Athena SWAN Bronze department award application

Transcription

1 Athena SWAN Bronze department award application Name of university: Department: University of Oxford Computer Science Date of application: November 28, 2014 Date of university Bronze and/or Silver SWAN award: Bronze award: November 2013 Contact for application: Professor David Gavaghan Telephone: Departmental website address: Table of Contents: Section Page No. 1. Letter of Endorsement from the Head of Department The Self-Assessment Process A Picture of the Department Supporting and Advancing Women s Careers Any Other Comments Appendix: Action Plan... 40

2 GLOSSARY AP CDR CS DL ECR EDC EDU EPSRC HoD ICT MAT MPLS OxWoCS PAT PGR REF RoD SEP SP TF TP Associate Professor Career Development Review Computer Science Departmental Lecturer Early Career Researcher Equality and Diversity Committee Equality and Diversity Unit Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Head of Department Information and Communication Technology Maths Aptitude/Admissions Test Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division Oxford Women in Computer Science Physics Aptitude/Admissions Test Postgraduate Research Research Excellence Framework Recognition of Distinction (internal promotion) Software Engineering Programme Statutory Professor Tutorial Fellow Titular Professor 2

3 1. Letter of endorsement from the head of department: maximum 500 words Michael Wooldridge Head of Department and Professor of Computer Science Senior Research Fellow, Hertford College 21 November 2014 Dear Athena SWAN panel, I am delighted to have the opportunity to write in support of the application from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford for a Bronze Award under the Athena SWAN scheme. The University of Oxford is rightly proud of its many achievements over its long history, but with respect to issues of gender there is clearly more work to be done. In my honest experience, there is a genuine commitment within the university to become a high profile example of best practice in supporting and encouraging women in academic life. My own department has embraced this aspiration, and this Athena SWAN application is, I believe, clear proof of our commitment in this respect. I am a member of the Department s Equality and Diversity Committee, which oversaw the preparation of this application. I participated in the meetings and discussions leading to the submission, and was the author of some of the text in it. I was, therefore, a first-hand witness to the extraordinary degree of critical selfevaluation that the department has undertaken over the past 18 months. This involved many open meetings with staff, focus group meetings, a staff survey, and a battery of statistical reports on our performance with respect to gender issues. This process was exhausting, and at various points revealed important information not just about gender issues, but also concerning aspects of our culture and working environment, which we have subsequently done our best to address. The detailed action plan set out in this application is witness to the degree of self-examination that we have undertaken, and our ambition to move in the right direction on such issues. Looking at our current position with respect to women in the department, we are proud to have seven women holding the title of full Professor (Professors Byrne, Creese, Goldberg, Jirotka, Kwiatkowska, Martin, Rodriguez). Although this makes up only 20% of the total professoriate, it should be noted that Marta Kwiatkowska, hired less than a decade ago, was the first woman in the Department of Computer Science to hold the title of full professor. The situation is similar with respect to our undergraduate population, although again there are some indicators of change. In summary, I would like to say that we have engaged with the Athena SWAN process wholeheartedly; I believe our submission reflects this. We are determined to maintain the momentum we have gained in this process, and to implement and build on the action plan we detail here. Yours sincerely, Michael Wooldridge [Word Count = 412] Department of Computer Science, Wolfson Building, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QD General Enquiries Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) Web: 3

4 2. The self-assessment process: maximum 1000 words Describe the self-assessment process. This should include: Self-assessment process a) A description of the self-assessment team: members roles (both within the department and as part of the team) and their experiences of work-life balance. The self-assessment team is made up of academic and support staff, and graduate students. Members of the team cover all academic career stages, from the HoD and research theme leads with long experience of balancing teaching, administration and research, to early career researchers on fixed- term contracts and graduate students undertaking their DPhil research. Members of the team also have extensive experience of the challenges posed by childcare and other caring responsibilities and the benefits of flexible working. The team has received strong support from Adrienne Hopkins, the University s Gender Equality Adviser, who has been co-opted into the self-assessment team. The team has also benefited from attendance at workshops given by Jen de Vries (University of Melbourne) and Paul Walton (University of York), offering external perspectives on culture change. The self-assessment team TABLE 1 Name Role in Department Description and experience of work/life challenge Helen Byrne Professor of Computational Biology Joined Department in April 2011; has two children (aged 11 and 13) and makes use of flexible working for childcare. Vojtech Forejt Associate Professor Several fixed-term contracts in Department; has one child and uses work flexibility also in relation to distance-learning study at the Open university. David Gavaghan Chair of E&D Committee, Professor of Computational Biology Joined Department in 1986 as an MSc student; extensive recruitment and pastoral experience as Director of doctoral training programmes; has 1 child (aged 9); extensive use of flexible working. Barbara Grimpe Research Assistant In Oxford since March 2013; current project on 'responsible research and innovation' includes interest in gender issues. Marina Jirotka Sharon Lloyd Suzanna Marsh Ursula Martin Professor of Human Centred Computing Department Senior Administrator Publicity and Schools Liaison Officer Professor of Computer Science Research into Responsible Innovation Chartered IT Professional of the BCS and sits on the ICT Ethics Specialist Group committee. Joined Department in 2003 as a Research Project Manager and has been leading the operational team for the Department since 2010, overseeing a team of almost 50 people; has 2 adult children. Student recruitment at undergraduate level. Joined the Department in June 2010, having previously worked in industry. Joined Oxford in 2014 as holder of an EPSRC Senior Fellowship; formerly Vice-Principal, Queen Mary University of London, with responsibility for 5 4

