Gender Equality Plan

The University of Warwick has a strong commitment to equality and diversity which is currently recognized by a range of awards, including Athena SWAN silver, a bronze Race Equality charter, a gold Stonewall UK Workplace Equality Index and a bronze Disability Smart award.

We align with the Horizon Europe Gender Equality Plan requirements as follows:

Mandatory requirements for a GEP:

1. Public document

The GEP must be a formal document published on the institutions’ website, signed by the top management and actively communicated within the institution. It should demonstrate a commitment to gender equality, set clear goals and detailed actions and measures to achieve them.

The university holds an Athena SWAN Silver award which demonstrates our commitment to gender equality and includes an action plan against which we can measure our progress. Information is published on the university's website and can be found hereLink opens in a new window.

2. Dedicated resources

A GEP must have dedicated resources and expertise in gender equality to implement the plan. Organisations should consider what type and volume of resources are required to support an ongoing process of sustainable organisational change.

The university has a dedicated social inclusion committee responsible for promoting and monitoring ED&I issues throughout the university and a separate Athena SWAN self-assessment team to monitor progress against the action plan.

3. Data collection and monitoring

Organisations must collect sex/gender disaggregated data on personnel (and students) with annual reporting based on indicators. Organisations should consider how to select the most relevant indicators, how to collect and analyse the data, including resources to do so, and should ensure that data is published and monitored on an annual basis. This data should inform the GEP’s objectives and targets, indicators, and ongoing evaluation of progress.

Gender disaggregated data is published annually by the Strategic Planning and Analytics team. These dashboards give access to institutional, department and sector data to support inclusion-focused work. Dashboards and diversity monitoring data can be found here.

4. Training

The GEP must also include awareness-raising and training actions on gender equality. These activities should engage the whole organization and be an evidence-based training aimed at staff and decision makers and can also include communication activities and gender equality training that focuses on specific topics or addresses specific groups.

Training programmes run for staff include Active Bystander, Understanding unconscious bias, Equality and Diversity, and Working Effectively with the Equality Act; Recruitment training incorporates ED&I issues. Warwick Principles and Social Inclusion also forms part of the induction for new staff. Staff training is refreshed every three years. Students receive Warwick Values online training on registering with the University. Students also receive training on being an active bystander.

There are also five recommended thematic areas:

1. Work-life balance and organisational culture

GEPs aim to promote gender equality through the sustainable transformation of organisational culture. Organisations should implement necessary policies to ensure an open and inclusive working environment, the visibility of women in the organisation and externally, and that the contribution of women is properly valued. Inclusive work-life balance policies and practices can also be considered in a GEP, including parental leave policies, flexible working time arrangements and support for caring responsibilities.

The University’s Flexible Working Guidelines are promoted through individual departments. Warwick principles set out our core values and expectations of behaviour as a University community.

2. Gender balance in leadership and decision-making

Increasing the number and share of women in leadership and decision-making positions touches upon all aspects in the GEP. Measures to ensure that women can take on and stay in leadership positions can include providing decision-makers with targeted gender training, adapting processes for selection and appointment of staff on committees, ensuring gender balance through gender quotas, and making committee membership more transparent.

Leadership and Management Development training are delivered through the Academic Development Centre, with female development promoted through Shine and Aurora schemes.

3. Gender equality in recruitment and career progression

Critically reviewing selection procedures and remedying any biases can ensure that women and men get equal chances to develop and advance their careers. Establishing recruitment codes of conduct, involving gender equality officers in recruitment and promotion committees, proactively identifying women in underrepresented fields and considering organisation-wide workload planning models can be important measures to consider in a GEP.

Our recruitment strategies are informed by diversity data. The academic promotion framework provides clear assessment criteria against a wide range of contributions and gives consideration to career breaks; the Warwick Academic Returners Fellowship addresses the recruitment and retention of academic staff. University of Warwick has a Pay Action Group that oversees work to address the Gender Pay Gap, including initiatives in the Pay Action Plan which is now included in our annual pay gap reporting Closing the Pay Gaps: Gender, Ethnicity, Disability, and LGBTQUA+ Pay Gap Report (warwick.ac.uk).

4. Integration of the gender dimension into research and teaching content

The GEP should consider how sex and gender analysis will be included in the research or educational outputs of an organisation. It can set out the organisation’s commitment to incorporating sex and gender in its research priorities, the processes for ensuring that the gender dimension is considered in research and teaching, and the support and capacity provided for researchers to develop methodologies that incorporate sex and gender analysis. Research funding and research performing organisations both have a role to play in ensuring this.

The Gender Task Force at Warwick champions and oversees the advancement, implementation and further development of gender equality at institutional level. Warwick is an active participant in international research efforts to advance gender equality through PLOTINA, which promotes gender balance and inclusion in research, innovation and training. Warwick’s involvement with PLOTINA can be seen here. Inclusive Education initiatives throughout UoW are enabling awarding gaps to be identified and addressed in teaching, including any evidence of gender-related gaps.

5. Measures against gender-based violence including sexual harassment

Organisations establishing a GEP should consider taking steps to ensure they have clear institutional policies on sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence. Policies should establish and codify the expected behaviour of employees, outline how members of the organisation can report instances of gender-based violence and how any such instances will be investigated and sanctions applied. They should also consider how information and support is provided to victims or witnesses and how the whole organisation can be mobilised to establish a culture of zero tolerance toward sexual harassment and violence.

We have a Student Sexual Misconduct policy and process, and encourage staff and students to use Report and Support.

We address gender based violence in research performing organisations through our support of the UniSAFE project and involvement with the UniSAFE survey.

View the Gender Equality Plan as PDF documentLink opens in a new window.

To be eligible to apply to any part of Horizon Europe, individual organisations such as higher education establishments and research organisations are required to have a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) in place for funding calls with deadlines from 2022 onwards.

A self-declaration is required to be submitted at proposal stage, through a questionnaire confirming that the institution has a GEP in place.

The GEP reflects commitments and actions which aim to promote gender equality through institutional and cultural change. It is a whole-organisation plan which engages a variety of stakeholders and encourages self-reflection and review of processes and practices.

The GEP contains four mandatory process-related requirements and five recommended content-related areas that organisations may wish to consider in their GEPs.

See the Horizon Europe Guidance on Gender Equality PlansLink opens in a new window.

University of Warwick's Horizon Europe GEP is outlined on this page.

Further information can also be found on the university's Athena SWAN webpageLink opens in a new window.