The efforts of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, to promote the role of women in science have been recognised with a prestigious, organisation-wide Athena SWAN Silver Award.
We are now one of only three research institutes to hold an Athena SWAN Silver award, which recognises the impact of our actions so far to promote gender equality, and the ambition of our plans for the future.
The ICR’s success at gaining the award is a reward for the dedication of the Athena SWAN Silver Steering Group and many other scientists and corporate staff across the organisation, supported by The Royal Marsden.
The ICR’s 130-page application for the Silver Award, which was submitted in November last year, describes extensive changes we have made to our working culture and training and development activities, alongside data about their impact on gender balance and the satisfaction of research staff.
You can find out more about The ICR’s commitment to gender equality by reading about our women In science initiatives. We also have made available the full application for the Athena SWAN Silver Award [PDF].
'Setting the bar'
Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of the ICR and Co-Chair of the ICR’s Athena SWAN Silver Steering Group said: “Gaining a Silver Award is great recognition of all the work we have done over the last few years. We have created a working environment that is supportive of all our talented researchers, and that enhances the career opportunities of women. It was great to see in our most recent survey data that our staff recognised the progress we have made — and it’s wonderful that Athena SWAN has now done so too.
“The ICR is one of only three research institutes in the country to have an Athena SWAN Silver Award, which shows how we are helping to set the bar for gender equality in science. But we are not going to rest on our laurels, and are already putting together ambitious plans to apply for a Gold award.”
Professor Caroline Springer, Co-Chair of the ICR’s Athena SWAN Silver Steering Group said: “I'm delighted that we have been successful in achieving the Athena SWAN Silver Award. We are really grateful to everyone in the Silver Steering Group and the many ICR contributors who supported our application. This is an outstanding result for the ICR and The Royal Marsden as well as for all our staff and students.”
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Operating Officer of the ICR, said: “One of the things that has impressed me since recently joining the ICR is how people across divisions and corporate directorates have worked together to drive these improvements. I’m also very pleased to see plans for Athena SWAN to be rolled out to corporate teams so that this key scheme ultimately supports all of our talented staff across the ICR.”
For more information on our work on women in science at the ICR please contact Dr Vanessa McKean, Athena SWAN Coordinator.