5 departments of Science and Engineering. Ines Marusic DPhil Student Founding President of Oxford Women in Computer Science (OxWoCS), and Co-Creator and Organiser of the Oxbridge Women in Computer Science Conference. Joel Ouaknine Professor of Computer Science; Deputy Head of Department; Tutorial Fellow and Domestic Bursar Tutorial Fellow providing pastoral care and oversight to CS undergraduates; in college role oversees 140 (non-academic) staff involving working conditions and welfare, and accommodation and welfare for approximately 650 students; has 2 children (aged 8 and 10). Elizabeth Phillips DPhil Student President of OxWoCS; computer science ambassador and a University STEMM ambassador to encourage more women in STEMM subjects. Julie Sheppard Graduate Studies Administrator With the Department for 30 years; closely involved with all aspects of student recruitment, admin and welfare; has 2 adult children and other caring responsibilities. Louise Williams Project Manager Contracted to work exclusively on REF2014; continued with CS Department to provide support for the Athena SWAN application and cyber security projects. Mike Wooldridge Head of Department Joined the Department in 2012 as a Professor; father of two children (aged 9 and 12), with partner in full-time work. b) An account of the self-assessment process: details of the self-assessment team meetings, including any consultation with staff or individuals outside of the university, and how these have fed into the submission. The self-assessment process leading to this application was initiated in September 2013 at the Departmental Away Day. The Athena SWAN Charter and Principles were presented to the Department by David Gavaghan and Marina Jirotka, and the activities to be undertaken as part of the process were discussed and approved. The self-assessment team (see above) and self-assessment approach was then put together in a series of four meetings between November 2013 and February 2014, and the full team met for the first time on 14 th February At the first meeting subgroups addressing the areas of student data, staff data and staff surveys, career progression, key career transition points, organisation and culture, and flexibility and managing career breaks were established. Also at that first meeting the in-coming HoD (who is a member of the self-assessment team) suggested that the team should become the Equality and Diversity Committee (EDC) of the Department and formally incorporated into the management structure of the Department, reporting directly to the Departmental Management Committee (DMC). This suggestion has been adopted. The full committee has met four times since 14 th February 2014, and each of the subgroups have met every 2-6 weeks (depending on the subgroup). The self-assessment included three data-gathering exercises: i) Firstly, a staff and student (staff, academic visitors and graduate students) survey was conducted over a 6-week period from 13 th February until 31 st March 2014, using a multiple-choice questionnaire with 71 questions. The survey questionnaire was based on staff surveys which had been carried out by 5

6 other departments who had made Athena SWAN applications, but it was adjusted following feedback from the University s EDU and the Oxford Learning Institute. 186 responses were received, which equates to a 39.8% response rate: 47/63 (74%) academic staff responded and 49/65 (75%) support staff responded; student response rates were disappointingly low. ii) iii) Secondly, a more detailed qualitative exercise was undertaken, facilitated by two external experts: Professor Simonetta Manfredi, Director of the Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice at Oxford Brookes University, and Kate Clayton-Hathway, Research Assistant in the Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice. From 16 th May to 26 th June 2014, academic staff, research staff and all students were invited to participate in two focus groups, fill in a SurveyMonkey questionnaire (open questions only), and/or meet Professor Manfredi for one-to-one discussions. In all, 23 individuals contributed to the exercise; these were spread evenly across age ranges from 21-60, with the majority being white males, in line with the department s staff profile. A third focus group was held with ten of the fourteen College Tutorial Fellows (TFs) in Computer Science, all fourteen of whom are currently male. College TFs oversee the undergraduate admissions process for the undergraduate degrees in CS, and also undertake the bulk of the tutorial teaching and pastoral care for the Department s undergraduates. This focus group was led by David Gavaghan and covered a range of issues relating to the role of the College Tutor, and the difficulties in managing the competing workload demands within the role. The findings from these three data gathering exercises have been used to inform all of the responses given in this document, and form the basis of the actions to be undertaken and described in the Action Plan. Similar data gathering exercises are planned for the future to ensure that we can evaluate the success of the Action Plan. The responses to the staff survey and focus groups were presented to the Department at the most recent Away Day in October 2014 by the EDC and Professor Manfredi. A good draft of the Action Plan (which was also circulated prior to the day) was also presented and each section discussed in breakout groups with each group feeding back to the plenary. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and the adoption of the Action Plan was strongly endorsed by the Department. Some of the data required for this application, particularly that relating to staff and student gender balance, proved challenging to collect. As part of our Action Plan we will develop a comprehensive infrastructure to support the collection and monitoring of data relating to equality and diversity issues for use in future Athena SWAN submissions. c) Plans for the future of the self-assessment team, such as how often the team will continue to meet, any reporting mechanisms and in particular how the self-assessment team intends to monitor implementation of the action plan. Going forward, the EDC will meet termly and have oversight of the revision and implementation of the Athena SWAN Action Plan. The HoD will continue to be a member of the EDC, and will (continue to) report directly to the Departmental Management Committee, together with the Chair of the EDC (currently David Gavaghan) being an ex officio member of the DMC. 6

