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Understanding the Athena SWAN award scheme for gender equality as a complex social intervention in a complex system: analysis of Silver award action plans in a comparative European perspective.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Given the complex mix of structural, cultural and institutional factors that produce barriers for women in science, an equally complex intervention is required to understand and address them. The Athena SWAN Award Scheme for Gender Equality has become a widespread means to address barriers for women's advancement and leadership in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the United States of America and Canada, while the European Commission is exploring the introduction of a similar award scheme across Europe. METHODS:This study analyses the design and implementation of 16 departmental Athena SWAN Silver Action Plans in Medical Sciences at one of the world's leading universities in Oxford, United Kingdom. Data pertaining to the design and implementation of gender equality interventions were extracted from the action plans, analysed thematically, coded using categories from the 2015 Athena SWAN Charter Awards Handbook and synthesised against a typology of gender equality interventions in the European Research Area. The results were further analysed against the complexity research literature framework, where research organisations are perceived as dynamic systems that adapt, interact and co-evolve with other systems. RESULTS:Athena SWAN is a complex contextually embedded system of action planning within the context of universities. It depends on a multitude of contextual variables that relate in complex, non-linear ways and dynamically adapt to constantly moving targets and new emergent conditions. Athena SWAN Silver Action Plans conform to the key considerations of complexity - (1) multiple actions and areas of intervention with a focus on the complex system being embedded in local dynamics, (2) the non-linearity of interventions and the constantly emerging conditions, and (3) impact in terms of contribution to change, improved conditions to foster change and the increased probability that change can occur. CONCLUSIONS:To enact effective sustainable structural and cultural change for gender equality, it is necessary to acknowledge and operationalise complexity as a frame of reference. Athena SWAN is the single most comprehensive and systemic gender equality scheme in Europe. It can be further strengthened by promoting the integration of sex and gender analysis in research and education. Gender equality policies in the wider European Research Area can benefit from exploring Athena SWAN's contextually embedded systemic approach to dynamic action planning and inclusive focus on all genders and categories of staff and students.

SUBMITTER: Kalpazidou Schmidt E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7023775 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Understanding the Athena SWAN award scheme for gender equality as a complex social intervention in a complex system: analysis of Silver award action plans in a comparative European perspective.

Kalpazidou Schmidt Evanthia E Ovseiko Pavel V PV Henderson Lorna R LR Kiparoglou Vasiliki V

Health research policy and systems 20200214 1

<h4>Background</h4>Given the complex mix of structural, cultural and institutional factors that produce barriers for women in science, an equally complex intervention is required to understand and address them. The Athena SWAN Award Scheme for Gender Equality has become a widespread means to address barriers for women's advancement and leadership in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the United States of America and Canada, while the European Commission is exploring the introduction of a si ...[more]

PMID: 32059678

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:To promote gender diversity and equity in higher education, Athena Scientific Women's Academic Network (SWAN) supports and recognises higher education institutions (HEI) in advancing the careers of women through charter commitment, awards, training and advocacy since 2005. Most evaluation studies, however, are based on qualitative assessments. This study sought to (1) examine the relationship between Athena SWAN accreditation/awards in the UK and gender diversity of leaders and senior academics using quantitative data from 2012/2013 to 2016/2017, and (2) explore the associations between Athena SWAN awards and university performance as measured by overall scores in global ranking systems. DESIGN:Retrospective cohort study based on the UK HEIs. SETTING:Higher education sector in the UK provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. PARTICIPANTS:148 HEIs who provided employment data on female-to-male ratios (55% complete data) for each academic year between 2012/2013 and 2016/2017. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES:Gender diversity, defined as female representation rates of positions in managerial leadership (eg, heads of institutions, department heads) and professors. The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings scores, an indicator of research, teaching, employability and internationalisation, were collected to measure university performance. RESULTS:Gender diversity of managerial leaders and non-managerial professors at all levels of Athena SWAN status has improved over the 5 years. Linear mixed effects models identified that Athena SWAN awardees had lower female representation than non-awardees in managerial leadership positions (p<0.05), while the gap was narrowed among Silver awardees over time. Athena SWAN Charter members had increasingly higher female representation than those not in the Charter (p<0.05). Silver-award institutions ranked higher in QS rankings than Bronze-award institutions (?=11.80, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:There are overall rising trends in gender diversity from 2012/2013 to 2016/2017. Athena SWAN members showed greater and faster growth in female representations. Silver awardees had greater university performance than Bronze awardees.

Project description:Social psychologists have not fully investigated the role of leadership in mobilizing widespread support for social change, particularly gender equality. The burden of achieving gender equality is typically placed on women (particularly female leaders) - the main targets of such inequality. Traditional approaches frame workplace gender equality as either a women's issue, which limits men's (non-target's) involvement in the movement, or a meritocratic non-issue that exists due to women's (target's) tendency to pursue less intensive careers. In contrast to such work focusing on women's experiences as targets of discrimination or men's role in preserving inequality, we propose a solidarity-based approach that positions men and women as agents of change. This approach relies on two processes: leadership processes - particularly leadership as a form of influence based on shared identities among leaders and followers (e.g., their gender group); and political solidarity as a way to mobilize the silent majority (men) to work as allies beside a minority (women) and embrace equality as a common cause for both groups. In two experiments (Ns = 338, 336) we studied how leader gender and message framing affect men's and women's support for equality by contrasting a solidarity-based framing of gender equality as a common cause for men and women, with a women's issue frame (Experiment 1) or a meritocratic frame (Experiment 2). The statement was attributed to a male or female leader (Experiments 1-2) or, additionally, to a government agency (Experiment 1). Women reported higher sense of common cause (Experiment 2) and collective action intentions than men (Experiments 1-2), and higher intentions under common cause compared to meritocracy frames (Experiment 2). Interestingly, male leaders invoked higher sense of common cause and collective action intentions for both men and women regardless of framing (Experiment 2). Irrespective of leader gender however, as predicted common cause framing boosted perceived leader prototypicality, legitimacy, and influence across the board (Experiments 1-2). Yet this was qualified by women (compared to men) rating leaders as more legitimate and influential under common cause compared to meritocracy framing (Experiment 2). Women's reactions to equality messages, and the intersection of leadership and solidarity toward equality are discussed.

Dataset Information

Understanding the Athena SWAN award scheme for gender equality as a complex social intervention in a complex system: analysis of Silver award action plans in a comparative European perspective.

Publications

Understanding the Athena SWAN award scheme for gender equality as a complex social intervention in a complex system: analysis of Silver award action plans in a comparative European perspective.

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