorial leavers have been female since 2017. There have never been more female Assistant, Associate, or full Professors, in the department. As we have become more balanced, we have improved our performance on all key measures. Our engagement with the Athena Swan (AS) framework has been tremendously positive, providing focus and discipline. We were an early recipient of a bronze award in 2013 and the first business school to receive a silver award in 2017. We took the silver award seriously and have worked extensively to help other schools progress. Based on the idea that structural change requires sector-wide collaboration, we launched and continue to lead the Athena Swan Business School Network . Now into its 7th year this is an established feature of
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the landscape of British business schools with around half of all schools participating. On all key measures, we have pushed-on considerably following the silver award. I am proud of the work evaluated in this submission, but know much remains to be done. This document describes our priorities. We commit to increasing the number and proportion of female professors. In research, our impact work is high quality, but insufficiently diverse. Work on inclusive education will continue and expand to address degree awarding gaps, curriculum, and teaching practices. We are in the early stages of planning for the construction of a new building, which is focusing discussions about the future of work, and how we sustain a sense of community and belonging. I hope you find the submission well prepared, and I confirm the information presented is an accurate representation of the school.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Andy Lockett Dean of Warwick Business School
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1.2 Description of the department
Introduction WBS is a dynamic and inclusive community that draws together 247 academics (41.7% female, 2022/23), 345 professional services staff (PSS) (73.9% female, 2022/23) and 6,737 students. We are the largest department at the University of Warwick (UoW) with an annual turnover exceeding £130 million. The school’s CORE values (Curiosity, Openness, Restlessness, and Excellence) permeate all our activities. They are inscribed on the walls of the building and embedded in practices, materials, talks, and displays. The values of openness and curiosity signal our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). These commitments are authentic and this document presents evidence in this regard. The data we receive from the university relies on the distinction between 'males' and 'females' and we use those terms throughout. Alive to wider changes within our community, the submission considers how we enable and champion diverse gender identities. Research Research is central to our identity and we expect exceptional performance from staff. 65.6% of our academics are on research and teaching contracts (R&T). They are supported by a Research Office of nine dedicated staff. At the time of our last submission 25.5% of R&T staff were female (2017/18), this is now 39.5% (2022/23). Placed 5 th in REF2021 behind Cambridge, Imperial, LBS, and LSE, we compete for staff against North American, Asian, and European schools that typically enjoy greater financial autonomy, and freedom to set salary. We strive to compete on culture, through the creation of a supportive and developmental environment. Teaching Teaching is critical to our mission and reputation. The standard of educational provision within the department is outstanding. The NSS (2022/23) places WBS 1st in the Russell Group and ahead of our competitors. Our masters and MBA courses are in the upper echelons of the global rankings. We employ 60 teaching-focused staff. 43.4% are female, up from 34.1% in 2017. Female teaching staff are more likely to be promoted than any other group, accounting for 26% of all promotions in the period, whilst comprising around 10% of faculty (in 2022/23). Our student population is gender balanced, students are supported by five programme teams. We offer a foundation year (FY), undergraduate (UG) degrees, postgraduate diplomas, a suite of pre (MSc) and post (MBA) experience masters degrees, and research degrees (PhD and DBA). Our Executive Education provision is growing. The undergraduate, and PGR populations are gender balanced. Pre-experience masters students are more likely to be female, whilst MBA students are more likely to be male.
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School management and governance The school is managed by an Executive Team, responsible for shaping strategy and the daily running of the school. The leadership of the school reflects gender balance in the professoriate. The team is comprised of the Dean, four Pro-Deans, the COO and the Chief Finance Officer (CFO). It is 29% female (2 from 7).
The Senior Management Group (SMG) supports and advises the Executive Team on strategic and operational matters. 28% of members are female (7 from 25). In a change from 2017, all Heads of Group (HoGs) are now members of SMG, to better link faculty and the management of the school. Fourteen committees report via SMG to the Executive Team. Each committee is based upon the ethos of partnership and is composed of academic and PSS staff. Each employee at WBS works in either one of nine academic subject groups or thirteen professional services sections. Each subject group is managed by a HoG who reports into the Pro-Dean (Faculty). Since 2017 two HoGs have been female. PSS are managed by Section Heads (SH) (76.5% female) who report into one of three Directors (2 female), the COO (male), or the CFO (female).
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Key:
Male HoG or SH
Female HoG or SH
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1.3 Governance and recognition of EDI work All committees share a concern with EDI. Performing an integrative function, the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (EDIC) draws this work together, providing strategic direction, advice and support. SMG considers reports from EDIC and approves its priorities. The EDIC has 22 members (36.3% academic). It is chaired by the Pro-Dean (Faculty) and membership includes the Dean, COO, theme leads, representatives from HR, recruitment and marketing, and student engagement. EDIC owns a specific programme of work organised around six themes, each led by an academic and member of the PSS. Theme leads ’ work is guided and supported by a core EDI team, three of whom have EDI written into their contracts (1.6 FTE), an increase of 1.4FTE since 2017. The core team works to connect people, facilitate project work, and guide activity in line with the EDIC’s priorities. Progress is reviewed at twice termly catch ups and reported at EDIC.
EDIC Membership
Deborah Dean
• Maternity, Paternity and Adoption ‘Good Practice Guide’ • Focus groups on Academic Returners Fellowship (ARF)
Caring Responsibilities
Francesca Cornick
Harveen Chugh
Warwick Women’s Professional Network events Male mental health event for UG students
•
Gender
•
Lisa Carlton
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Chris Knight
Careers events
• • •
LGBTQUA+
Pronoun awareness training Rainbow Alliance Network
Redzo Mujcic
Wheelchair challenge and accessible facilities projects Neurodiversity training for managers
•
Neurodiversity & Disability
•
Dani Pegg
Hossam Zeitoun
Race Equality Champions Network Events for Black History Month and Chinese New Year Curriculum review of FTMBA Launch of Black in Business
•
Race & Religious Belief
•
• •
Raj Purewal
Frances O’Brien
Blue Monday events Time to Talk events Tea and Talk sessions
• • • •
Wellbeing
Focus groups with Senior and Personal Tutors
Kate Bronserud
To note, where images are not included, this is based on individual preference. In 2020/21 we launched two initiatives, the Student EDIC (SEDIC) and the Race Equality Champions Network (RECN), both report progress to EDIC. o The SEDIC aims to increase student engagement, whilst providing a platform for students to feedback on EDI initiatives. o The RECN has 48 members. Work is focused around: inclusive recruitment, curriculum, and academic writing. This group meets termly to review progress.
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EDI work is recognised in different ways: o Academic theme leads receive an annual workload
allocation of ‘1 unit’ (110 hours or 1/15 th of a load). The academic lead of the RECN receives 1.5 units. o In 2022/23 we extended our annual CORE awards to include social inclusion and EDI work. o Recognition of EDI work is
embedded into all academic processes, including annual review, probation, and promotion. o PSS staff do not have a formal workload model. Contributions are recognised in PDRs and staff are encouraged to include this work in job applications. Discussions are held with line managers to ensure staff are supported. o EDI initiatives, data, and contributions are discussed at department meetings and communicated via the weekly ‘WBS Business’ email. 1.4 Development, evaluation, and effectiveness of policy Staff consultation is integral to the development of policy. Since 2017 extensive consultations have been held in relation to policy changes including, academic probation, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) framework, subject group boundaries, revisions to our workload model (ABM), and hybrid working.
Consultation involves proposals circulating between all impacted groups and relevant committees. A dialogic process, consultations can be lengthy. The revision of probation targets took 18 months, and multiple rounds of revision before all parties were satisfied. Final decisions are made by SMG. The majority of policies link to committees. Chairs are responsible for assessing the equality
implications of policies. Recognising this can lead to variation in practice, from September 2022 we introduced Equality Impact Assessments (EIA). The core EDI team led training sessions for all committee secretaries and chairs. The process is now: o For new policies, EIAs are undertaken by the owner as the policy is developed. o For existing policies, EIAs are completed upon review, or every three years. o EIAs are attached to the policy for consideration by the relevant committee. o After approval, copies are forwarded to HR and reported into EDIC. EDIC has oversight of EIAs and committee members actively review the impact of new and existing policies. The ‘ caring responsibilities ’ theme leads explored staff experiences of maternity and paternity leave producing changes discussed later. The LGBTQUA+ theme
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lead led a consultation around gender neutral toilet facilities. Student consultation is primarily conducted via SSLC’s. Discussed throughout the submission, across the period we have worked closely with the UoW to inform new, and revise existing policies. 1.5 Athena Swan self-assessment process Between submissions, AS progress is monitored via EDIC and reported at department meetings and to the Faculty of Social Sciences Board (FSSB). The SAT was reconvened in February 2022 to focus on this submission. Members are volunteers, nominated by their line manager, or selected because of their role. Care was taken to ensure all areas are represented. All academic pathways and grades are covered from FA6-FA9. Likewise, PSS staff from grades FA4-FA9 are represented. The SAT is comprised of 17 females (70%) and 16 PSS staff (67%). The majority of the Executive Team are members and eight people sit on the SAT and EDIC. The SAT does not have direct student representation. Student voice is channelled through members of programme teams, and the chair of the SEDIC. Further consideration will be given to student engagement following this submission.
