Athena SWAN
The Computer Science Department holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award (2026-2031)
- This award, granted in 2026, recognises our ongoing efforts to advance gender equality in Computer Science.
- We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all staff and students can thrive, regardless of gender or background.
What is an Athena SWAN Silver Award?
The Athena-SWAN Charter recognises commitment to supporting and advancing women's careers in higher education and research, and more broadly a commitment to eliminating gender inequality.
Our Athena SWAN Silver Award is a testament of the Department's self-awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing us, and our commitment to tackling gender equality with a 5-year Action Plan. A Silver Award is given to departments that can demonstrate evidence of real impact over a 5-year period, and with a clear and ambitious plan for future action.
The department had held a Bronze Award since 2020 and in 2025/26 we earned a Silver Award. In their review, the assessment panel described our submission as “a strong Silver application which addresses all criteria very well.”
We would like to thank the department's Welfare & Communication Committee who served as the Self-Assessment Team, and who led . We would like to thank all students and staff who contributed to the questionnaires, analyses and consultations.
The panel commended the department’s clear leadership commitment, praising the leadership of our female Head of Department, Prof. Yulia Timofeeva, who wrote “with the Silver Award as our foundation, we will continue to build a community where women and underrepresented groups are not only included but empowered to lead, achieve, and inspire.”
See the University of Warwick Athena-SWAN website and the Athena-SWAN Charter for more information about Athena SWAN.
What did we do over the past 5-years?
The panel’s positive assessment reflects the depth and credibility of the work carried out across the department over the past five years.
Reflecting on the achievement, Dr Ian Saunders, who led the Athena Swan submission, said: “This award reflects the commitment and collaboration of so many people across the department. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed ideas, energy and honesty throughout this process, and I am proud of what we have achieved together.”
The award recognises substantial progress in 92% of our actions since the previous Bronze Award:
- The panel noted our success in improving the recruitment of female undergraduates. One aspect of that was our “Women in Computing Scholarships”, delivered with our industry partner Qube, which provides three £15,000 awards each year to female undergraduates – creating visible ambassadors for women in computing.
- The panel welcomed the department’s student partnership model, which gives students meaningful agency and ownership of equality, diversity and inclusion. Student-co-created wellbeing and social initiatives have strengthened belonging and contributed to a more inclusive culture.
- The panel also recognised the role of our School Outreach programme, in which we work with local schools to widen participation in Computer Science, and encourage more female students to pursue a Computer Science degree.
- The panel praised the department’s balanced and inclusive governance structure, where staff and student voices are heard and equality work is shared fairly across genders, ensuring that equality considerations shape everyday decisions and policies – including recruitment, workload allocation and promotion.
What is our ambitious new action plan?
A major part of our Silver Athena Swan award our ambitious plan for future action. We have created a 5-Year Plan, focused on the following six areas of improvement:
-
I. Increase the Visibility and Recognition of EDI Work
-
II. Increase the Number of Female Students in the Department
-
III. Decrease the Gender Attainment Gap for Students Achieving First Class Degrees
-
IV. Increase the Number of Female Researchers and Academics
-
V. Personalised Support in Career Progression and Professional Development for All Staff
-
VI. Build National Reputation for Inclusive Computer Science Outreach
Download our full Athena SWAN Silver Application (8.5MB)Link opens in a new window
View our Athena SWAN Action Plan 2026
