Inclusion Really Does Matter: Improving Reactions to Gender Equality Initiatives Amongst Academics in Engineering and Physical Sciences
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: The Vice Chancellors Office
Abstract
Across engineering and physical sciences (EPS) departments in UK Universities, there have been concerted efforts to address gender imbalances. Notably, numerous departments have participated successfully in the Athena SWAN award scheme set up by the Equality Challenge Unit, the aim of which is to promote gender equality. These departments have all implemented wide-ranging plans to address gender imbalances. Despite this, many STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) domains remain predominantly masculine. Fewer than 10% percent of the UK's engineers are women, the lowest percentage in Europe, and the proportion of women studying engineering and physics has remained virtually static since 2012. Importantly, these gender gaps deepen as women advance in their academic careers: only around 15% of professors in STEM subjects are female. This situation is problematic because it means that university departments, as well as STEM employers, are not drawing from the full talent pool that is potentially available to them. Moreover, research shows that, under certain conditions, groups and institutions that are diverse tend to perform better.
Why is it that gender equality initiatives are widespread but progress remains slow? We propose that one of the reasons that these initiatives have had limited effectiveness is that they are sometimes met with negative attitudes that can range from indifference to hostility. Moreover, gender equality work can be seen as of low status and can burden female academics even further, as they undertake additional work to the detriment of their academic careers.
How can reactions to gender equality initiatives be improved? We propose that the first step is to understand, using scientific methods, when and why these initiatives can lead to negative reactions. This project aims to reach such an understanding by carrying out research specifically with EPS academics, who themselves are a distinctive population due to their level of education, scientific training, and experience. We will test whether academics, due to their scientific training, need to be persuaded of the need for gender equality initiatives by robust empirical evidence or whether methods that encourage empathy and perspective-taking with female academics can also be effective. We will also examine whether these initiatives lead to negative reactions because academics do not feel self-efficacious in bringing about change, due to a lack of understanding of how they can personally tackle inequality. The empirical research will also examine whether the prospect of increasing the number of women in STEM feels threatening to some men, by challenging the male prototypicality of this domain. We will test nine factors that might impact on the effectiveness of gender equality initiatives through a set of experiments conducted with academics across different areas within EPS, at three universities.
We will use the knowledge we generate from these studies to design resources for EPS departments. The first will be a resource package (video, brochure, questionnaire) for gender equality committees that provides them with evidence-based advice on how best to design and implement gender equality initiatives so that they are met with positive reactions. The second will be a training tool in three formats (a Virtual Reality toolkit, an online multimedia training, and an app). These tools can be used by EPS departments to train staff on gender equality issues, while ensuring positive attitudes towards and engagement in gender equality initiatives. These tools will be tested across different departments and universities, and refined as necessary. Finally, in order to increase the effectiveness of gender equality initiatives nationally, we will share the knowledge and tools we have developed with universities across the UK via a workshop, a dedicated website, and high-profile interdisciplinary publications.
Why is it that gender equality initiatives are widespread but progress remains slow? We propose that one of the reasons that these initiatives have had limited effectiveness is that they are sometimes met with negative attitudes that can range from indifference to hostility. Moreover, gender equality work can be seen as of low status and can burden female academics even further, as they undertake additional work to the detriment of their academic careers.
How can reactions to gender equality initiatives be improved? We propose that the first step is to understand, using scientific methods, when and why these initiatives can lead to negative reactions. This project aims to reach such an understanding by carrying out research specifically with EPS academics, who themselves are a distinctive population due to their level of education, scientific training, and experience. We will test whether academics, due to their scientific training, need to be persuaded of the need for gender equality initiatives by robust empirical evidence or whether methods that encourage empathy and perspective-taking with female academics can also be effective. We will also examine whether these initiatives lead to negative reactions because academics do not feel self-efficacious in bringing about change, due to a lack of understanding of how they can personally tackle inequality. The empirical research will also examine whether the prospect of increasing the number of women in STEM feels threatening to some men, by challenging the male prototypicality of this domain. We will test nine factors that might impact on the effectiveness of gender equality initiatives through a set of experiments conducted with academics across different areas within EPS, at three universities.
We will use the knowledge we generate from these studies to design resources for EPS departments. The first will be a resource package (video, brochure, questionnaire) for gender equality committees that provides them with evidence-based advice on how best to design and implement gender equality initiatives so that they are met with positive reactions. The second will be a training tool in three formats (a Virtual Reality toolkit, an online multimedia training, and an app). These tools can be used by EPS departments to train staff on gender equality issues, while ensuring positive attitudes towards and engagement in gender equality initiatives. These tools will be tested across different departments and universities, and refined as necessary. Finally, in order to increase the effectiveness of gender equality initiatives nationally, we will share the knowledge and tools we have developed with universities across the UK via a workshop, a dedicated website, and high-profile interdisciplinary publications.
Planned Impact
Diversity benefits everyone. Overall, improving reactions to GEIs will improve the likelihood of their success and improve the diversity climate within institutions. More specifically, we identify and explain several levels at which benefits will be visible:
(i) Athena SWAN and other gender equality committees (e.g., those associated with Project Juno) will obtain specific guidelines that will help them understand and minimise possible negative reactions to their initiatives, alongside evidence-based training tools specifically designed to enhance reactions to the initiatives that they are implementing.
(ii) Female academics in EPS fields will clearly benefit from this project, in several ways. First, if GEIs are more successful, EPS departments will feel more inclusive to female academics, improving the quality of their working lives. Second, the burden of taking on and persuading others of the benefits of GEIs will be reduced for female academics, because this is one of the factors we plan to change in existing GEIs. Third, and most importantly, these cultural changes will help female academics develop sustainable and successful academic careers.
(iii) Male academics will also benefit, as improving reactions to GEIs will lead to men feeling less threatened by such initiatives, more self-efficacious in addressing gender imbalance, and more involved in such initiatives. Men's involvement and positive attitudes are important, given that GEIs are not likely to cease to exist as long as large gender imbalances persist. As such, it is important to ensure that male academics' experiences with these initiatives are positive.
(iv) Students in EPS departments at all levels will benefit. Although the resources that the project will produce will be aimed primarily at academics, GEIs themselves (such as Athena SWAN) typically have action plans that target every stage of the academic career, from undergraduate stage onwards. Insofar as the project increases the effectiveness of these GEIs, it will have a broad impact on students as well as staff of EPS departments, in particular with respect to facilitating the progression of female undergraduates on the academic career path. Importantly, an inclusive gender environment can also lead to more female role models and mentors for female undergraduate students, an important factor in increasing their positive experiences and retention in EPS careers.
(v) Other minorities in EPS (racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ individuals, individuals with a disability, individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds) may benefit from more effective GEIs in two ways. First, they may benefit because the Athena SWAN charter requires departments to explicitly address the intersectionality issues associated with minority status. Second, creating a culture that is inclusive for women will be likely to create an environment that is also more welcoming to those of any type of minority status.
(vi) The universities using these resources will also benefit. At present, many individual EPS departments spend considerable time and effort on developing and implementing their own GEIs, but these are not always evidence-based or effective. This project will help nationally coordinate these individual departmental efforts by allowing all GEIs to benefit from evidence-based resources.
(i) Athena SWAN and other gender equality committees (e.g., those associated with Project Juno) will obtain specific guidelines that will help them understand and minimise possible negative reactions to their initiatives, alongside evidence-based training tools specifically designed to enhance reactions to the initiatives that they are implementing.
(ii) Female academics in EPS fields will clearly benefit from this project, in several ways. First, if GEIs are more successful, EPS departments will feel more inclusive to female academics, improving the quality of their working lives. Second, the burden of taking on and persuading others of the benefits of GEIs will be reduced for female academics, because this is one of the factors we plan to change in existing GEIs. Third, and most importantly, these cultural changes will help female academics develop sustainable and successful academic careers.
(iii) Male academics will also benefit, as improving reactions to GEIs will lead to men feeling less threatened by such initiatives, more self-efficacious in addressing gender imbalance, and more involved in such initiatives. Men's involvement and positive attitudes are important, given that GEIs are not likely to cease to exist as long as large gender imbalances persist. As such, it is important to ensure that male academics' experiences with these initiatives are positive.
(iv) Students in EPS departments at all levels will benefit. Although the resources that the project will produce will be aimed primarily at academics, GEIs themselves (such as Athena SWAN) typically have action plans that target every stage of the academic career, from undergraduate stage onwards. Insofar as the project increases the effectiveness of these GEIs, it will have a broad impact on students as well as staff of EPS departments, in particular with respect to facilitating the progression of female undergraduates on the academic career path. Importantly, an inclusive gender environment can also lead to more female role models and mentors for female undergraduate students, an important factor in increasing their positive experiences and retention in EPS careers.
(v) Other minorities in EPS (racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ individuals, individuals with a disability, individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds) may benefit from more effective GEIs in two ways. First, they may benefit because the Athena SWAN charter requires departments to explicitly address the intersectionality issues associated with minority status. Second, creating a culture that is inclusive for women will be likely to create an environment that is also more welcoming to those of any type of minority status.
(vi) The universities using these resources will also benefit. At present, many individual EPS departments spend considerable time and effort on developing and implementing their own GEIs, but these are not always evidence-based or effective. This project will help nationally coordinate these individual departmental efforts by allowing all GEIs to benefit from evidence-based resources.
Publications

Farrell L
(2021)
When You Put It that Way: Framing Gender Equality Initiatives to Improve Engagement among STEM Academics
in BioScience

Petzel Z
(2024)
A collective action approach to improving attitudes and self-efficacy towards gender equality among male STEM academics
in European Journal of Psychology of Education
Description | 1. We have identified through empirical research with EPS academics the factors that modulate the effectiveness of gender equality initiatives in EPS academia. Some of these include: the use of scientific information about gender bias, perspective-taking to increase empathy, raising self-efficacy, stimulating internal motivations, framing equality initiatives as benefiting not only women but the entire academic community. 2. We have successfully used innovative technology such as VR to study gender equality initiatives |
Exploitation Route | Our research findings have applied potential - anyone in academic environments who is considering designing gender equality initiatives in EPS can use our findings to enhance their effectiveness and reduce backlash. We are also currently creating tech tools and other resources to package these findings in intervention formats. Importantly these findings can also be used by non-academic organisations male-dominated domains to enhance effectiveness of their equality interventions. |
Sectors | Education Other |
Description | COVID response QUB |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
Impact | Following Inclusion Matter visibility across our university, the PI was invited to conduct research along with Queen's Gender Initiative and HR to understand and address the impact of COVID on female academics at QUB. The research led to recommendations to the University Executive Board and several changes recently implemented including work-life balance policies across the university as well as the launching of research funds to address research gaps created by COVID |
URL | https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/QueensGenderInitiative/EngenderingSolutionsProject/ |
Description | Internal NI DfE Covid extension grant |
Amount | £11,566 (GBP) |
Funding ID | This is an internal NI DfE extension due to Covid negative impact awarded by EPS Faculty |
Organisation | Government of Northern Ireland |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2021 |
End | 12/2021 |
Title | Tools to improve attitudes towards Athena SWAN |
Description | Tools to improve attitudes towards Athena SWAN are now published and publicly available online at https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/InclusionReallyDoesMatter/Resources/ These were also shared with AdvanceHE during the Athena SWAN Gold renewal process. They include video resources, brochure and questionnaire |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The tool was positively evaluated by AdvanceHE during the Athena SWAN Gold renewal process. We await further feedback and will report when available |
URL | https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/InclusionReallyDoesMatter/Resources/ |
Description | University of Glasgow |
Organisation | University of Glasgow |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | University of Glasgow is one of our initial partners, including School of Physics and Astronomy and School of Engineering. Their initial collaboration included research assistant hire to contribute to data collection, but due to covid we moved data collection online. |
Collaborator Contribution | University of Glasgow helped us disseminate online questionnaires for data collection for studies. They also consulted at all stages of the research process. |
Impact | Data base for online studies BioScience publication based on data collected at University of Glasgow. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | University of Strathclyde |
Organisation | University of Strathclyde |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Dr Helen Mulvana moved from Glasgow to Strathclyde during the project and continued her collaboration with us. |
Collaborator Contribution | University of Strathclyde helped us disseminate online questionnaires for data collection for studies. They also consulted at all stages of the research process. |
Impact | Data base for online studies BioScience publication based on data collected at University of Strathclyde |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | University of Warwick |
Organisation | University of Warwick |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | University of Warwick is one of our initial partners, including School of Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry. Their initial collaboration included research assistant hire to contribute to data collection, but due to covid we moved data collection online. |
Collaborator Contribution | University of Warwick helped us disseminate online questionnaires for data collection for studies. They also consulted at all stages of the research process. |
Impact | Data base for online studies BioScience publication based on data collected at University of Warwick |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | ESPRC Blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Invited blog "Framing STEM Gender Equality Initiatives" on EPSRC blogs |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://epsrc.ukri.org/blog/framing-stem-gender-equality-initiatives |
Description | Media Sync NI |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Press release was picked up by Sync NI leading to wider exposure to our findings |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://syncni.com/article/5681/qub-study-reveals-how-to-improve-gender-equality-attitudes-in-stem |
Description | NI Science Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public information event and virtual reality demonstration for Northern Ireland Science Festival 2020. The event was sold out and there was interest in using VR to promote gender equality. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.nisciencefestival.com/ |
Description | Press Release QUB |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Press release for BioScience publication |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.qub.ac.uk/News/Allnews/Effectiveframingcanimprovesupportforgenderequalityinitiatives.htm... |
Description | Twitter Series |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Lynn (post doc) organised an online event disseminating findings from our Inclusion Matters research via Twitter. Received promotional support from UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. This was open to all academics interested in diversity and inclusion |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Women in Business NI |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Invited piece on the importance of gender equality in the workplace in a regional Business Women Magazine |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.womeninbusinessni.com/News.aspx |
Description | Workshop Doctoral Training |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Workshop on gender equality for FELIA (Future Engineers' Leadership And Innovation Academy) Doctoral Training at University of Chongqing in October 2019. This included a 2 hour practical training for UK and Chinese EPS students across several universities, as also supported by the British Council. Students reported interest in understanding gender equality issues in their fields. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/UKChinaUniversitiesConsortiumonEngineeringEducationandResearch/felia/ |