7 Details of how the implementation of the Plan will be evaluated and monitored are shown in the Plan itself, and involve (initially) annual staff surveys and a wide variety of specific and measurable criteria. A major theme running through the responses to all of our data gathering exercises was a lack of effective communication of information across the Department. A key tool in addressing this is the Departmental website, which is currently undergoing a major review to ensure that it presents information in a way that is accessible to all staff and students, and that it reflects the supportive and inclusive culture of the Department. The effectiveness of this review will be evaluated in the next annual survey in March Word Count = 1, A picture of the department: maximum 2000 words a) Provide a pen-picture of the department to set the context for the application, outlining in particular any significant and relevant features. The Department is one of the longest-established Computer Science (CS) departments in the country, and is part of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division (MPLS). It is consistently recognised as internationally leading in teaching and research. The Department is housed across multiple sites within the University s South Parks Road Science area, facilitating strong collaborative links with research groups and institutes in closely allied areas (including the Oxford Internet Institute and the Oxford e-research Centre). The Department has approximately doubled in size and research activity over the last five years. Research is divided into a number of themes, with large differences between themes in the number of female academics, researchers and (particularly) research students (see Graph 1). GRAPH 1 Female academics (including researchers) and research students involved in each research theme 7

8 TABLE 2 Female academics (including researchers) and research students involved in each research theme Female Staff Female DPhil Students Algorithms 3 3 Automated Verification 2 1 Computational Biology 3 15 Foundations 1 5 Information Systems 4 9 Security 2 8 Software Engineering 2 2 As of 20 th October 2014 there are 64 members of permanent academic staff (13 women (20.3%)) in the Department, 93 research staff (18 women (19.4%)) and 179 research students (44 women (24.6%)). There are 57 administrative staff (39 women (68.4%)), including two outreach and publicity officers (one woman (50%)), and eight IT support staff (one woman (12.5%)). Of the senior academic staff, one out of five (20%) of the statutory professors is female, and six out of 33 (18.2%) Titular Professors are female. Providing training to the next generation of computer scientists is a central goal of the Department. Our undergraduate courses in Computer Science, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Computer Science and Philosophy all run for three years with an optional fourth year. The Department has a total of 198 undergraduates (29 women (14.6%)). The Department runs a one-year taught MSc course in Computer Science (60 full-time students (17 women (28.3%)). The Software Engineering Programme (SEP) also runs two part-time Masters courses for industrial practitioners; 339 students (36 women (10.6%)) are currently registered, typically taking 2 4 years to complete. Overall, the number of women across all academic levels within the Department is improving but remains consistently low; we do not see any attrition at any of the key transition points. Unusually for STEMM subjects the proportion of women is at its lowest at undergraduate and part-time MSc level, whilst amongst academic staff it is typically just below 20% from post-doctoral researcher to statutory chair. The national figure for women studying Computer Science at undergraduate level is 16%, and for academic staff is 21.7% 1 for comparable institutions. Our primary focus throughout this report and action plan is therefore on initiatives to increase the number of women at the entry points of undergraduate and graduate study, whilst at the same time putting in place procedures at all career stages to increase recruitment, and foster the retention and career development of all women within the Department. 1 The closest HESA benchmark is IT and Systems Science, Computer Software Engineering, 2011/12 (latest available data). 8

9 b) Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on their significance and how they have affected action planning: Student Data Since data for the 2013/14 academic year has recently become available, we have included four years of data in most cases. In general the most recent data shows a marked improvement. (i) Numbers of males and females on access or foundation courses comment on the data and describe any initiatives taken to attract women to the courses. In common with all other Oxford departments, the Computer Science Department does not offer access or foundation courses. (ii) Undergraduate male and female numbers full and part-time comment on the female:male ratio compared with the national picture for the discipline. Describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and the impact to date. Comment upon any plans for the future. Over the last five years of applications, across our three undergraduate degrees the average number of women admitted is 14.1%. More encouragingly, in the most recent admissions in 2014, 22.8% of the new cohort of undergraduates are women (see Graph 2). Admitted students choose either a three year course leading to the BA degree, or stay for the fourth year to obtain the MCompSci degree. Female participation in the fourth year is slightly lower than in the first three years at 38.9% against 45.9% for men, although this is very variable due to the small numbers. GRAPH 2 Undergraduate Computer Science Degrees - students on course by gender and year % 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Female Male 9

