Faculty Female Ambassadors created by the Academic Opportunities Committee

New role to provide professional and personal support for female academics - <em>News</em>

Monday 3 March 2008
By Naomi Weston

Three new Female Faculty Ambassadors have been appointed at Imperial College to provide support for female members of staff.

The Academic Opportunities Committee (AOC), which aims to provide a level playing field for female academics, established the Ambassadors scheme in October 2007 after receiving an Athena SWAN silver award. The award recognises the College’s demonstrated commitment to recruit, retain and advance women academics.

The Female Faculty Ambassadors will be in place for three years and are selected by their Faculties. Dot Griffiths, Chair of the AOC, said: “We wanted to make an impact among female academics and address the needs of each Faculty. The AOC is effective at a senior level but we wanted to make it more successful across the rest of the staff. It is a great example of Imperial taking pioneering action to support its female academics.”

The new Ambassadors will support fellow female academics in their professional development and recommend tutoring or mentoring facilities if they are needed. In addition, they will work with the Principals and Deputy Principals on annual events and activities for women in the Faculties.

Professor Maria Petrou from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Professor Lesley Cohen from the Department of Physics and Professor Maria Belvisi from the National Heart and Lung Institute are the first to take on these new roles.

We met them to find out more:

Maria Petrou

Professor Maria Petrou (Faculty of Engineering)

What does your role involve?

I see myself as a focal point for women academics in the Faculty, in issues like promotion, career development and enhancing the role of women in our disciplines. I have made myself known to the women academics in the Faculty and I have offered to meet with them and talk about any issues they wish to discuss, including things such as providing help and support with proposals and promotion interviews.

What do you aim to achieve in your new role?

If I manage to help even a single woman academic through a difficult patch in her career, I will consider that I have succeeded in my role. I think the support one woman may offer to another is not always quantifiable. Sometimes simply the option of having somebody to discuss your problem or grievance can be invaluable. I will also try to raise the profile of women academics by trying, for example, to encourage nominations for various Fellowships or prizes.

What advice would you give to fellow female academics from your experience?

Do not give up! Persevere! Never put yourself down even as a joke! If you say jokingly "Oh, I have no idea about this!" - "this" being something bang in your area of expertise - believe me, there will be people who will take you seriously and believe that you really have no idea. Never undersell yourself!

Lesley Cohen

Professor Lesley Cohen (Faculty of Natural Sciences)

What does your role involve?

I have set up a Faculty of Natural Sciences Academic Women committee and have representation from each Department in the Faculty and also from HR Staff Development and Equality Units. The HR roles are very important as they are providing us with statistics on employment, recruitment, promotion and retention of staff in our Faculty. They are also helping us to ensure our mentoring schemes and other development opportunities are more widely taken up.Each Departmental representative on the committee is working with people in their own Departments to work through these same issues. We have very strong support from the Heads of Departments and also the senior people in the Faculty. I report to the Faculty Management committee and the Academic Opportunities Committee.

What do you aim to achieve in your new role?

I think there is very strong commitment from all the people involved to try to identify what the issues are and address them in a way that will make change not only for the short term but also in a more self sustaining way. We recognise that each Department has its own specific culture and top down decision making may not be that useful. However it takes time to gather information and properly understand what is going on.

I think that there are many positive things that already go on in College that are not properly recognised. So communication at all levels is key here.

What advice would you give to fellow female academics from your experience?

Participate in this process. It is a wonderful opportunity to help to make positive change. Your voice and your experience really matters. I would be delighted to hear your views.

The Faculty of Natural Sciences has an Academic Women’s committee with contacts in each Department. These include:

Physics - Fay Dowker
Maths - Emma McCoy
Chemistry - Patricia Hunt
Biology - Sally Power
Centre for Environmental Policy - Susana Mourato
HR- Christine Yates (Equality and Diversity)
HR – Magdelena Bak-Maier (Staff Development)
Chair - Lesley Cohen
Faculty – Maggie Dallman

Maria Belvisi

Professor Maria Belvisi (Faculty of Medicine)

What does your role involve?

This role involves acting as a point of contact for information for Faculty female academic staff on all matters associated with their College life. This includes supporting female academics in their professional development by offering advice and information on issues such as career progression, promotions, formal applications and referrals to relevant Departments and individuals as may be appropriate.

A large part of the job will involve recommending tutoring or mentoring facilities for staff that enhances their personal and professional development. This role has a direct reporting line to the Faculty Principal and, as such, issues can be raised directly with the head of the organisation, which should enable rapid progress with regard to instituting positive changes.

What do you aim to achieve in your new role?

To place greater emphasis on supporting female staff and the retention of female academics across the Faculty and to ensure they are represented at every level. I hope to highlight and improve understanding of the barriers female academics in their day to day working lives face. I would like to make it common practice throughout the Faculty that senior academic and administrative staff and anyone on interview panels goes on diversity training.

I would also like to initiate mentoring schemes at every level with the aim of guiding women through the promotion system. In addition, more positive action initiatives integrated into the College’s HR Strategy such as recruiting and retaining excellent staff are needed.

What advice would you give to fellow female academics from your experience?

I think the most valuable piece of advice is to learn as much as you can from a positive role model. Also stay focused on your career objections even during the bad times.

For more information on the Academic Opportunities Committee please see: www.imperial.ac.uk/hr/equality/academicwomen/academicopportunitiescommittee