Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC) is celebrating after achieving a Silver Award under the Athena Swan charter, which recognises advancements in gender equality.

The department previously held a Bronze Award, first achieved in 2013 and then renewed in 2018.

The new Award recognises achievements in addressing key priorities such as gender balance amongst students and staff at all career levels.

The culture survey showed that significant progress has been made in the department's inclusive culture, where staff and students can fulfil their potential and feel respected regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, age, and other under-represented characteristics.

Dr Suzana Ilic, senior lecturer at LEC, who led the Athena Swan submission, said: “This success is due to the department’s inclusive culture where staff and students feel comfortable raising concerns, a dedicated team of colleagues working on actions to address these concerns, and support from the senior management team.”

Marie Clay, EDI Programmes Manager (Athena Swan) at Lancaster University, said: “As the institutional Athena Swan Programme Manager I’m really encouraged to see such positive progress in LEC.

“This supports our institutional aims to address inequalities and improve our gender equality as part of our commitment to Athena Swan.”

Suzana added: “There is still more work to be done and our new action plan addresses challenges identified through evaluating quantitative data and feedback gathered from our students and staff.”

The Athena Swan Charter is a framework which is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education and research.

Established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment, the Charter is now used to address gender inequality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression that affect women.