February / March – Gender Equality
What do we mean by Gender Equality?
Gender equality means rights, responsibilities and opportunities of individuals will not depend on their gender.
Within the University, work to ensure gender equality includes committing to strategic actions through institutional and School-level Athena Swan action plans, progressing work to tackle gender-based violence, providing a safe and inclusive environment for transgender and gender-nonconforming staff and students, supporting men’s health, and continuing to monitor the gender pay gap.
Athena Swan Charter
The Athena Swan Charter, run by Advance HE, is a framework which is used across the world to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research. Established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment, the Charter is now used to address gender equality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression that affect women.
In March 2024, the University received a prestigious institutional Silver Athena Swan Award in recognition of its continued efforts to advance gender equality across the University. The award acknowledges the effort made by our community in advancing gender equality over the past five years, but also identifies ambitious priorities and actions for the coming years.
A newly established Athena Swan Implementation Group will be responsible for implementing and monitoring the action plan. Both our institutional application and action plan can be found on the Athena Swan webpages.
In addition to the institutional Award, all 18 Schools now hold Athena Swan Awards. 11 Schools have Bronze Awards, 5 Schools have Silver, and the Schools of Biology, and Psychology and Neuroscience have secured prestigious Gold awards. School awards allow us to monitor and tackle persistent inequalities at a more granular level where these may differ within the context of individual Schools, as well as allow us to spot patterns across the University which can be escalated for institution-wide action.
Learn
- Consider information presented in charter applications, university action plans and reports to better understand institutional priorities to tackle gender inequality (particularly work on our Athena Swan Charter and our Gender Pay Gap Reports) and reflect on your role within this work.
- Understand why members of our community think it is important to celebrate International Women’s Day by reading profiles on our Staff News pages. Staff have also recently contributed to a news piece on International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
- Engage with the St Andrews Institute for Gender Studies (StAIGS) events, information and suggested reading to learn more about issues that range from feminism and women’s studies to masculine studies, queer theory, and sexuality studies. If you are interested in further study, you can also find further information on the MLitt Gender Studies programme on our website.
- Learn more about masculinity and issues affecting male equality through resources gathered by the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, and consider holding a Culture Club.
- If you are interested in exploring your gender identity or are transitioning, you may find useful information in the resources and information gathered by SaintsLGBT.
Do
- The Students’ Association’s SGBV Forum is putting together a zine about GBV activism, both past and present. Students can make anonymous or named submissions, whether that be art, poetry, articles or reflective pieces, through this Microsoft Form. The zine will be published on the Students’ Association’s website, and in a small print run.
- Join or sign post staff and students to relevant networks, including the Parents and Carers Staff Network, Women in Science at St Andrews (WISSA) for staff, and the Carers, Commuters, Mature and Flexible Learners Forum for students.
- Consider running, and take part in, events to raise awareness of gender equality, including during Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week from 3 to 9 February, International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February, International Women’s Day on 8 March and Women’s History Month in March, and the 16 days of activism campaign from 25 November to 10 December.
- Sign up, or encourage other female staff, to participate in the Elizabeth Garrett (for senior academic women) or Aurora (in grade 5 or above roles) mentoring programmes, designed to support women to develop in their roles.
- Add your pronouns to Teams and Outlook following these steps:
Community Reflections
Gender equality is a cornerstone of any fair and inclusive society
In my capacity as Chair of the University of St Andrews Athena Swan Implementation Group, I am privileged to oversee our institutional commitments toward advancing gender and intersectional equality as outlined in our 2024 Silver Athena Swan Institutional Award application and action plan.
In higher education, ensuring equal opportunity for individuals of all genders and backgrounds fosters a dynamic academic environment. Diverse perspectives drive innovative research, enhance teaching practices, and create richer experiences for every student and member of staff. By offering equitable access to resources, mentorship, and leadership positions, we dismantle the historic barriers that have too often excluded talented voices. In doing so, we also nurture an atmosphere that stimulates critical thinking and collaboration across all disciplines.
Crucially, when individuals from minority – or minoritised – populations are afforded the space and support to excel, they become role models—leading not only in the present but also lighting the way for future generations. This, in turn, yields longstanding societal benefits, including a stronger and more engaged workforce, reduced income disparities, and a broader, more inclusive global conversation.
Members of the university have great strength in numbers and together we can make a hugely positive difference in the here and now, for the generations who come after us and far outside the walls of our historic University.