Name
Role in Department Role on SAT Pro-Dean (Faculty)
Name
Role in Department Role on SAT
Prof Nick Llewellyn
Prof Andy Lockett
Dean
Chair of SAT
Leadership of School
WBS EDI lead
Jo Davis
Academic Support Manager
Jade Skilling
Administrative Officer (Academic Services)
Secretary to SAT
50% focus on EDI
Secretary to SAT
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Name
Role in Department Role on SAT
Name
Role in Department Role on SAT
Nav Aujla
Business Development Manager Student Recruitment/PSS voice
Daniella Badu
Teaching Fellow
(former PhD student)
Teaching-track and ECR
Gareth Bennett
Chief Operating Officer
Lisa Carlton
Client Relationship Director
PSS lead
Executive Education
Theme Lead for Gender
Lisa Cartridge
HR Business Partner
Harveen Chugh
Associate Professor
Staff data
Academic voice
Faculty recruitment and support
Theme Lead for Gender
Louise Considine
UG Programme Manager
Carly Hegenbarth
Impact and Engagement Manager
Student and PSS voice
Research Environment
Kate Higton
Projects and Events Executive
David Johnson
Data and Systems Analyst
Data presentation
PSS voice
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Name
Role in Department Role on SAT
Name
Role in Department Role on SAT Assistant Prof (Teaching track)
Nita Lad
Careers Coach
Anna Michalska
PSS voice
Teaching-track
CareersPlus representative
Jane Miller
Director of Taught Programmes
Dan Pearson
Director of Academic Environment
Student information
PSS voice
Marta Polancec
Deputy Programmes Manager (Shard)
Innan Sasaki
Associate Professor (R&T)
Culture survey lead
Shard students and staff
Neil Stewart
Head of Group (Behavioural Science)
Jacky Swan
Pro-Dean (Teaching and Learning) Teaching and learning environment
Data support
Academic voice
Zoe Telford
Programme Coordinator (PhD)
Richard White
Senior Programme Coordinator (Quality UG)
PhD programmes
UG students
PSS voice
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From February 2022, the SAT met bi-monthly and monthly from May 2023. The SAT have been involved at all levels, making concrete contributions to the submission, including: o Developing, refining, and analysing the culture survey. o Evaluating progress against the 2017AP. o Critically reviewing the submission and the future action plan. Whilst we report only simple statistics from the culture survey, it was subject to detailed analysis by a member of the SAT, who is a Professor of Behavioural Science. This analysis revealed no significant differences in the way any single group completed the survey. Going forwards, progress will be monitored through EDIC. Many of the actions are embedded into our normal processes, and will be monitored through existing governance structures. Progress will be reported to the FSSB and responsibility for monitoring the action plan sits with the Administrative Officers (AO).
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2. E valuation of the department’s progress and success
2.1 Evaluating progress against the previous action plan See appendix 4 for the full RAG rated 2017AP. Laying-out the 40 prioritised actions and 139 milestones or outputs that comprised the 2017AP we found it useful to think in terms of seven main themes. Organised this way, the 2017AP is available at a glance below. Of the 40 actions, 72.5% have been achieved and there are no red rated actions. 92% of the high priority actions have been achieved.
Theme
High priority
Medium priority
Low priority
4.1.9 9
4.2.1
5.1.5
5.1.3
5.6.4
5.6.1
Increase female academics 57% green, 43% amber
5.1.7
4.2.2
Female academic leadership 100% green
4.2.3
5.6.3
5.1.6
5.3.1
5.2.1
4.2.4
5.1.3
5.4.1
5.3.1
PSS career development 60% green, 40% amber
4.1.5
4.1.1
4.1.8
4.1.2
4.1.4
Diversity of student body 50% green, 50% amber
4.1.3
4.1.10
5.6.6
3.2.2
4.1.6
Student engagement 80% green, 20% amber
4.1.7
5.1.2
5.1.4
3.3.2
3.1.1
5.6.5
3.3.1
Training & communication 56% green, 44% amber
5.6.7
5.1.1
3.2.1
5.5.1
5.6.2
5.5.2
5.5.4
Caring responsibilities 100% green
5.5.3
92% achieved
61% achieved
58% achieved
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12 new actions have been achieved, including menopause training for line managers, LGBTQUA+ careers events for students, the wheelchair challenge, the EDI Festival, Rainbow Alliance Network, gender neutral toilets.
