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An image of Kate Watkins who says 'Having our Silver Award renewed in 2021 is a source of great pride and welcome recognition of our efforts to support gender equality in  Experimental Psychology'

Initiatives to support career progression.

As part of their commitment to supporting their academic staff to progress in their careers, the Department of Experimental Psychology have:

  • established research committee (2016), a vehicle for discussing and promoting career development at this pivotal stage
  • introduced mid-fellowship review for personal fellowship holders
  • established the ECR committee (2017) and ecrXchange Network (2018)
  • began ECR Fire Talks from 2018, a well-received annual seminar slot within our Departmental Seminar series.
  • has held a termly “Women’s Tea” since 2012 for research staff, a relaxed event to discuss barriers to progression for women.

ECR, female, 32, now Lecturer at another University:

“I think I got a lot of career support in the department. In addition to lab and PI-based support, I think the Women’s Tea and the ECR workshops were very helpful. Certainly, contacts via these events, as well as direct mentors, were useful in negotiating start up, understanding what was reasonable etc. I also thought the PDR process, and the idea on self-reflecting on what would help one’s career was very useful throughout my time as a postdoc.”

ECR president (F):

“Thank you very much for the ECR firetalks slot in the departmental seminar series - very much appreciated - and I am sure the ECR talks will be received very well this time again. I had also planned to say a huge ’thank you’ to all of you PI’s who have contributed to our career seminars over the last academic year - your support has been fantastic.”

Creating an inclusive and welcoming culture

Our Department has worked hard to incorporate the principles of the Athena SWAN Charter fully into our everyday activities. We are proud of our achievements to create an inclusive and welcoming culture. A few of our initiatives include:

  • embedding the principles of inclusion, diversity, respect, and equality into our department’s mission statement
  • adding our first LGBT+ representative to the PCC/SAT committee in 2018 and launching the LGBT+STEM event
  • launching in 2018 a department-wide celebration of Ada Lovelace Day to showcase women in science and in psychology in particular.
  • in 2019/20, training and establishing a network of 18 mental health first aiders who represent staff and research students across all department buildings

Since 2016, our survey revealed consistently high proportion of female and male staff feel “able to be myself” at work (92% on average).

EPICS Alumni Project

The greatest legacy of our department are the individuals that we have had the honour to teach and work with over the years and their contributions to society. Our alumni have gone on to succeed in diverse fields – both within and outside of academia – and are using their degrees in exciting and remarkable ways. Our EPICS (EP Involved in Contributing to Society website profiles our amazing alumni and researchers to inspire future generations and demonstrate the varied career paths open to EP graduates and researchers. Part of the EPICS website is devoted to marking the Centenary since the first women were awarded degrees at Oxford. Around 70 of our EP alumnae shared their insights, reflections and memories with us. Showcasing the achievements of these remarkable women is very much part of our Athena SWAN work. We are still adding information and new profiles, and are incredibly grateful to those who have kindly shared their wisdom and memories with us.

Both EPICS and the Centenary Project are ever-evolving and we are aware that names will have been missed. Contact us to nominate yourself or someone else for our Centenary of Women Project or EPICS Project.

An image of EP Alum Anupriya Dwivedi and a quote from her: "Trust me – no matter what area you choose for your dissertations, essays and other academic pursuits – your time in the department will equip you to pursue any career whatsoever."

 

Click here to read about EDI activity in one of our other 16 departments:

MSD Goes Silver: 10 Years of Athena Swan