---
title: "Athena SWAN"
chunk: 2/2
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena_SWAN"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:38:26.970905+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

== Reception ==
An exploratory study of women's and men's perceptions of Athena SWAN in 2017 was broadly positive, and highlighted the significance of government funding being linked to Athena SWAN awards; it also highlighted the limitations of the process to change long-standing and entrenched issues in society. A 2019 study of the university culture in medical and social sciences attributed a more positive culture in medical sciences to the widespread implementation of Athena SWAN gender equality action plans, linked to the funding incentives of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). A 2020 study examining the effect of Athena SWAN funding incentives on women's research leadership in NIHR Biomedical Research Centres found a rise in the number of women in mid-level leadership positions and the proportion of funding going to women.
According to empirical research carried out at the University of Bath, "there is no evidence that Athena SWAN membership and award level have any impact" on "the gender pay gap and the proportion of women in the top quartile of pay". Some commentators consider it to be largely window-dressing with little impact on lived experiences of women working in universities.  Others have indicated an apparent failure to find any significant impact of Athena SWAN awards on changes in the proportion of women in senior leadership positions or professorial posts based on data held be the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for consecutive years between 2012 and 2019.
The Athena SWAN charter is now used  by some institutions in conjunction with the Race Equality charter and issues of gender and race inequality become conflated.
In November 2021, The Times reported concerns about the Athena SWAN programme; barrister Naomi Cunningham described it as "totalitarian and unlawful" while historian Selina Todd, in a letter to the editor, said it "promotes a controversial view of sex and gender". Within the Irish context in particular (see below), it has been suggested that institutional commitment to the charter poses a risk to academic freedom. John Armstrong and Alice Sullivan have argued that 'policy-scoring schemes' such as this can lead to groupthink and pose risks to academic freedom.
A 2020 cohort study found that Athena SWAN members showed greater and faster growth in female representation in managerial leadership. A review of the scheme published in 2025 by policy group Murray Blackburn Mackenzie highlighted a lack of evidence that the scheme has been effective as a mechanism for addressing sex inequalities in promotion or pay.

== International ==

=== Australia ===
An Australian pilot of the Charter began in 2015 and is overseen by SAGE Ltd., a not-for-profit company created from a partnership of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.

=== Ireland ===
In 2015 the Charter entered Irish higher education. It is supported by the Athena SWAN National Committee which has representatives from higher education institutes, Advance HE, the Higher Education Authority, Irish research agencies, the Irish Universities Association and the Technological Higher Education Association. As of April 2024, there was a total of 131 award holders, 119 of these were Bronze Awards and the remainder were Silver.

== Influence ==
Despite being in its nascent stage, research into the effects of the Charter on the careers of women indicates a positive impact on gender diversity among both managerial leaders and non-managerial academics, as well as female research leaders. The latter is attributed to the introduction of Athena SWAN research funding incentives, which promote research and leadership opportunities for women. However, it is important to note that these improvements are not ubiquitous across all academic disciplines, and Charter-induced interventions may take some time to produce tangible results, as the influence of diversity charters follows a trajectory of maturity.

=== USA ===
In 2017 Advance HE supported the American Association for the Advancement of Science in introducing a pilot scheme called STEM Equity Achievement (SEA) Change programme. SEA Change borrows from Athena SWAN but is broader in scope.

=== Canada ===
In 2018 Canada introduced the Dimensions pilot programme. Supported by Advance HE, Dimensions aims to draw on the Athena SWAN methodology to recognise institutions that are inclusive of underrepresented groups.

== See also ==
Equal opportunity
Gender equality
Gender inequality
Gender studies
Women's empowerment 
UK labour law

== References ==

== External links ==
Official website 
"Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion". Higher Education Authority, Ireland.
"SAGE pathway to Athena Swan". Science in Australia Gender Equality (SAGE).
"See change with STEMM Equity Achievement". American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
"Equity, diversity and inclusion: Dimensions". Government of Canada. 5 April 2022.