Gender Equality Month in March is a timely reminder for each of us to pause and consider how our own identities intersect with the world around us. I encourage everyone—regardless of gender or background—to stand as an ally, amplify voices that have gone unheard, and celebrate the strength diversity brings. Collectively, we hold the power to shape an environment where all can thrive, ensuring that our university—and society at large— benefits from meaningful and positive change towards true equality for all.
Reflecting on my time at St Andrews
Hello, I’m Jack the LGBT+ Officer from Saints LGBT+ (more information here on the role!). I’ve held this role for two
years and I’m coming to the end of my time in the role and in St Andrews. Some might think this is a bit of a daunting or a sad moment as it comes to a close but actually it has led to some really strong reflections on my time here as an activist and student that I wanted to share.
There are so many opportunities across departments, buildings, groups, staff, student, networks but the key message is to get involved. If you are ever interested, keen, want to find out more, there are so many different people working on different projects across our town– reach out. A great place to start is here, on the diversity calendar, or on social media pages. Ask questions, be inquisitive, volunteer, help out, and share.
This month’s theme of Gender Equality is so important to that message– we’re strong together.
I’m particularly excited this month for the Say No! Exhibition in the Wardlaw as there is not only an exhibition but so many different events happening under its banner. My gender equality recommendation for your tea break this afternoon is to check out the Perverse Collections website https://percol.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/.
Relevant university resources and policies
There are a number of policies, guidance and resources which help us to support an inclusive environment.
Family-friendly policies for staff:
- Neonatal care leave – information to support those whose baby requires neonatal care before they are 28 days old.
- Maternity leave webpage and policy – outlines the University’s maternity leave offering.
- Paternity leave webpage and policy – outlines the University’s paternity leave offering.
- Shared parental leave – outlines how employees can share up to 50 weeks of leave.
- Adoption leave – information for those who are adopting a child.
- Parental Leave – outlines parental leave entitlement.
- Caring fund – allows employees with caring responsibilities to claim for additional costs incurred for caring-related services when attending pre-approved work events.
- Information for students with children or dependants: information which outlines support available to students with dependants.
Gender-based violence policy – sets out the procedure for raising and responding to disclosures of GBV and sexual misconduct.
Trans staff and student policy – provides guidance on supporting Trans staff and students.
SaintsLGBT+ Resource hub – a collection of information and tools created by SaintsLGBT+ to support those exploring their identity, navigating a transition, or just seeking support..
Pronoun guidance and pronoun and gender-inclusive language training video – to support staff and students to understand the use of pronouns.
Events
Where: Wardlaw Museum
When: Saturday 25 January to Sunday 11 May 2025 (open daily from 10am to 5pm).
More info and to book: https://say-no-exhibition.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Saying ‘No’ is a simple act of refusal that has often challenged the status quo. The exhibition features a range of contemporary artists, including Franki Raffles, Alberta Whittle, Petra Bauer, Josie KO and more, working in tapestry, ceramic, sculpture, photography, and film. These artworks will be shown alongside archival material of feminist refusal from the 1960s and 1970s.
The exhibition examines themes of domestic violence, sex work, queerphobia and racism, amongst others.
There are also a range of events being held alongside the exhibit, including creative workshops and book clubs.
Where: The Byre Theatre, LL Studio
When: Wednesday 12 February (6.30-8pm)
More info and to book: https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/byre-world-24-25-the-mothers-of-the-belgian-empires-stolen-children/
During Belgium’s colonisation of what are now the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, mixed-‘race’ children born from relations between European men and African women were taken from their mothers and placed in orphanages. As these African countries approached independence, many of the children were removed to Belgium. Most mothers never saw their children again. Their stories have been conveniently forgotten. In conversation with François D’Adesky, who was forcibly separated from his Rwandan mother in 1953, Nicki Hitchcott and John D McInally discuss this traumatic episode in Belgium’s colonial history with a particular focus on the mothers of the Belgian empire’s stolen children and their stories.
Where: The Gateway, Seminar Room 6
When: Wednesday 12 February (12.30 – 2pm)
More info and to book: https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/credi-and-work-organisations-and-society-research-event-3/
This joint event with the Centre for Research into Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (CREDI) and the the Department of Management’s Work, Organisations and Society thematic research group (WOS) will welcome Professor Kristina Potočnik, Personal Chair of Organisational Behaviour at the University of Edinburgh Business School.
Professor Potočnik will speak on the topic, ‘It is not just about the hot flushes and mood swings! Exploring the role of employee agentic behaviours and support from employers and colleagues in managing menopause transition in the workplace’.
Lunch will be provided. Please email Business School Research Admin on [email protected] and include a note of any dietary requirements.