10 TABLE 3 Undergraduate Computer Science Degrees - students admitted each year by gender Female Male Year Number Proportion Number Proportion % % % % % % % % % % Total/Average % % By comparison, in Mathematics (the discipline closest to CS) 37% of the 1014 applicants last year were women. Our approach to attracting more of this pool of well-qualified female applicants relies on improving information and communication to demonstrate that Computer Science at university is far removed from the male-dominated image that adheres to ICT in schools. The most recent admissions figures suggest this approach is beginning to work. A dedicated Schools Liaison Officer was hired in 2010, and has introduced an extensive programme of outreach work described later under Organisation and Culture. The University has recently signed the Women in Technology and Engineering Compact, which aims nationally to double the number of women studying engineering and technology degrees at undergraduate level by Our overarching objective at undergraduate level is to maintain current momentum to reach a 30% intake of women into all undergraduate degrees by the 2017/18 admissions cycle. (iii) Postgraduate male and female numbers completing taught courses full and part-time comment on the female:male ratio compared with the national picture for the discipline. Describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and the effect to date. Comment upon any plans for the future. The MSc in Computer Science and part-time MSc degrees in Software Engineering or Software and Systems Security draw on cohorts with significant gender imbalance before application: Computer Science graduates or working software engineers. Graph 3 and Table 4 illustrate strong recent progress with the number of women on the full-time MSc climbing from two (6% of the cohort) in 2011/12 to 18 (28% of the cohort) in 2013/14 (compared to a national figure of 21% 2 ). This improvement maps on to the introduction of Graduate Open Days in 2012, with female academics talking about their research and strong representation from OxWoCS 3. 2 HESA Student Record 2011/12 3 The Oxford Women in Computer Science (OxWoCs) group see Organisation and Culture section for details. 10

11 GRAPH 3 Full-time MSc in Computer Science- Proportion of women on course by year 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% Average % Females TABLE 4 Full-time CS MSC Full-time MSc in Computer Science- students on course, by gender Female Male Avg (5.6%) (20.5%) 18 (27.7%) 17.9% (%) (94.4%) (79.5%) Avg. (%) 47 (72.3%) 82.1% Future activities are geared towards maintaining this momentum, with the objective of maintaining an average 30% intake of women onto the full time MSc course over the next three years. GRAPH 4 Part-time MScs in Software Engineering Proportion of students who are female by year 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% % Female part time Msc Students 2% 0% Average 11

12 TABLE 5 Part-time MScs Software Engineering Program - students on course, by gender Parttime SEP MSC Female (10.0%) (11.8%) (9.6%) 36 (10.6%) 10.5% Male Avg. (%) (90.0%) (88.2%) (90.4%) Avg. (%) 303 (89.4%) 89.5% The SEP allows great flexibility: students can take 2-4 years to complete while in full-time employment; undertake stand-alone modules; and automatically suspend study to allow for caring responsibilities. The percentage of women on the part-time MSc courses has stayed broadly static at between 9-12% of the cohort (see Graph 4), which to some extent reflects the proportion (10%) of UK programmers and software development professionals who are women 4, but masks differences in admissions and degree outcomes described below. Given the data below on the admissions process, for the part-time MScs we have set ourselves a challenging (but we believe feasible) target of reaching a proportion of 15% of our students being female by 2019; this longer time frame is due to the long lead time involved in recruiting students who are working full time in industry. In addition, we aim to improve the flow of information to all students to emphasise the extensive support mechanisms that we already have in place for students with caring responsibilities (iv) Postgraduate male and female numbers on research degrees full and part-time comment on the female:male ratio compared with the national picture for the discipline. Describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and the effect to date. Comment upon any plans for the future. GRAPH 5 Doctoral Programme Proportion of students who are female by year 4 Office for national statistics survey,

13 Shortlisted Offered Shortlisted Offered Shortlisted Offered Shortlisted Offered Shortlisted Offered TABLE 6 Doctoral Programme students on course, by gender DPhi Female (16%) (16.9%) (17.1%) 34 (18.9%) 17.2% Male Avg. (%) (84%) (83.1%) (82.9%) Avg. (%) 146 (81.1%) 82.8% There has been a small but steady increase in the number of women on our doctoral programs over the last four years: from 25 (16% of cohort) in 2010/11 to 34 (19%) in 2013/14, although this is still below the national figure of 22% 5. The University does not offer part-time research degrees. The Department does not currently have in place any programmes aimed specifically at attracting more female applicants to the DPhil Programme. Activities are aimed at improving the flow of information to potential applicants, and supporting women students whilst on course. We will also try to identify reasons for the variability in numbers of female students across the different themes (Graph 1), and use this to support themes to attract a larger number of female applicants. Given the current level of 18.9% female students, our goal at PGR level is to reach a 25% intake of women across all themes by the 2017/18 admissions cycle, with the ultimate goal of achieving 30% of intake by 2020/21. (v) Ratio of course applications to offers and acceptances by gender for undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research degrees comment on the differences between male and female application and success rates and describe any initiatives taken to address any imbalance and their effect to date. Comment upon any plans for the future. GRAPH 6 Undergraduate Degrees applications and outcomes, by gender and year 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Male Female Average 5 HESA Student Record 2011/12 13

