Women’s development programmes at your institution?

[AlwaysColdHands]

I’m quite familiar with the likes of Springboard and Aurora, was wondering if your institution has any other programmes of professional development/ support strategies for women? (Both academic and professional services). If so, what do they do well, whats the approach, what does it cover?

What about support after return to work following maternity? I’ve heard of coaching before/ after, allowances into workloads for a period after return etc, but never seen it in the real world!

Looking for ideas of what occurs, what could occur, what kinds of professional development you think women in HE would benefit from if there were no budgetary limits…..?

(This goes with huge acknowledgment that most of these programmes have a deficit approach where us women need to be fixed, and that structural changes on a societal level are actually needed….) 🙄

We have a whole bunch of in-house 'leadership' programmes but none are women-specific. I had to argue really hard to get sent on Aurora and find alternative funding for it! I did get study leave for a semester on my return from maternity leave due to a brief rush of blood to the heads of senior management who were desperate for an Athena SWAN award... That was pulled VERY quickly, embarrassingly I am the only person ever to have benefitted from that in the whole institution! We now have an informal departmental-level policy of light loads on return from maternity leave, but I expect that will slowly evaporate in the current climate. Sad, my study leave was utterly invaluable in clawing my way back to anywhere near where I would have been if I hadn't had maternity leave at all!

I did aurora many years ago and was not impressed, or at least it didn't suit me. I wanted to learn how to lead a research group to do good science but it was all about navigating dept politics and moving into management roles.

Reduced loads after maternity leave are definitely valuable, and networking/ mentoring if it is set up well.

I didn't find Aurora useful apart from meeting other people- I had a group that met a few roles afterwards but it fizzled out quite quickly.

I would have loved study leave/reduced workload after maternity (feel like I almost had the opposite as I returned mid year so it was like I had to compensate for not being around), or some mentorship.

Ah yes mentoring - I've benefitted enormously from having an excellent senior female mentor in my department (yes I know that makes me very lucky!)