Meet Anne Wilson - Head of Careers in our Student Opportunity team and a winner of Warwick's 2023 Gender Equality Awards. Anne advocates for, champions and encourages women in the workplace, by raising their self-confidence, giving them a voice and introducing them to a network of support that enables them to grow and reach their goals.

Through the Springboard programmeLink opens in a new window, Anne shares key skills, useful literature, tips and advice to improve all aspects of life, not just in the workplace. And, through her work organising 'Inspiring Women' events at Warwick, she's given a spotlight to the services, groups and networks available at the University that can support women to achieve their goals.

Tell us about your award-winning work...

I’ve been an advocate of women’s equality for many years, involved in committees and working groups. However, for me there’s no substitute for direct engagement with the people you want to see succeed. That's why I became a licensed trainer for Springboard: a four-day personal development programme designed for women from all backgrounds, ages and stages of their lives. It helps women to enhance their skills and abilities, challenge power and equality while building confidence, assertiveness and a positive outlook.

At Warwick we’ve worked with Professional Services staff at grades 3-5 to support their career development within Education Group and Faculties. We hope to open up to more staff in the future.

What would you say to staff members who are looking to get involved in gender equality work at Warwick?

There are lots of great initiatives - for example, any female staff member can attend the ‘Inspiring Women’ events that take place each term. Female staff may also be interested in mentoring students through Warwick’s Thrive programme.

I’m someone who believes that if something needs to be done, that I should simply do it. I didn’t seek permission to set up ‘Inspiring Women.’ I pestered my previous boss to let me become a Springboard trainer- and then figured out a way to seek support to get it established. If you see a gap that needs filling and it’s not something that’s already being done, I’d encourage you to go and fill it!

What's one thing you wish people knew about your work or its themes?

How genuinely transformational it is. Working with a group of Warwick’s fabulous female staff who are keen to learn, eager to support and encourage each other and stretch out of their comfort zones is a powerful mix! Seeing women’s confidence grow as they progress through the programme and start to report back on successes and breakthroughs - and hearing of individual successes after the programme ends - is always great.

What's the most rewarding thing about your work?

Without doubt, it’s the extension of the benefits of the programme to the wider Warwick community. When I mentioned to one cohort that several staff from previous programmes had made the leap from grade 4 to 6, participants asked me how they’d done it. So I asked them and shared their advice and tips.

The tips were so useful that we decided to run an ‘Inspiring Women’ session on ‘Making the move from grade 4 to 6’ and opening it up to any staff who were interested. More than 80 people attended a session which featured four Springboard graduates sharing their wisdom with the audience.

As that event had gone well, two of the four Springboard graduates created a Springboard alumni group and arranged a meet-up. So each new cohort is added to the invite list at the end of their programme, creating opportunities for further networking beyond the programme.

Meet Professor Marie-Therese Wolfram, whose innovative work towards gender equality in Warwick's Mathematics Institute has led to a win at our Gender Equality Awards.

Marie-Therese has campaigned tirelessly to improve Warwick Maths' gender balance, while simultaneously making sure that current female colleagues feel part of a network of women. She has:

• improved processes for recruitment;
• developed a new ‘diversity in hiring’ document;
• created a new ‘diversity database’ to attract a more representative pool of applicants, while engaging with networks of women mathematicians to promote these roles.

Tell us about your award-winning work...

Warwick Maths had a single female full professor when I joined as an assistant professor back in 2016. Together with colleagues we developed hiring guidelines over the last years, to ensure that we increase the diversity of our applicant pool and make the selection process more transparent and less biased.

We also tried to make the department more inclusive and support colleagues from underrepresented groups in their professional development.

At the moment Warwick Maths has six female professors - so our numbers did improve over the last years, which we're very proud of. That said, we know that we're still below the national average, so there's lots of work to do.

What would you say to staff members who are looking to get involved in gender equality work at Warwick?

I got involved in equality, diversion and inclusion (EDI) matters from the very beginning, and I am currently co-chairing the EDI committee in Warwick Maths. We are happy if anyone wants to get involved and comes with new suggestions. There are plenty of opportunities for students, Professional Services staff and academic staff - I would have a chat with the EDI representatives in the respective departments. I am sure they welcome new initiatives and input.

What's one thing you wish people knew about your work or its themes?

That there is still lots to do. Warwick Maths is mostly white and male - and even though things are changing, they change slowly. I'm sitting on way too many committees (because I am one of the few senior female academics), and it happens quite regularly that I am speaking at conferences where only 10 to 15 percent of the speakers or participants are women.

What's the most rewarding thing about your work?

The work and discussions with my colleagues in Warwick Maths. I can count myself lucky to have the support of amazing professional services and academic colleagues. Without their support and friendship this would have not been possible.

Meet Dr Ares Osborn - the founder and organiser of the Gender Expression Fund, a scheme that's making a significant impact to the lives of our trans student community here at Warwick.

Through the provision of up to £50 funding towards gender affirming items, this project is helping improve the wellbeing of trans people in our student community - and now it's been recognised at Warwick's Gender Equality Awards.

The fund is run through the Warwick Pride student society. It's been funded and supported by the Warwick Innovation Fund and the Students' Union / Rainbow Taskforce - and now, thanks to Ares' incredible work, two other universities are now interested in setting up a similar fund.

