Athena Swan within the School of Nursing and Midwifery

Championing and supporting a culture of participation and inclusivity
Nursing student
The School of Nursing and Midwifery proudly achieved a Silver Athena Swan award in November 2023.
The Transformed Athena Swan Charter supports greater inclusivity for people in all roles, of all gender identities, and those facing intersectional inequalities.

I am so pleased with this award recognising not only the teamwork but the values underpinning the School.

Sharon Jones, Athena Swan Deputy Chair

Athena SWAN Silver Award logo

Key priorities

Since achieving our Bronze award in 2018, our school has demonstrated evidence of success in:
  • Raising the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) profile across SNaM, including improvements in our marketing materials, communications, student induction, and incorporating diversity into our clinical teaching.
  • All types of family leave and flexible working, including an increase in part-time roles.
Now under our 5-year action plan (2023–28) we will focus on our key priorities:
  1. Improve readiness, and appetite, for academic promotion across all genders
  2. Improve the functionality of the SNaM Workload Allocation Model to manage workload and support career development opportunities
  3. Enhance culture by increasing staff consultation, particularly encouraging staff with various intersectionalities to share their experiences
  4. Increase student engagement to develop and inform gender equality initiatives of importance to our students
  5. Working across the faculty, we want to grow the collective voice of our Professional Services and Technicians through enhanced engagement and increased knowledge of development and promotion opportunities.

Why we need more men to become nurses

If someone asks you to picture a doctor, it’s likely you’ll picture a man. If someone asks you to picture a nurse, it’s more likely you’ll picture a woman.

This unconscious bias is on the way to being addressed on the medical front as female medical student numbers have escalated in recent years – with women now accounting for over half of medical professionals at a training grade. Yet the amount of men training to become nurses has plateaued for decades at between 8–11%.

Adult Nursing lecturer Kevin Hambridge explains his personal and professional experience of combating the stereotype.

Should male former soldiers consider a nursing career?

“We are trying really hard to bridge the gap and explain it is not just a job for women. Men can care just as well as women can.”

In the past few years, great effort has been made to encourage women to take more roles in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. But our aim is to increase the number of male nurses, to greater reflect the patient population and continue to meet their needs.

Former Royal Engineer and University Lecturer Danny shares his insight

Truro School of Nursing – Nursing Open Day
Daniel Clarke
Nursing

More EDI resources from the University of Plymouth

Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team