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Project Juno

Physics and Astronomy at Exeter has held Juno Champion status since 2018.

Athena SWAN

Physics and Astronomy at Exeter has held Athena SWAN Silver status since 2018.

Working group
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Inclusivity

We are committed to maintaining an inclusive environment for everyone working in Physics, regardless of:

  • age
  • disability
  • gender reassignment
  • marriage and civil partnership
  • pregnancy and maternity
  • race
  • religion or belief
  • sex
  • sexual orientation.

Our inclusion group has representatives for all these protected characteristics. This group is developing discussions and actions to help ensure fairness and equality in important areas such as workload, promotions and recruitment in Physics.

Follow our blog for the latest news and initiatives from the group.

If you have any queries or comments, please contact a member of the working group or leave feedback here.

Our Code of Conduct and Inclusivity aims to make everyone in the Physics and Astronomy department aware of expected professional conduct and to ensure that everyone understands how to report problems. The document refers to many existing policies at the University of Exeter and includes additional guidance to promote best practice and inclusivity across a range of topics that are relevant to the Physics community. The information in this document is not intended to override existing University policies but to bring them together into a helpful summary, and readers are encouraged to follow the links we have provided to read the policies in more detail.

The document was developed by the Physics Inclusion Group, with input from across the department, and is part of the group's action plan to improve inclusivity and wellbeing for everyone working and studying in the department. In particular, it addresses a specific aspect of our action plan, which is aligned with the Institute of Physics’ framework for inclusivity (Project Juno), to embed professional conduct into department culture and behaviour.

Click on the link to download a copy of the Code of Conduct and Inclusivity

Physics at Exeter has held Juno Champion status since 2018 after being awarded Practitioner status in 2013.

Project Juno is a scheme run by the Institute of Physics (IoP) which recognises good practice in relation to gender equality in Physics Departments. The aim is to promote an inclusive and equitable working culture within Physics and to tackle any practical, structural or cultural barriers faced by women within the department. There are three levels to the Juno process – Supporter, Practitioner and Champion.

The Juno Principles

In order to achieve a Champion award, the department has to demonstrate that they have embedded the following Juno principles throughout the department.

  1. A robust organisational framework to deliver equality of opportunity and reward;
  2. Appointment and selection processes and procedures that encourage men and women to apply for academic posts at all levels;
  3. Departmental structures and systems which support and encourage the career progression and promotion of all staff and enable men and women to progress and continue in their careers;
  4. Departmental organisation, structure, management arrangements and culture that are open, inclusive and transparent and encourage the participation of all staff;
  5. Flexible approaches and provisions that enable individuals, at all career and life stages, to optimise their contribution to their department, institution and to SET;
  6. An environment where professional conduct is embedded into departmental culture and behaviour.

For more information on Project Juno, please see the  IOP Juno website.

Our Exeter Women in Physics group launched in 2017 and holds regular meetings for staff and students in the department.

For more information or if you have any questions or suggestions, please email either Michelle Bailey (m.bailey2@exeter.ac.uk) or Almudena Visser Velez (av384@exeter.ac.uk).

You can also follow the group on Twitter (Exeter Women in Physics Twitter), join the Facebook group (Exeter Women in Physics Facebook), and sign up for the mailing list (Mailing list form).

As part of our commitment to inclusivity, we would like to welcome staff and students to share feedback with us on working and studying within the Physics department.

Feedback will be analysed by the Working Group and translated into actions for improvement within the department, to promote a 'best practice' working environment for ALL staff and students.

Complete the short feedback form.

Introduction from the Head of Department

I am fully committed to providing a working environment where people from all genders and backgrounds are treated equally and given the opportunity to thrive. We are working to continually identify and address any barriers to women entering science and advancing to the highest levels. Working with the Institute of Physics’ Project Juno and the Equality Challenge Unit’s Athena Swan Charter we are striving to overcome under-representation of women in science.

Professor Tim Harries - Head of Department for Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy