Athena Swan within the School of Psychology

Championing and supporting a culture of participation and inclusivity
Screenshot from Psychology video featuring three female students sitting by the reservoir on campus.
The School of Psychology aims to champion and support a culture of participation and inclusivity, and to communicate and raise awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion.
Our Athena Swan Self Assessment team (SAT) discusses, implements, promotes and monitors school level actions aimed at improving the working and learning environment for academics, professional services staff and students.
For further information about our Athena Swan work, please contact Dr Clare Walsh .
Athena Swan Silver award, repositioned
The School of Psychology proudly achieved a Silver Athena Swan award in March 2024.
The Transformed Athena Swan Charter supports greater inclusivity for people in all roles, of all gender identities, and those facing intersectional inequalities.

Key priorities

Since achieving our Bronze award in 2018, our school has demonstrated evidence of success in:
  • Embedding equality in our processes for career progression, resulting in a consistent gender balance in our School Management Group; an overall increase and improved gender balance in applications for academic promotion; improved gender balance in successful promotions; and, an increase in part-time staff applications for promotion.
  • Supporting successful careers, particularly in regard to addressing inequalities around research achievements.
  • Understanding menstruation in academia, including the creation of the Red Box Scheme and work with the University Extenuating Circumstances Committee on menstrual issues impact upon student performance.
The Athena Swan assessment panel commended the school’s progress in gender equality to date and highlighted work undertaken in the Breaking Through mentoring scheme for aspiring Clinical Psychologists of colour, and robust structures and processes underpinning EDI governance, particularly the strong feedback mechanisms.
Now under our 5-year action plan (2024–29) we will focus on our key priorities:
  1. Judgements of equality in career support and workload allocation
  2. Embedding equality in school culture (staff)
  3. Embedding equality in school culture (students)
  4. Supporting students
  5. Professional Services and Technical Staff – perceptions of career progression.
 
 

Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team

 
 

Staff insight – Professor Caroline Floccia

...I was in my twenties, and I went to a party and I met somebody who told me for the first time about the existence of a field called cognitive psychology… a field in which people study how the brain and mind work… it was a revelation…
Find out why Professor Caroline Floccia is passionate about cognitive psychology.
 
 
 

More EDI resources from the University of Plymouth