University welcomes new gender equality champions

This is not just an issue for women – it is an issue for the University.

Professors Judith Lieu

Professors Anne Davis (left) and Judith Lieu (right) have been appointed gender equality champions for the University.

Professor Lieu will cover gender activities for the Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences. Professor Davis will have responsibility for STEMM subjects.

They succeed the University’s former gender equality champion, Professor Dame Athene Donald, who became Master of Churchill in October.

Professor Davis says that while improvements have been made in gender equality within the University, there is still a long way to go. “There are still assumptions and attitudes and not enough women represented at all levels within the University. You cannot call yourself a top university if you only utilise the talents of a proportion of the country defined by gender,” says Davis.

Professor Lieu adds: “This is not just an issue for women – it is an issue for the University, not just because of equality legislation, but because fostering the best talent is paramount.”

Both professors say the "leaky pipe", which sees so many women leave academia as their careers develop while their male counterparts remain, must be addressed.

New equality champions have also been announced this month for schools and institutions. The roles were created in 2009 “to demonstrate senior leadership and support for equality and diversity matters and initiatives”.

The new equality champions for Schools and institutions are:

  • Dr Minna Sunikka-Blank, Professor John Rink (Arts and Humanities)
  • Professor Alison Bashford, Dr Brendan Burchell (Humanities and Social Sciences)
  • Professor Valerie Gibson, Dr Nick Bampos (Physical Sciences)
  • Professor Gordon Smith, Professor Fiona Karet (Clinical Medicine)
  • Dr Tim Minshall, Professor Sabine Bahn (Technology)
  • Professor Ottoline Leyser, Professor Daniel St Johnston (Biological Sciences)
  • Geraldine Dufour, Tim Knox (institutions independent of any School).

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page. For image rights, please see the credits associated with each individual image.