Monitoring the 2017 action plan The 2017AP is monitored by the AO and discussed with the SAT chair. Annual updates are provided to EDIC and at department meetings. The actions in the 2017AP are owned by a range of actors, who report their work in different ways. There are various indicators of progress. o Progress on actions owned by theme leads is reviewed at theme-lead catch ups. o Progress towards several targets is visible through normal reporting lines, e.g., student recruitment, promotion, and staff recruitment. o Following university run surveys, results are analysed against actions. o Progress on other actions is requested and tracked using an Excel version of the 2017AP. We are exploring platforms for publicly hosting the 2023AP. Whilst most colleagues feel the school ‘ actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion ’ (78.4%), this might be higher if all staff could view progress at a glance. Assessing progress Progress is regularly assessed by action owners, the AO, and the SAT chair. The RAG ratings presented in this submission reflect the view of the SAT. For some actions, evidence of achievement was straightforward. We have recruited a female professor of practice [4.2.3] and increased the number of female professors [4.2.2]. Evidence of achievements beyond 2017AP was often similarly unproblematic. We committed to running a national symposium [3.3.1] but went on to establish a national network. We have been careful not to overclaim. In 2016/17 a gender gap started to appear, with female UG students becoming less likely to achieve first class marks [4.1.4]. We proceeded through the milestones and outputs, but the immediate turnaround meant the action most likely took care of itself. Female participation on PGT SSLCs [4.1.6] has balanced, due to our activities, and most likely factors beyond our control. We mark such actions achieved but sound a note of caution. The SAT didn’t agree in all cases. The 2017AP commits to ‘improving the current workload model (ABM) reporting and analysis’ [5.6.4]. Within the period, our software developers made significant improvements; they produced the ‘ABM calculator’ that measures the school-wide impact of any changes to workload tariffs. When SMG considered proposals to change workload tariffs, we were able to perform an EIA that showed female staff would enjoy a marginal benefit. For some this wa s ‘sector leading’. Others felt the action was partially achieved. For them, it imagines a schoolwide practice whereby workload is analysed by gender each year, before being reported to HoGs to shape their planning. Whilst we have developed the capability to do this, reporting is patchy across groups. Where there was disagreement, we have rated the action amber.
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Elsewhere in the plan we achieve the action in ways that were not imagined in 2017. When we committed to enhancing the ‘support for PhD students to pursue a career in academia’ [4.1.9], we had not considered introducing a fully funded MRes/PhD (2021/22). When we committed to ‘expanding the work of the EDI C ’ [3.1.1] we did not imagine the a nnual EDI Festival. Covid played its part in this. Amber actions For a number of amber-rated actions all the milestones and outputs were completed, but the impact did not follow. As a result of our work, we have more than doubled the number of female students progressing through the MBA. However, 4.1.5 focuses on the proportion, rather than the absolute number, of female students. In these terms the action was partially met. We completed the key outputs to address female participation in the FY [4.1.1] achieving a 50/50 balance in 2020/21. But across the period female participation has been just below the target of 40%. A common thread through amber actions [3.3.2; 5.1.1; 5.1.2; 5.1.3] relates to data availability. The collation of recruitment statistics remains difficult. The data are collected centrally but not easily accessible. Changes within the central university should improve this soon. Adjustments and challenges The 2017AP was lengthy and overly specific. In retrospect we would caution against including too many milestones and outputs which complicates the RAG rating process. Covid meant a number of ideas were not progressed as envisaged. A small number of milestones and outputs are marked red, where actions were achieved in different ways. Some success measures were linked to the UoW PULSE survey, which did not run in the same format. We will use the culture survey as the baseline for measuring impact in the future. Resourcing was initially a struggle, but resolved by appointing two AOs with an EDI focus. Summary and main learnings We found actions work best when embedded in routines. Much of the work has been embedded in this way across the last ten years. As this has happened, it ’s become easier to review progress through already established practices, such as section reviews or course reviews. The active involvement of the school’s Executive Team has been important. Some of our most challenging actions relate to the composition of faculty, and the chair of EDIC and the SAT also manages all faculty processes. There are thus no tensions between EDIC and the Executive Team.
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2.2 Evaluating success against the department’s key priorities We have made significant progress across a large number of actions and initiatives since 2017. Three key areas of achievement are considered below.