14 TABLE 7 Undergraduate Degrees applications and outcomes, by gender Total applicants Shortlisted Offered Female Total/ Avg. (%) % 102 (43.0%) 39 (16.5%) Male (18.8%) 20(/47) (42.6%) 8(/47) (17.0%) (15.5%) 17 (38.6%) 6 (13.6%) (19.0%) 27 (48.2%) 7 (12.5%) (20.2%) 38 (42.7%) 18 (20.1%) (81.2%) 124 (61.1%) 49 (24.1%) (84.5%) 145 (60.1%) 60 (24.9%) (81.0%) 153 (63.4%) 59 (24.4%) (79.8%) 162 (46.1%) 51 (14.5%) Total/ Avg. (%) % 584 (56.4%) 219 (21.1%) Over the last four years, 18.4% of applications to our undergraduate degrees are from women (see Table 7), but women have been offered only 16.5% of places (slightly above the national figure of 16%). In 2013/14 there has been an improvement to 20.1% for women against 14.5% for men. We have been aware of these differences for some time and have undertaken detailed analysis of potential causes. This admissions process has two stages: the first is a MAT (multiple choice and problem questions) taken in school. All candidates sit the same test, on the same day. To maintain consistency, marking is done in Oxford with individuals marking single questions across scripts. The MAT score is used to narrow the field (from around six to three applicants per place), allowing interviews of only those candidates with a realistic chance of admission. Shortlisting for interview is based largely on the MAT score (weighted to take into account also GCSE results and social indicators). The second stage is the interview, carried out by subject-specialists college tutors (mostly lecturers/professors within the CS Department). Although there is extensive coordination at Departmental level to ensure that the best candidates are admitted, the entire interview and admissions process is coordinated and controlled at College, rather than Department, level. All college interviewers are required to undertake interview training (developed by the Oxford Learning Institute and the Undergraduate Admissions Office), including unconscious bias training. Reviews of the admissions data consistently show that performance in the MAT correlates strongly with the proportion of women admitted (see Table 8). Prior to last year there was a significant achievementdifferential, with women scoring on average 8-9% lower than male applicants, leading to a large number of women not being shortlisted. [This mirrors the experience for the Physics Admissions Test.] TABLE 8 Average MAT score, by gender Female Male Everyone No changes in structure or format of the test occurred between 2012/3 and 2013/14, so the reason for the improvement in female performance is unclear (beyond the obvious increases in the number of candidates and the overall lower average mark of all candidates). 14

15 The key goals are to gain a better understanding of the difference in performance between men and women in the MAT test, to survey current first-year students to learn more about why they chose Oxford and Computer Science, and whether the dominance of male tutors might have an influence (see section 5). This feedback will be used to improve future outreach and admissions information and provision. The overall goal is to reach a 30% intake of women undergraduates by GRAPH 7 Part-time MScs in Software Engineering admissions process by gender aggregated over TABLE 9 Part-time MScs in Software Engineering application process summary by gender Female Male Total / Avg. (%) Total / Avg. (%) Applications started (/668) (14.5%) (/668) (85.5%) Completed applications (/468) (13.5%) (/468)8 6.5%) Offered interview 10(/16) (62.5%) 16 (84.2%) 11 (73.3%) Withdrawn before interview (84.6%) 48 (/63) (76.2%) 100 (93.4%) 96 (88.8%) 93 (95.8%) 90 (96.8%) 12 (/48) (25.0%) (/405) (93.5%) 59 (/379) (15.6%) Accepted interview 7 (/16) (43.8%) 15 (78.9%) 6 (40.0%) 8 (61.6%) 36 (/63) (57.1%) 81 (75.7%) 83 (76.9%) 77 (79.4%) 79 (84.9%) 320 (/405) (79.0%) Offered place 6 (/16) (37.5%) 13 (81.3%) 6 (54.5%) 8 (72.7%) 33 (/63) (52.4%) 69(/107) (64.4%) 79 (73.1%) 75 (80.6%) 76 (84.4%) 299/405 (73.8%) Accepted place 6 (/16) (37.5%) 11 (57.8%) 4 (26.7%) 6 (46.2%) 27 (/63) (42.9%) 59(/107) (55.1%) 71 (65.7%) 67 (69.0%) 63 (67.7%) 260(/405) (64.1%) 15

16 SEP applicants are all interviewed either in person (UK candidates), or using Skype (overseas). The Programme keeps a detailed database of the admissions process, as summarised in Table 9. Within any given year, the relatively small number of female applicants can result in wide variations in the percentages, but aggregating over the last 4 years a consistently higher attrition rate for women at all stages of the application process is clear, culminating in a final accepted offer to full application ratio of 42.9% for women compared to 64.1% for men over this period (Graph 7). In preparing for this application, this is the first time that we have analysed this data in this way, and we currently have no explanation for these differences. For the part-time MScs, focus on understanding these differences via a thorough review of all aspects of our applications procedures, and a survey of existing students. (See also action plan for all postgraduate admissions and interviews below.) GRAPH 8 Full-time MSc in Computer Science admissions process by gender aggregated over TABLE 10 Full-time MSc in Computer Science admissions process by gender Female Total applicants (/57) Offered (15.8%) (24.0%) (26.7%) 2 (/57) 9 16 Started (3.5%) (13.6%) (28.6%) Male Total / Avg. (%) % (23.0%) (23.6%) (31.6%) (31.8%) (13.0%) (15.8%) (16.2%) (22.0%) Total / Avg. (%) % 191 (30.0%) 113 (17.8%) Applicants to the full-time MSc apply online and are then ed a set of technical questions, with 48 hours to respond. Their answers and application are reviewed, and shortlisted candidates are interviewed by telephone. 16

