The University of Liverpool has made the largest improvement in the proportion of female professors in the country, according to the Times Higher Education.
In the article, 27.4 per cent of professors at the University of Liverpool were women in 2015-16 compared with 16.5 per cent in 2012-13. This is a percentage point difference of 10.9% – the biggest improvement of any University in the country.
The Times Higher Education ranked the most improved universities as follows:
| Institution | 2012-13 | 2015-16 | Percentage point difference |
| University of Liverpool | 16.5% | 27.4% | 10.9 |
| University of Kent | 19.0% | 27.2% | 8.2 |
| Swansea University | 12.1% | 17.7% | 5.6 |
| University of Leeds | 18.6% | 23.4% | 4.8 |
| University of Sussex | 24.6% | 28.7% | 4.1 |
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Janet Beer, said: “Liverpool’s improvement is extremely encouraging news and is a testament to the hard work of staff at our University to address key equality issues.
“I would like to thank all those who have supported our Athena SWAN initiative, which has played a huge role in this improvement. Following on from our recent Silver level Athena SWAN award, we have a four-year action plan which includes continuing to improve gender balance at professorial level and aiming for 30% female professors by 2020.”
The full article from the Times Higher Education is available here: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/one-in-three-uk-universities-going-backwards-on-female-professorships
For more information on Athena SWAN at the University of Liverpool please visit: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/intranet/hr/diversity-equality/gender/athenaswan/