Gender composition of faculty Since our last submission, total female faculty has changed from 30.9% to 41.7%. At no point have we employed more female Assistant (51.7%), Associate (50.0%), or full Professors (23.3%) [2017AP. Achievement beyond 4.2.1]. The Financial Times MBA ranking (2023) of leading s chools’ places WBS 1st in the UK, 3rd in Europe, and 4th globally for the gender balance of faculty. We have enacted a long-term strategy focusing on the development and progression of high potential faculty. We aim to compete through culture. Hence, only 16% of 102 hires in the period have been at the professorial level, whilst 68% have been at FA6 or FA7. Our focus has been on three career transitions: career entry (FA6 to FA7), probation (FA7 to FA8) and promotion (FA8 to FA9).
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Transition from FA6-FA7
o
Addressing progression from FA6 to FA7, the school created the Houlden Fellowships. In steady state, there are now twenty Houlden Fellows (FA6) in the department. These two-year post-doctoral positions, unique within the UoW, give researchers time to develop a profile commensurate with an Assistant Professor position at WBS or another leading institution. They were created following a pilot exercise where four WBS Research Fellows were hired across 2018/20 (100% female). Fully integrated into the subject groups, Houlden Fellows have a mentor, a research allowance, and they can apply for additional funding for data collection (no application has been refused). The majority of the Fellows have been female (14 from 21 or 67%), and have graduated from our PhD programme which has been restructured into a fully-funded MRes/PhD (2+4). We have thus curated an 8-year developmental period (2+4+2), which we believe is sector leading. Five of the first six people to progress from the Fellowships have taken academic posts, two are Assistant Professors at WBS. All have been female [2017AP.Achievement beyond 4.1.9]. Transition from FA7-FA8 We ordinarily hire between 10 and 20 Assistant Professors each year. They are typically international. For the first time in 2022/23, the majority of R&T faculty at this grade were female (53.2%, up from 30.2% in 2017/18). At the UoW, when R&T staff complete probation they are promoted to Associate Professor. Continuing to innovate, we have enhanced the resources given to probationers. Each has a professorial mentor, guidance of a Distinguished Research Environment Professor (DREP), a teaching and learning consultant, and workload relief equivalent to a year of study-leave across the probation period. Probationers
o
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have an increased research allowance and can apply for new data collection funds knowing no request has been declined (80% of applicants have been female). Female academics are now more likely to complete probation early and are less likely to leave during the probation period. As a result, nearly 50% of R&T staff at FA8 are now female (48.9% compared to 39.1% in 2017/18). Exactly 50% of all academic staff at FA8 are now female (39.7% in 2017/18). Female leadership Our primary problem is at professorial level. This shapes school leadership, limits mentoring options, and means we have fewer female role-models. Since 2017, five female academics were internally promoted (from a total of 10 or 50%), whilst six female professors were hired (from 14 or 43%). Through promotion and hiring, we have 24 new professors in the department, 13 male and 11 female (46%). Only 6% of professorial leavers have been female. Against an ambitious target of 20% described in our silver submission, 23.3% of professors in the school are now female (from 13.8% in 2017), rising slightly to 24.3% for staff on R&T contracts [2017AP.Achievement beyond 4.2.2]. In 2017 there were 65 more male than female professors in the department, now the difference is 46. Consequentially the leadership of the school has changed [2017AP.Achieved 5.6.6]. o In 2022 a Professor of Practice was appointed to provide leadership in healthcare management [2017AP.Achieved 4.2.3]. o DREPs work to support early career researchers. We hired a senior female Professor who was joint editor of the discipline ’ s leading journal, to mentor junior staff. o Promoted within the assessment period, professors on teaching-focused contracts, have moved into leadership positions as Assistant Dean (PGT Programmes) and Associate Dean (Pedagogy). o Providing leadership at group level, we have hired female professors that act as research leads and HoGs [2017AP.Achieved 5.6.3]. Increasing senior female faculty has increased role models and our mentoring options, whilst allowing for better representation on committees and in leadership roles. It has contributed to a substantial and rapid 14.9% decrease in our gender pay gap (6% fall in 2020/21; 3.4% in 2021/22; 5.5% in 2022/23). CORE Development and CORE Leaders programmes We have made significant progress in the way we develop PSS. The CORE Development programme was an action in the 2017AP [Achieved 5.4.1]. CORE Leaders is more recent, and evidence of continuing innovation. These programmes are part of an extensive training landscape. Training spend supports PSS; faculty development is largely supported through PRAs. Female PSS received 68% of the spend across the period.