17 The number of applications from women for the MSc has grown steadily over the last three years (from 57 in 2011/12 to 86 in 2013/14.) The proportion of women offered a place has climbed from 15.8% in 2011/12 to 26.7% last year, but remains slightly lower than for men (31.8%). The large number of student withdrawals is primarily due to lack of finance. GRAPH 9 Doctoral Programme DPhil admissions process by gender aggregated over TABLE 11 Doctoral Programme Doctoral Programme DPhil admissions process by gender Female Male Total applicants (/36) Offered (22.2%) (42.1%) (45.4%) (39.4%) Started (19.4%) (31.6%) (27.3%) (24.2%) Total / Avg. (%) (19.0%) (35.4%) (29.2%) (47.5%) (34.0%) (49.1%) (24.5%) (23.1%) (28.2%) (30.9%) (21.3%) Total / Avg. (%) 469 (81.0%) 185 (39.4%) 119 (25.3%) Applications are made to our doctoral programme online. The majority of prospective students are interviewed either in person or via Skype by the relevant supervisor. Table 11 shows that offer and start rates vary quite widely for both men and women across years; aggregating over the last four years (see Graph 9) we can see a lower aggregate ratio of female applications to offers (35.4% for women against 39.4% for men), although the aggregate number starting DPhils is comparable (24.5% for women against 25.5% for men). The consistently lower application to offer rate for women across all of our graduate programmes is very concerning. This is particularly the case at MSc level where, as shown in the next section, the data on degree outcomes show that those women who are admitted are, on average, outperforming their male peers. The primary goal of our action plan is to understand these differences to determine whether these 17

18 may be due to unconscious bias, and to put in place a comprehensive programme of activities to redress the balance, including compulsory training in equality and diversity issues for all interviewers. In addition, we will put in place a range of activities to increase the number of applications from well-qualified women, comparable to the one we have already put in place at undergraduate level. (vi) Degree classification by gender comment on any differences in degree attainment between males and females and describe what actions are being taken to address any imbalance. GRAPH 10 Undergraduate Degrees - Exiting MMaths/CompSci and BA Mmath/CompSci students by degree classification, by gender aggregated over the period TABLE 12 Undergraduate Degrees - Exiting Mmaths/CompSci and BA Mmath/CompSci students by degree classification by gender aggregated over Female Out of 12 Total % Out of 91 Total Male 1st % % 2: % % 2: % % 3rd % 7 4.8% Other 0 0.0% 1 0.7% Graph 10 shows undergraduate degree outcome by gender aggregated (due to small numbers) over 2010/11 to 2013/14. This graph includes students exiting at the end of both the third and fourth year. Overall results between men and women appear comparable. % 18

19 TABLE 13 Part-time MSCs in Software Engineering Award Classification, by gender Female Pass Pass with distinction Male Total/ Avg (%) / % / % Total/ Avg. (%) 106/ % 52/ % TABLE 14 Full-time MScs Award Classification, by gender Female Male Total/ Avg (%) /19 Pass % Pass with 13/19 distinction % Total/ Avg (%) 63/ % 32/ % Tables 13 and 14 show that although the number of women is relatively small, women are (proportionately) consistently out-performing their male counterparts on both the part-time and full-time MScs. Aggregating the data together, on the full-time MSc 68.4% of women were awarded distinctions against 33.7% of men, whilst on the software engineering degree the equivalent figures were 41.3% women and 33.0% men. Staff Data (vii) Female:male ratio of academic staff and research staff researcher, lecturer, senior lecturer, reader, professor (or equivalent). Comment on any differences in numbers between males and females and say what action is being taken to address any underrepresentation at particular grades/levels. The University has this year introduced a single uniform employment framework for academic staff. The standard University entry-level academic appointment is now at Associate Professor (AP) (similar to Senior Lecturer/Reader at other UK universities). Promotion to full Titular Professor (TP) is available through an annual Recognition of Distinction process (described later). A small number of other professorial appointments are made through RS4 chairs (which we have included within the TP category in the data below). At academic researcher level, the bulk of appointments are fixed-term appointments at grade 7, funded through external grants; promotion beyond grade 7 is relatively rare (see below). The total number of permanent academic staff in the Department has risen quickly over the last 3 years to 64, with 13 female (20%) and 51 male staff, compared to 45 staff in 2010, with 6 female (13%) and 39 male, with the most dramatic increase in the number of female TPs from 0% to 19%. Additional entry-level academic posts at Departmental Lecturer (DLs) cover teaching for staff with research fellowships or on maternity leave; women have been particularly successful in being appointed to these posts, resulting in an increase in female DLs from 25% in 2010 to 44% in For research staff, there has been a similar steady increase from 11 women (15.2%) and 61 men in 2010, to 18 women (19.4%) and 75 men in Across all academic and research staff, this results in an increase from an average of 15% (17 out of 117 staff) in 2010 across all roles to 20% (31 out of 157 staff) in