Tell us about your award-winning work...

Transgender people in the UK are struggling. We are subject to intense vilification in the media, we don't get the legal protection and acceptance we desperately need, and we're often at risk of isolation, poverty and real harm.

So, to support the transgender community at Warwick over the last two years, I have spearheaded the new Gender Expression Fund (GEF) - a community-led fund that buys gender affirming items for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming students at the University.

In 2021/22, we bought items for 66 students; in 2022/23, this number rose to 93.

What kind of progress have you seen in the last few years?

Progress is still baby steps when it comes to gender equality in general - and in the case of the trans community, right now it's backwards steps. Surveys are showing that prejudice against trans people in the UK is rising, and hate crimes against us have risen 186 percent in the last five years. Plus, waiting times for NHS Gender Identity Clinics are years and years.

What would you like to see happen for gender equality in 2024 – and onwards?

The new Transgender Community Exec for Pride is currently looking to secure funding for this current academic year so the project can continue to have a positive impact. I'd love to see the Gender Expression Fund get guaranteed funding to continue over the next years, as well as further direct support for the trans community at Warwick.

What's the most rewarding thing about your work?

Seeing the joy it brings to the community and people that I love. I have so much fun handing out the packages of items and seeing the reactions. We have had so much positive feedback from those who have benefitted from the fund, saying it bought them items they couldn't have afforded otherwise, that it brought them gender euphoria, helped them with their self-image and confidence, and that ultimately, they feel loved and supported by the University because of the fund.

It makes a world of difference to our trans community, and it's one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done.

Can you tell us about the impact your project has had at Warwick?

We received positive feedback from the pilot that involved students from 18 of our sports clubs which are currently managed in partnership between Warwick Sport and the SU.

Participants engaged in open discussions about vulnerabilities and explored ways in which patriarchal masculine values can harm individuals and communities through a range of interactive and reflective activities. They reported feeling a shared responsibility for combating unacceptable behaviours and developed personal action plans to take forward. The project is expanding beyond the pilot, with new groups starting in Term 2.

What was the most rewarding aspect of the project?

It's seeing students actively engage in our courses and workshops, sharing ideas and building an understanding of other experiences, developing skills in leadership and communication, and taking active responsibility to help tackle challenges such as sexism and sexual misconduct.

It feels rewarding when students reach out to us long after an activity has finished to share how they have applied their skills and confidence in real-life situations.

Tell us about your award winning work...

Claire - In 2021 we identified a lack of development and progression of female staff into more senior roles in IDG. The department has a 50% gender split, however, men occupied 75% of the management roles.  We established an Annual Women’s Survey in 2021 which asked our female colleagues to identify their areas of concern. Their feedback inspired and shaped the Women in IDG Programme.

What impact has the programme had so far?

Claire- The 10-session programme was delivered to 50 women in 2022 and 44 in 2023 in small cohorts, supported by an external partner – The Wellbeing Focus. The sessions included self-reflection as well as reading and podcast recommendations, on themes including imposter syndrome, strengths, leadership and wellbeing.

When we repeated the Annual Women’s Survey in 2022, after the first delivery of the programme, we found the following results:

• An improvement in IDG’s gender split overall, with men occupying 55% of the Grades 6-9 roles (vs 75% the previous year).
• A reduction of 13% in reported barriers experienced by the women in IDG.
• A 38% reduction of those women reporting perceptions of barriers to their development based on their gender.
• An increase of 25% of line managers helping their women team members remove gender-related barriers they experience at work.
• As a result of the programme, we’ve found that colleagues in IDG feel able to openly discuss women’s cycles and the menopause where asked. Meanwhile, people of all genders feel more comfortable discussing feedback and the impact of imposter syndrome along with techniques to support each other.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your work?

Claire - Watching my female colleagues find their voice, grow in confidence, share their experiences, and in turn help others. The programme has affected not only the women who have attended it, but their line managers and colleagues as well.We are creating an environment in which women’s voices are not only heard but encouraged, and men are seeking to understand and implement ways of making their teams more gender inclusive.

Annie - I'd like to credit all the women in IDG who put their trust in the Programme, engaged wholeheartedly with the content and gave us such fantastic feedback. Also, to IDG’s leadership team for continuing to allow us put our money where our mouth is – it’s important to have executive support. We’re looking forward to running the programme again in 2024.

What are your top tips for gender equality work

• Ask your target audience to get involved in the creation of their own resource: they will feel more engaged and the content will be all the richer!
• Establish a set of metrics and take baseline measurements before you start any initiative: you need to know where your initiative is having impact, where it is not, so that you can continually improve it … and you will be able to demonstrate a return on investment to your funder(s).
• Encourage the habit of self-reflection and sharing of personal experiences.  The space you create to enable this to happen will set the tone for a whole new way of working that is inclusive and celebrates diversity."

What would you like to see happen for gender equality in 2024 – and onwards?

Annie - I’d love to see IDG’s programme become a blueprint or template for extension or counterpart initiatives in other parts of Warwick. The successful development and progression of female academics remains a challenge - but we know from Social Inclusion’s gender equity awards, the Inspiring Women Staff Network and WBS (recently becoming the first business school in the UK to be awarded an Athena Swan Gold for its work on improving gender equality) that this is what happens when you invest in women - demand, positivity, growth and achievement will follow.