Women at Surrey

The University of Surrey values and invests in all its female staff and actively encourages staff to develop in different ways to maximise their potential. We have a proud tradition of supporting women and in 1971 appointed Daphne Jackson as Professor of Physics – the first woman in the UK to hold such a post.

Inspiring women at Surrey

Our aim is to have a vibrant, open and transparent environment in which women can flourish and pursue satisfying and successful careers. We offer training, support and development for all staff, with a number of different teams dedicated to providing excellent specialist support for academic staff, professional staff and research staff. This includes accredited leadership and management training, academic and research leadership training, mentoring and research mentoring and one-to-one support as well as formal coaching. 

We are a member of the Athena Swan Charter, a scheme that advances the representation of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. The Charter was launched by the Royal Society in June 2005 and has grown considerably, with over half of all higher education institutions now members. 

Celebrating women in research

Academic research is at the forefront of society’s desire to tackle global challenges, and at its heart there are inspirational and innovative individuals who thrive on a passion for their chosen field, whether through studying mini lung cultures to understand how viruses such as Covid 19 interact with our cells, disentangling how galaxies form and evolve by studying their stellar populations or studying how people make society better.

Gender equality at Surrey

At the University of Surrey, we are committed to gender equality and ensuring we provide a positive and supportive culture in which our staff and student community feel empowered and respected.