20 Graph 11 shows the percentage of female research and academic staff (with researchers aggregated across all grades) over this period, and Table 15 also gives the number of staff. Over time there are small fluctuations within each grade, primarily due to the ending of fixed-term contracts (in the case of research staff), or by promotions (in the case of academic staff). GRAPH 11 Percentage of male/ female staff in each group (by year) TABLE 15 Number and Percentages by gender of staff in each group Numbers (percentages) by gender Statutory Professor (SP) Assistant (AP) and Titular (TP) Professor Departmental Lecturer (DL) Researcher-Grd10 Researcher-Grd9 Researcher-Grd8 Researcher-Grd7 Female 1 (20%) 1 (20%) 1 (20%) 1 (20%) 1 (20%) Male 4 (80%) 4 (80%) 4 (80%) 4 (80%) 4 (80%) Female 3 (9%) 4 (11%) 4 (10%) 7 (13%) 8 (15%) Male 32 (91%) 32 (89%) 38 (90%) 46 (87%) 46(85%) Female 3 (60%) 3 (60%) 4 (67%) 4 (50%) 4 (50%) Male 2 (40%) 2 (40%) 2(33%) 4(50%) 4(50%) Female 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) Male 1 (100%) 1 (100%) 2 (100%) 3 (100%) 5 (100%) Female 1 (50%) 1 (50%) 1 (100%) 1 (50%) 1 (50%) Male 1 (50%) 1 (50%) 0 (0%) 1 (50%) 1 (50%) Female 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (9%) 3 (20%) 5 (24%) Male 12 (100%) 10 (100%) 10 (91%) 12 (80%) 16 (76%) Female 9 (17%) 10 (17%) 6 (11%) 4 (7%) 12 (17%) Male 45 (83%) 50 (83%) 49 (89%) 54 (93%) 57 (83%) 20

21 One issue that is masked in the data above is that all of the 12 tutorial fellows in colleges are male: this is discussed further in Section 5 below. Benchmark Data: Our overall percentage of female academic staff (20%) is slightly lower than comparable University Computer Science Departments (21.1% female in 2013). As stated at the start of this document, the above data show a clear and consistent pattern of underrepresentation of women across all grades. There are no clear points of attrition at any particular career point, although due to small numbers there are wide variations at certain time points. Our action plan therefore focuses on initiatives at all career stages to increase recruitment, and foster the retention and career development of all women within the Department. viii) Turnover by grade and gender comment on any differences between men and women in turnover and say what is being done to address this. Where the number of staff leaving is small, comment on the reasons why particular individuals left. Academic staff turnover is extremely low with only seven staff (all male) leaving their posts in the last 5 years (see Graph 12). As shown in Table 16, turnover for contract research staff is higher and is usually as a result of the end of an externally funded research project or obtaining a faculty post at another University. In 2014, 13 fixed-term contract staff have left to date, all male. In 2013, 24 finished their contracts (all 4 of the female researchers and 20 of the 54 (37%) of the male candidates) as a large number of research projects came to an end. GRAPH 12 Staff turnover by gender at each grade averaged over the years

22 TABLE 16 Staff turnover by gender at each level (by year) Turnover % Professor Lecturer Res- Grd7 Res - Grd8 Res - Grd9 Res - Grd Female 0% 0% 22% 0% 0% 0% Male 0% 0% 27% 25% 0% 0% 2011 Female 0% 0% 80% 0% 0% 0% Male 13% 12.50% 54% 20% 100% 0% 2012 Female 0% 0% 33% 100% 0% 0% Male 7.14% 0% 45% 30% 0% 0% 2013 Female 0% 0% 100% 33% 0% 0% Male 0% 5.26% 37% 8% 0% 0% 2014 Female 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Male 0% 0% 23% 38% 0% 0% There are no obvious trends or gender bias in the above staff data. The very low levels of staff turnover amongst permanent academic staff at the grades of UL and above means, in effect, that addressing gender imbalance further is largely dependent on the creation of new posts. Although some new posts are planned over the next three years, expansion of the Department will likely be at a much lower rate than over the last five years (three new permanent academic posts are planned with the Department striving to increase the number of tutorial fellows). Our action plan focuses on improved support for female research and academic staff to improve retention, and improving the way in which we attract female applicants to apply for posts in the department. Word Count = Supporting and advancing women s careers: maximum 5000 words Key Career Transition Points a) Provide data for the past three years (where possible with clearly labelled graphical illustrations) on the following with commentary on their significance and how they have affected action planning. (i) Job application and success rates by gender and grade comment on any differences in recruitment between men and women at any level and say what action is being taken to address this. 22