Where: East Sands Leisure Centre carpark
When: Monday 17 – Friday 21 February
More info and to book: Between Women Closing Event | Events
Between Women takes images made by the photographer Franki Raffles from her base in Edinburgh during the 1980s and 1990s as a starting point to explore relationships between gender, labour, education, care and activism in documentary photography since the 1950s in Scotland and internationally.
Raffles’ photographs will appear alongside images by Sylvia Grace Borda, Sandra George, Carolyn Scott and Niu Weiyu, which together illuminate how gender is produced and reproduced through workplaces, housing, healthcare and, particularly schools, playgrounds and nurseries, across urban and rural landscapes. Together these photographs highlight the possibilities for solidarity between women in sites and spaces spanning the local and the global, but also the importance of recognising differences and intersectional identities that account for the constructs of gender, sexuality, race, disability and class in activism and organising.
Where: School I, St Salvator’s Quad
When: Wednesday 26 February (3.30 – 5pm)
More info and to book: https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/charlotte-hempel-smith-lecture-spring-2025/
Each semester, an outstanding female scholar from any sub-discipline of Divinity is invited to St Andrews to deliver the Smith Lecture. Charlotte Hempel is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism at the University of Birmingham. Her main research interests are the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Hebrew Bible.
Following the lecture, women scholars will have the opportunity to meet Prof. Hempel in an adjacent venue for conversation not only about her lecture but around ways of encouraging and advancing women’s careers in the academy.
Where: Wardlaw Museum
When: Display from Saturday 8th March and stitching workshop on Friday 21 March (11am-3pm)
To mark International Women’s Day 2025, Domestic Dusters will be on display in the Wardlaw Museum from Saturday 8th March alongside the Say No! Art, Activism and Feminist Refusal exhibition. Domestic Dusters is an award-winning collaborative arts-based research project that invites women globally to make women’s domestic labour visible, and in doing so, to give women a voice where they are silenced, unheard, or ignored.
Stitch your own duster! – pick up a stitching kit from the Wardlaw Museum
Employing embroidery as an act of feminist refusal, women working and studying at the University of St Andrews are invited to capture their experiences in higher education, the often-gendered pressures of caring responsibilities, and lived experience of invisible labour through a feminist lens. To take part, collect your free sewing kit from the Wardlaw Museum and return your stitched duster to us before 8th March 2025. Submitted dusters will be displayed as part of the Domestic Dusters exhibition in the Wardlaw Museum and, if you choose, can become part of the internationally touring Domestic Dusters collection.
Domestic Dusters founder, Vanessa Marr, will also be in St Andrews in March to deliver a stitching workshop form women staff and students:
Say No! Domestic Dusters radical stitching workshop – Friday 21st March 11.00-3.00pm drop in/no booking required, Wardlaw Museum
Join Principal Lecturer Vanessa Marr from the University of Brighton, practice-based researcher and maker, for a practical workshop, positioning the humble yellow duster as a catalyst for feminine resistance. You will be invited to respond to the theme of the current exhibition ‘Say No! The art of feminist refusal’ employing embroidery as an act of feminist refusal to capture women’s experiences of working and studying in in higher education, the often-gendered pressures of caring responsibilities, and lived experience of invisible labour through a feminist lens. Collectively, participants will contribute to a large patchwork construction of dusters, which will be shared through the Domestic Dusters project and archived at St Andrews for further study. All levels of sewing ability welcome, with basic instruction provided. Come along and have your say in a safe, women-centred environment!
All events are kindly supported by the EDI Project Fund, the University of St Andrews Business School, and Museums and Libraries.
Where: The Gateway
When: Thursday 20 March (10 – 11.30am)
More info and to book: https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/storytelling-through-craft-using-stitch-as-a-catalyst-for-feminist-and-change-making-conversations/
Join Principal Lecturer Vanessa Marr (RSA, SFHEA) from the University of Brighton, practice-based researcher and maker, for an insightful journey into her stitch-based approach to research, which resists gendered expectations of domesticity, positioning embroidery and commonplace household cloths as the catalyst for feminist and change-making conversations.
Vanessa will reflect on the origins of her practice and explore a selection of research outcomes that employ stitch as a way of coming to knowledge through autoethnographic storytelling and critical reflection. She will also share her best-known project Domestic Dusters, which invites women to embroider yellow dusters with their experiences and perspectives of domesticity.
