A study by NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre researchers has concluded that the markers of achievement for monitoring gender equity in BRCs should take into account contextual factors specific to BRCs and women’s career progression and professional advancement.
The study, published as a pre-print on the medRxiv server, said that gender equity markers of achievement should be complemented with broader aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion.
The researchers set out to explore women’s and men’s perceptions of gender equity and the current markers of achievement in a BRC setting.
Four major themes emerged from their analysis: perceptions of the Athena Swan Charter for Women in Science; views on monitoring gender equity in BRCs; views on current markers of achievement in academia and gender equity; and recommendations for actions to improve GE in BRC settings.
Dr Lorna Henderson, Senior Manager at the Oxford BRC and lead author said: “Monitoring of gender equity in BRCs was seen by our respondents as being an important, but complex issue. They felt that the current markers of achievement were not equitable to women as they did not take contextual factors into account, such as maternity leave and caring responsibilities, and so BRC-specific organisational policies and metrics were required to monitor and catalyse gender equity.”
She continued: “The NIHR Oxford BRC is committed to supporting and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research, in line with NIHR policy, and we are building up a portfolio of work in this important area. This study is, to our knowledge, the first qualitative study exploring women’s and men’s perceptions of gender equity specifically in an NIHR Oxford BRC setting.
“The findings provide important recommendations which we can implement to accelerate progress not only regarding women’s careers in academic science but EDI more broadly.”
Read more about the Oxford BRC’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work.