CORE Development programme
o
Introduced in 2017 this year long programme provides colleagues at junior PSS grades with skills and experiences required to help them to progress their career. In the
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knowledge women are over-represented at junior grades, the programme is designed to develop people in areas where their current roles may not naturally provide the opportunity to gain necessary experience. Now into its fourth annual iteration, it is structured around workshops on topics such as strategy, finance, and staff management, alongside themed group projects and presentations. Participants are offered 1:1 coaching, support in creating a personal development plan as well as skills training. The theme of the 2019/20 intake was EDI within WBS. In 2022/23 groups addressed the new building, and themes including belonging and inclusion [2017AP.Achievement beyond 3.1.1]. The programme has been highlighted as a success by the University in institutional publications including the annual pay gap report. Feedback from WBS staff has been consistently positive. Three cohorts, a total of 46 staff, have completed the programme (2017/2018; 2018/2019; 2019/2021). 20% were male, and 80% female. Evidence of impact is strong. 65% have gone on to achieve promotions during the programme or afterwards (23% male, 77% female). Of these, 37% achieved FA5 promotions, 50% FA6 promotions, 10% FA7 promotions, and 3% FA8 promotions [2017AP.Achieved 5.2.1].
CORE Leaders programme
o
This supports staff at more senior grades and is a more recent initiative [2017AP.Achievement beyond 5.2.1]. Through the programme participants learn about leadership practice and the school’s strategic environment. Unique within the university, the CORE Leaders programme is designed for academic and PSS colleagues. It is a 12-month programme consisting of three modules: Business, People, and Self. Content is delivered through a combination of workshops, coaching, and reflection, all of which cover behaviours and capabilities. The training and development provision has contributed to a rebalancing of PSS staff at senior grades. In 2017, 47% of staff at FA8 were female, which has increased to 60%. Of the five appointments to the Section Heads team in 2023 to date, four were female (three of whom have participated in the CORE Leaders programme), and one was black (male).
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3. Evaluating the department’s sector leading activity
We focus on two major pieces of work emblematic of our culture. We first draw students into the narrative before looking beyond WBS to the sector. Numerous other sector-leading initiatives are considered elsewhere.
3.1 Maintaining good practices and innovation: beacon activity Our FY is a model of inclusive education that provides students from underrepresented groups access to one of the top ranked undergraduate programmes in the UK. We believe we are the only school in the UK to offer a FY that is entirely owned, managed and funded by the department. We are the only UoW department to have a FY and act as a leader in this regard, given t he university’s 2030 strategy commits to creating ‘ new pathways for students to access our programmes ’ . FYs have drawn criticism. The UK governments 2019 review of post-18 education and funding describes them as a n ‘enticement’, a n indirect way of creating four-year degrees. Ours is a compelling case to the contrary. Fully funded from 2018 [2017AP.Achieved 4.1.2] our FY gives high levels of access (93%) to undergraduate education; progression is automatic when a basic pass is achieved.
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The FY brings diversity to our UG community. Whilst our UG is gender-balanced, there is under-representation at the intersection of gender, race, and class. We have few female or male students who are black or working-class. In contrast, 19.2% of FY students have been black and the majority come from schools with lower-than-average performance (70%, compared with 7% for direct entry (DE) students and from low participation neighbourhoods (39% against 4% for DE)). Innovating, we have curated a suite of targeted support for FY students. Personal tutors receive enhanced workload (18 hours per student rather than 4.5), and wrap-around services, including academic writing support, are provided. We facilitate interaction with external groups. All FY and WP students are invited to join CoACh, a WBS enrichment programme, consisting of workshops led by artists and cultural leaders, a mentoring programme led by our CareersPlus team, and events designed to promote belonging. We have continued to innovate, providing new forms of financial support for these students through donors. The gender balance of award has been even; 30 awards were made in 2022/23, 15 to females.
The performance of FY students has been exceptional. At module level, a review between 2016/17 and 2021/22, found FY students on our management degree averaged 56% compared to 63% for DE students. To put this in context, FY students get within 7% of DE, despite entering with 46% lower UCAS points (96 against 179). The learning gain is testament to the dedication of staff and the resilience and talent of the intake. Seeking to guide others, we actively promote the FY. Alumni champion the programme, creating marketing materials and social media content. They engage in WP activities in schools and contribute to the CoACh programme as mentors [2017AP.Achievement beyond 4.1.1]. FY students have won a number of prizes, further promoting the FY. They have built national networks with a social purpose.
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3.2 Supporting others to improve We have provided extensive support to others within the UoW and across the business school sector over an extended period. As the first business school to receive a silver award in 2017, we have helped others progress. To the best of our knowledge, we are the only school that performs this role.
The main vehicle has been the AS Business School Network . Developed and led by WBS the network is now in its 7 th year. The original plan was to hold a single event [2017AP.Achievement beyond 3.3.1]. The network draws together academics and PSS working on AS in business schools. Roughly half of all UK business schools, as well as some other departments, have participated. Only one Russell Group institution is yet to take part. The network is a collaborative forum designed to help schools share learning. The ethos is non-competitive, framed by the idea gender inequalities need to be tackled through collaboration. It consists of events and workshops convened at the Shard and a managed Teams space. Events focus on a theme, such as action plans, intersectionality, and evaluating policy. Members are invited to showcase initiatives and good practices. Workshop elements facilitate shared problem solving. During network events we have shared replicable practices, such as the ARF, creation of EDI roles, and governance of EDI activity. Colleagues within WBS have participated, including the COO, academics, and HoGs. The network has enabled dialogue between business schools and Advance HE, who have participated in three workshops.
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The network has been impactful. Practices showcased at events have been adopted, such as the creation of EDI posts, and discussions have shaped the activities of members, for example in relation to the new framework. Several members have reported knock-on effects. Adam Smith Business School came to understand how they might achieve better gender-balance within the SAT. Sharing their learning with other committees within their School then enabled them to achieve actions within their own AP. Even the practice of convening a network has informed actions elsewhere. Judge Business School created the Global EDI Network following their interaction with the network. Schools have looked to WBS for guidance around their AS submissions and EDI work. We have also played a sustained leadership role within the UoW, providing support for other departments, groups, and networks, shaping policy and practice across the university.
Critical friend in relation to their successful bronze AS submission.
Department 1
Chairing the Data Sub-group leading to the creation of AS dashboards that collate the mandatory datasets. Before this, departments struggled to access relevant data. Membership of this group and led on the creation of the Carers Passport, introducing additional paid leave to support staff to remain in work.
Institutional AS SAT
UoW Gender Equality Taskforce
Presentation about staff recruitment, retention and development.
Department 2 & 3
We were the first department at the UoW to recruit a permanent EDI officer. The job description has been shared within UoW and externally. Several have now replicated this role.
UoW and beyond
FSS & UoW AS Networks
Presentations about our practice and AS.
We will expand this work. Through the network, we have developed a series of strong intuitions and will commission and conduct research into the organisation of AS within UK business schools to inform practice beyond the network.
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4. Assessing the department’s gender equality context
4.1 Culture, inclusion, and belonging We discuss practices, habits, and programmes of work emblematic of a workplace culture where people are restless to improve the department by making it more inclusive, diverse, and equitable. The section begins by analysing staffing, drawing on the culture survey.
4.1.1 WBS Staff
Career development We aim to provide an outstanding environment where staff can develop their careers. Having considered PSS development above, we now turn to academic faculty. Academic career progression at the UoW requires performance across four areas of activity: research, teaching, impact, and leadership. Each non-professorial member of faculty has a mentor, typically a professor. Through interaction and PDR, the mentee is guided towards the next grade. The 2017AP highlighted concerns with PDR, with only 36% agreeing it was useful for their career development. We have simplified the practice, and concerns were less marked in the culture survey (71.2% found it useful). Academic progression is managed by WBS
Staffing Committee, which is gender balanced. The committee considers recommendations from HoGs and reviews data on each staff member. The Pro-Dean (Faculty) works with staff to produce compelling applications. Across the period, female academics have been more likely to apply for and achieve promotion. 30 academic promotion cases were progressed (14 male, 16 female) and 90% were successful (11 male, 16 female). Female academics account for 59% of all promotions.
We have developed many practices to enable academics to develop their teaching. In addition to bespoke events, case-writing workshops, the WBS Teaching Academy, and the annual Teaching and Learning Forum, we have continued to innovate: o The SoTL programme was introduced in 2021/22, offering teaching-focused staff workload to engage in scholarship. Developmental activities and mentoring provide further support. In year one (2021/22), 16 staff were granted workload relief (81% female). In year two, this grew to 23 allocations (70% female). o Six WBS staff have been trained as HEA mentors . Workload relief is given for applicants and guided WBS writing retreats provide further support. Since November 2019, ten staff have received awards (60% female). 14 applications are in progress (64% female).
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o The MBA teaching programme ran twice across the period supporting faculty to move into the MBA classroom. The year long programme involves mentoring, observation, and workshops. 47% of attendees have been female.