Where: Byre Theatre
When: Thursday 27 March (6.30-8pm)
More info and to book: https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/cosmic-cat-present-since-yesterday-the-story-of-scotlands-girl-bands-cert-tbc/
A feature-length documentary unearthing Scotland’s Girl Bands from 1960 onwards, featuring bands such as Strawberry Switchblade, Lung Leg, Sophisticated Boom Boom and more. Blending personal anecdotes with a scrapbook-style audio-visual aesthetic, the film takes us on a decade-by-decade adventure, crafting the ultimate visual mixtape.
The film takes a critical look at the barriers women have faced making music in the past, and still face today. Written & narrated by award-nominated musician Carla J. Easton, this is a powerful global story told through a local lens.
Project Highlights
In this section, we primarily focus on projects which are funded through the EDI Project Fund.
Led by Madison Shankle (PG student in School of Earth and Environmental Science)
To highlight the achievements and challenges faced by female scientists, a screening and discussion session was held of the film ‘Picture a Scientist’. Attendees included students and staff from across the Schools of Earth and Environmental Science, Biology and Chemistry. A post-film survey also allowed the organisers to present information to the School’s EDI Committee to help inform future strategy in this area.
Several instances of student and staff feedback asked for the film and a similar Q&A session to be held more regularly to allow room for this type of conversation. If your School would be interested in screening Picture a Scientist, please email [email protected] to borrow the film at no cost.
Led by Dr Anna Stefaniak (School of Psychology and Neuroscience)
The key aim of the project was to empower female-identifying staff and students, who are disproportionately the target of sexual harassment and assault, through a series of seminars teaching basic self-defence techniques, based on the ‘Stay Away’ program developed by the International Krav Maga Federation.
Upon completion of the course, participants displayed a significantly stronger belief in their ability to defend themselves, were more ready to use violence in situations that call for such use and were generally more confident in their ability to use the various self-defence techniques (e.g. strikes, kicks, loud voice etc.).
Led by Professor Russell Morris (School of Chemistry)
This project aimed to analyse whether there was a differentiation by gender, or gender bias, in how students perform in different types of assessments , and wrote a computer program which would make repeat analysis in subsequent years or in other Schools easier. The overall output of the research project gave confidence that the Chemistry assessment procedure had no significant gender imbalance in assessment results. However, there were two modules identified for which further investigation may be required.
Book recommendations
Our colleagues in the library have provided some book recommendations on the topic of Gender Equality.
Freedom and equality: essays on liberalism and feminism (Clare Chambers)
The essays in this collection cover a wide range of issues fundamental to liberalism, feminism, and their intersection. They explore the foundational philosophical concepts of choice, equality of opportunity, ideology, and the state, and they engage directly with key political controversies, including women’s sport, the state recognition of gender, the regulation of cosmetic and cultural surgeries, and state action to secure equality in the family.
Gender Equality in Academia: from Knowledge to Change (Holte, Øystein Gullvåg, et al.)
This book offers an in-depth study of why gender equality in academia is hard to achieve – and a study of actions and measures that work. It is based on a broad range of evidence from a multi-method approach including surveys, interviews and action research. Whilst the case studies related to Norway they are applicable in an international context.
Transitioning to Gender Equality (Binswanger, Christa; Zimmermann, Andrea)
Gender Equality, the fifth UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5), aims for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and girls. It thereby addresses all forms of violence, unpaid and unacknowledged care and domestic work, as well as the need for equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life. Thus, the areas in which changes with regard to gender equality on a global scale are needed are very broad. In this volume, the authors focus on three main areas of inquiry, ‘Sexuality’, ‘Politics of Difference’ and ‘Care, Work and Family’.
Towards Gender Equality in Law: An Analysis of State Failures from a Global Perspective (Brayson, Kimberley, et al.)
This Open Access book aims to find out how and why states in various regions and of diverse cultural backgrounds fail in their gender equality laws and policies. In doing this, the book maps out states’ failures in their legal systems and unpacks the clashes between different levels and forms of law—namely domestic laws, local regulations, or the implementation of international law, individually or in combination. By taking off from the confirmation that the concept of law that is to be used in achieving gender equality is a multidimensional, multi-layered, and to an extent, contradictory phenomenon, this book aims to find out how different layers of laws interact and how they impact gender equality.
If you prefer a film to a book, the Department of Film Studies have also created a playlist which highlights six 21st-century documentaries made by, and about, women: Women and Global Documentary – Centre for Screen Cultures
Have your say
Please contact [email protected] if you would you like to share your own reflections on the theme of Gender Equality or have any feedback on the Diversity Calendar webpages.
The theme for April/May is LGBTQI+ Equality. If you would like to tell us about any helpful resources, materials or activities related to this theme, or would like to write a reflection piece, please also contact [email protected].