RCUK EXPECTATIONS FOR EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

An organization’s success and competitiveness depends on its ability to embrace diversity and draw on the skills, understanding and experience of its people. The potential rewards of diversity are significant: recruiting staff from the widest possible pool will unlock talent and make a major contribution to the impact of research and will benefit the economic and social wellbeing of theUK.  RCUK expects that equality and diversity therefore is embedded at all levels and in all aspects of normal research practice.

RCUK expect those in receipt of Research Council funding to:

• promote and lead cultural change in relation to equalities and diversity
• engage staff at all levels with improving the promotion of equality and diversity
• ensure all members of the research workforce are trained and supported to address disincentives and indirect obstacles to recruitment, retention and progression in research careers
• provide evidence of ways in which equality and diversity  issues are managed at both an institutional and department level

Research Councils recommend that the evidence includes:

• participation in schemes such as Athena SWAN, Project Juno, Investors in People, Stonewall Diversity Champions and other similar initiatives to demonstrate departmental level action
• input prepared for the Research Excellence Framework research environment at unit of assessment level
• appropriate benchmarking data (e.g. heidi equality reports from HESA data)
• evidence of the application of the ‘Every Researcher Counts resource’ to support this work
• other available and pertinent management information

 RCUK will

• review the overall effectiveness of the approach at a Departmental / Institutional level through its Audit and Assurance Programme
• discuss equality and diversity at Institutional visits
• reserve the right to introduce more formal accreditation requirements for grant funding should significant improvement not be evidenced.

 Useful links:

Athena SWAN

Project Juno

Research Excellence Framework

heidi equality

Every Researcher Counts resources

Investors in People

Stonewall

Top of Page

Applications for the 2013 L’Oréal-UNESCO UK & Ireland

For Women in Science fellowships

are now open.

L’Oréal UK & Ireland, the UK National Commission for UNESCO and the Irish National Commission for UNESCO, with the support of the Royal Society have partnered together to provide a dedicated UK & Ireland For Women In Science Fellowship Programme for women scientists at postdoctoral level to enable and/or facilitate promising scientific research in the life or physical sciences.

Four Fellowships will be awarded in 2013 to outstanding female postdoctoral scientists to assist them with their research. The Fellowships, each worth £15,000 (equivalent € for candidates in Ireland), are tenable at any UK or Irish university or research institute to support a 12-month period of research.

The fellowship money can be spent in any number of innovative ways to enable women scientists to further their careers and facilitate world class research - such as buying equipment, paying for childcare or funding travel costs to an overseas conference.

Key Dates:

Applications open: Friday 1^st February

Application close: Friday 15^th March

Shortlist published: Monday 3^rd June

Awards ceremony: Thursday 20^th June

Visit www.womeninscience.co.uk to apply

Closing date for applications is midnight (BST) Friday 15th March 2013

More Information

Terms & Conditions

Contact us

Paulina Davis
L'Oreal For Women in Science Programme Assistant
UK National Commission for UNESCO
Suite 98, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL

Tel:        +44(0) 207 766 3470
Email:      pdavis@unesco.org.uk
Website:    www.unesco.org.uk

Top of Page

Top of Page