23 GRAPH 13 Academic posts - percentages of females (applicants, shortlisted, accepted) for DL, AP/TP and grade 10 posts over the period % 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% Applied Shortlisted Offered and accepted 0.00% 2010/11 (1 post) 2011/12 (1 post) 2012/ /14 (5 posts) (4 posts) Overall (11 posts) TABLE 17 Academic Appointments Process aggregated across DL, AP/TP and grade 10 posts, showing the number of women/total number at each of applications, shortlisted, and offered 2010/ / / /14 Overall (1 post) (1 post) (5 posts) (4 posts) (11 posts) Applied 5/56 (8.9%) 5/31 (16.1%) 19/149 (12.8%) 16/200 (8.0%) 45/436 (10.3%) Shortlisted 2/7 (28.6)% 2/5 (40%) 4/24 (16.7%) 3/20 (15%) 11/45 (19.6%) Offered and accepted 0/1 (0%) 0/1 (0%) 1/5 (20%) 2/4 (50%) 3/11 (27.8%) Since 2010, only 11 new academic posts have been recruited (4 DLs, 4APs/TPs 1 RSIV Research Professor, 2 Grade 10 Research Lecturers). Graph 13 and Table 17 above give the data at all stages of the recruitment process aggregated across these appointments (for example, in 2010 five women were shortlisted from a total of 56 applicants, of these two women out of seven were shortlisted etc.) Overall, the proportion of female applicants is disappointingly low, but once women are attracted to apply then they are proportionately more likely to be shortlisted and appointed than men. In building up to the recent REF exercise, the Department has employed four permanent academics in senior strategic roles. The two women appointed in these roles are Professor Sadie Creese to lead the University s Cyber Security initiative, and Professor Leslie Goldberg as senior member of the Algorithms group. The Department also actively recruits fellows to the Department to hold, for example, EC Marie Curie fellowships. Two of the 3 fellowships held over the last 2 years have been female candidates. 23

24 GRAPH 14 Percentage of female applicants applying for grade 7 research posts by year TABLE 18 Percentage of female applicants applying for grade 7 research posts by year 2010/11 (26 posts) 2011/12 (30 posts) 2012/13 (22 posts) 2013/14 (21 posts) Applied for 8% 13% 14% 20% Was shortlisted 9% 15% 18% 21% Offered position and accepted 13% 19% 0% 21% Graph 14 and Table 18 show the equivalent data for research staff recruitment. These again suggest that once we have attracted female candidates to apply then there is no gender bias, with a consistently larger percentage of female candidates being shortlisted than applied, and a consistently larger percentage of female candidates subsequently appointed than were shortlisted. There has also been a steady increase in the number of applications over the last four years. [The data for 2012/13 reflects cases where candidates were offered positions from US universities but subsequently declined offers on financial grounds.] Our action plan focuses on improving our approach to advertising posts to well-qualified female applicants, and exploring (and subsequently) addressing any barriers to applications from those with, for example, caring responsibilities. 24

25 (ii) Applications for promotion and success rates by gender and grade comment on whether these differ for men and women and if they do explain what action may be taken. Where the number of women is small applicants may comment on specific examples of where women have been through the promotion process. Explain how potential candidates are identified. Academic Staff Up until 2010, a biennial Recognition of Distinction exercise was held for all academic staff, giving the opportunity to apply for the title of Reader or Professor. This scheme was suspended for review and has just been reintroduced as an annual exercise this year (see institutional application for details). Under the new scheme, all Associate Professors (APs) and senior research staff are invited to make a case for advancement to a committee from the relevant academic division (in our case, MPLS). Cases for promotion to full (Titular) Professor (TP) can be presented on the grounds of research, teaching, or university service, and each can include an outreach component. Those awarded the title of Professor are also awarded a salary increase (the same increase is awarded to all). The results of the 2014 exercise have just been announced and each of the two female applicants from the Department were successful (6 out of 7 men were successful). Research Staff Since almost all research staff are appointed on fixed term contracts associated with fixed term funding from external sources, almost all posts are at the first post-doctoral grade (grade 7). Promotion from grade 7 to higher grades is through re-grading of a post (only two cases in the last three years, both male). In a small number of cases, Research Staff at grade 7 have applied for and been offered a post at grade 8 or 9 (7 cases in the last 3 years, 1 female). Although there is no obvious gender bias, results from the staff survey suggest that female staff in particular would appreciate improved transparency and support in applying for promotion (around 20% of female respondents felt that this could be improved). b) For each of the areas below, explain what the key issues are in the department, what steps have been taken to address any imbalances, what success/impact has been achieved so far and what additional steps may be needed. (i) Recruitment of staff comment on how the department s recruitment processes ensure that female candidates are attracted to apply, and how the department ensures its short listing, selection processes and criteria comply with the university s equal opportunities policies. To date, the Department has not had in place any specific measures (other than statutory equality monitoring) to attract female staff to apply for research posts. Any initiatives that have been undertaken have been ad hoc, usually through the selection panel for that particular post. The Department s HR officer has identified that the length of fixed-term contracts may have an impact on the attractiveness of posts to those with caring commitments. Responsibility for ensuring that the Department s recruitment processes comply with the University s equal opportunities policies lies with the Head of Department, Senior Administrator, and HR Manager; the success of the implementation of these policies is evident in Graphs 13 and 14 and Tables 17 and 18 above. 25