Athena SWAN in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Liverpool John Moores’ Sport and Exercise Science department is a proud holder of an Athena SWAN Bronze Award.
The School of Sport and Exercise Sciences Self-Assessment Team (SAT) was established in 2018. When awarded the Athena Swan Bronze Charter in late 2019, this evolved to the EDI Panel, which incorporated aspects of EDI more broadly. The panel was then renamed ‘RIDE’ (respect, inclusivity, diversity, equity) in 2022 to align with the formation of the student facing ‘RIDE society’, housed in JMSU.
The Athena SWAN Charter provided an impetus, initial focus, and structure for our work, ensuring we utilise data to inform the development of clear actions, measures, and targets specific to our School. Following successful Bronze accreditation in 2019, our Terms of Reference (ToR) were updated to reflect our aspiration to establish a broader EDIR remit. The ToR are reviewed and updated annually (over the Summer). To this end, the RIDE Panel recognises that while Athena SWAN work is primarily considered through the lens of gender, other factors that shape people’s identity, and therefore their experience within the institution, should also be recognised, celebrated, and accounted for.
The award of Athena SWAN Bronze is a significant achievement for our school and is testament to all of the hard work that the department has undertaken to advance equality, progression and success for all staff, students and colleagues that we work with.
Key Priorities and Actions Taken
Inclusion & belonging
- RIDE Panel feature a regular slot (EDItorial) in the RISES newsletter, circulated to all School of Sport and Exercise Sciences staff and students, to communicate ongoing activity.
- Personal tutor groups have been amended to ensure at least two women are together; this action was developed after feelings of isolation were expressed in student focus groups.
- The development of an inclusive curricula via programme revalidation across levels 3 – 8 within the school to embed EDI in every module.
- Incorporating pronouns in staff email signatures and optional recording of name pronunciation.
- All job advertisements are processed through a gender decoding software to ensure neutral language. A diversity statement is also included in all job advertisements to encourage those from underrepresented communities to come and work with us and achieve our aspiration of building a staff base that is representee of society.
- All website and promotional materials underwent a thorough audit of imagery and language which resulted in considered and deliberate rebranding with a focus on diverse representation and neutral language.
- All staff who are part of interview panels must undertake unconscious bias training.
Promotion & Professional Development
- Colleagues in the School host an annual promotion workshop prior to the University conferment window. This provides an informal and open forum that works through key criteria, allows for Q&A and matches those who express an interest in a promotion mentor.
Awareness & Engagement in EDIR
- Development of an inclusion calendar that displays key diversity dates and events celebrated nationally and world-wide.
- Development and launch of a School Mission and Vision statement and later a set of shared values that were co-developed by all colleagues.
- Publication of a signposting document that provides easily accessible information to all colleagues on reporting mechanisms within LJMU.
- Celebration of key diversity dates including; International Women’s Day, International Day for Person’s with a Disability, Race History Month and Homelessness.