In research , we have invested in our research infrastructure. In addition to a personal research allowance, further funding to support research is now available. Thus far, all twenty applications for these funds were approved (80% female). Increased funds have been made available for dissemination (all 13 applications were accepted, 46% female) and the acquisition of secondary data . Where diversity problems arise, we develop new practices and habits. Our funding and impact data reflect the composition of faculty. Senior academics tend to win large grants, which drive impact, and three-quarters of our professoriate are male. Female academics at WBS are less likely to generate income as Principal Investigator (PI) – from a low of 15% (2017/18) to a high of 23% (2019/20). In response, we have increased support for Assistant and Associate Professors, thereby supporting their careers. In 2017/18 only 1% of our grant income came from staff at FA7. This increased to 15% by 2021/22. Two female Assistant Professors made successful applications to the UKRI and received six-figure funding. Of the 27 occasions where an Assistant Professor generated PI income (2017/18-2021/22), 22 were associated with a female (81%).
All of our impact case studies in REF2021 had a male lead. To change this, we have developed new practices and habits, including:
o The creation of the research environment associate role (55% female). Each is given workload to become immersed in the impact environment [2017AP.Achieved 5.1.5(d)]. o Training events curated by the Research Office, including: evidencing impact (2017/18, 47% female attendance); engagement as a route to impact (2021/22, 50% female attendees); media training (2021/22, 78% female attendance) [2017AP.Achieved 5.1.5(b)]. o An enhanced system of workload allocation for those with emergent impact cases.
Evidence of impact here is that 36% of potential impact cases for REF2028 now have a female lead. We will submit multiple impact cases with female leads to REF2028.
Belonging, inclusion, and well-being Many school-wide practices engender a sense of belonging, inclusion, and well-being. Much of this work is owned by EDIC and theme leads. During the period, this group has expanded [2017AP.Achieved 3.1.1]. Activities have included: o Training relating to menopause, neurodiversity, and mental health. o The creation of networks based on pasttimes, including walking, running, and baking. o Gender neutral toilets added to the MBA block in 2021. o The ‘wheelchair challenge’ led to changes including power assisted doors, platform lifts in lecture theatres, and an external ramp.
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Beyond EDIC, school-wide practices build a sense of community. Awards in different categories are presented at our summer party. In December we host a Christmas party where we celebrate the achievements of colleagues on the CORE Development programme. All staff are invited to both.
Department meetings take place three times a year at family-friendly times [2017AP.Achieved 5.6.5]. Only the first meeting is now held face-to-face, to increase accessibility. A video feed links to staff at our London base in The Shard. We hold charity
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fundraising appeals, bake-offs, and provide mental health information, during a dedicated ‘coffee - break’ period each day from 10:30-11am, where tea and coffee are served in the staff lounge. During the pandemic we created new practices: o To reduce uncertainty and maintain an effective operational response, a weekly Covid meeting was attended by relevant managers. It ran every Monday 9-10am throughout the entire period. o From this meeting, briefing notes were distributed to SHs and HoGs, to provide a script for new weekly meetings . This was a marked change and helped to maintain a sense of community. o HR established a buddying system whereby Assistant Professors living on campus could talk online, and interact as restrictions lifted. This was expanded to include all new academic and PSS starters. o Assistant Professors had their probation extended by a year . There is evidence these, and other, adjustments were effective. Surveyed twice during the period, staff feedback was well ahead of the UoW averages. By the second wave, just 4% of staff felt unable to work effectively from home. Only 8% felt unable to balance work and home life. Staff actually felt increasingly connected to their team/department (from 88% to 91%), but less well connected to senior leaders, students, and the university. The majority knew where to access well-being support (84%). As restrictions lifted the school supported events designed to re-establish community, including away days, meals, and BBQ’s . The culture survey produced positive results from questions on belonging , from a low of 74.1% (‘communications are relevant’) to a high of 80.5% (‘I feel I belong in WBS’) without any significant variation by group. Bullying and harassment When staff join WBS they complete a mandatory Principles of Social Inclusion moodle that distinguishes bullying and harassment and describes the Dignity at Warwick policy. The UoW provides unconscious bias and active bystander training. Small numbers of staff reported being bullied or harassed when completing the culture survey. The responses do not suggest a significant problem, but EDIC will invest resources to ensure staff work in a safe environment. This will support the UoW’s Report and Support framework, an anonymous service where students and staff can report bullying or harassment and receive support. From the culture survey, we learnt many staff (66.9%) know how to report such experiences, but we aim to substantially increase this number. Work-life balance Prior to Covid, we were trialling home working for PSS. Some teams were supported to work from home for one or two days a week. Whilst Covid was a shock, we had experience with hybrid working and the use of Teams. Given our distance-learning capability, we also had the infrastructure to respond. As we emerged from the lockdown, we quickly established clear ‘ principles for hybrid working ’ with all line managers. These were shared with the
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