Institution and Department: University of Bristol
Author: Caroline McKinnon
Overview
To support academic staff returning from long-term parenting or caring leave we introduced our Returning Carers Scheme at the University of Bristol. Since its launch (2016/17), it has assisted 108 staff (98%F:2%M) with funding that is used to re-establish independent research careers, contributing to better gender representation in senior academic roles.
About your organisation
Located in the south-west of the UK, the University of Bristol is a research-intensive university. Our mission is to make a positive impact locally, nationally, and globally by addressing society’s greatest challenges through our distinctive education, innovative research and the value we place on excellence, inclusivity and partnership. We have 37,490 (56%F:44%M) students studying across 600+ programmes and 9302 (57%F:43%M) staff. We have a proud history of engagement with the Athena Swan Charter, as one of the founding signatories and currently holds a Silver institutional award and 20 (9 Bronze, 9 Silver and 1 Gold) Departmental awards.
Purpose of the initiative
The Returning Carers Scheme supports academic staff in re-establishing their independent research careers on their return from extended leave for reasons connected to caring, such as maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave, or leave to care for a dependent.
National data, including research undertaken by Working Families, show that becoming a parent is more likely to affect a woman’s career and this was supported by a recent research study within our institution, which found that the overwhelming reason for women to work part-time related to childcare. Women also tend to be the primary carers for elderly family members. This leads to gender inequality in labour markets and the ‘motherhood penalty’, which feeds into the Gender Pay Gap. With more women than men working part-time within our institution, and the associated impact on career development, we recognised the need for further support upon the return to work.
Description of the initiative
The scheme was launched in academic year 2016/17 and is ongoing to this date. Originally aimed at supporting core-funded academic staff re-establish their independent research careers, staff could apply for up to £10,000 to use for, for example, teaching buy out, conference attendance, payment for research lab activities etc. The funding required to support applicants is based within Faculties.
As it was aimed at core-funded research staff, previously applicants who were eligible to apply were mainly from our Research and Teaching (Pathway 1) pathway. This therefore excluded many of our Research only (Pathway 2) staff, who are on external grant funding and our Teaching only (Pathway 3) staff.
As our Academic Promotions Framework broadened, with pedagogical research forming part of the criteria, in January 2024, we expanded the Returning Carers Scheme (RCS) to clearly state that Pathway 2 staff who held independent externally funded Fellowships, or who were names co-investigators on externally funded research grants were eligible to apply. Similarly, we noted the eligibility and importance of pedagogical research.
The scheme cannot cover direct childcare costs however, following feedback from previous and prospective applicants it became obvious that colleagues who were still breastfeeding were disadvantaged from attending conferences and so we revised the scheme to allow funds to be used as costs for their baby and another adult to attend conferences with the applicant. We have also extended the application window to 12 months following the return to work and streamlined the process, requiring fewer signoffs and less bureaucracy.
Rationale
Our engagement with the Athena Swan Charter allowed for a detailed self-assessment and highlighted areas of concern of representation of gender throughout our academic pipelines. This directly links to barriers in career progression and contributes to our Gender Pay Gap. The majority of applications to the scheme have been from staff in early- to mid-career roles; Lecturer / Senior Research Associate / Research Fellow / Senior Lecturer / Senior Research Fellow. Supporting colleagues within these career stages is essential in our ambition for gender equality within senior roles and the closing of our Gender Pay Gap.
Results
Since the launch of the scheme, it has assisted 108 staff (98%F:2%M) with funding that has been used to re-establish independent research careers. The average requested amount per applicant, is between £7,500 and £9,165. Recipients are asked to submit a short report 12 months after the award, to enable tracking of how impactful the scheme is.
Many of the applicants to the scheme have since applied for, and have been successful, in being promoted, as the scheme has given them the time and space to focus on research, build networks and collaborations and publish papers and monographs. Since 2017, the proportion of female staff in Grades J (lecturer / Research Fellow) to M (Professor) at Bristol has increased from 44.5% to 47%, which is a positive effect on the gender representation within our academic pipeline. Qualitative feedback from staff who have used the scheme has always been positive.
"The scheme has bought me out of teaching for one teaching block following each of my two periods of parental leave (in 2018 and in 2022). This time to focus on research and regain some balance and sense of self (especially after having twins) has been invaluable. It meant that I could put together a large grant application and engage in my current work of building and supporting a research project team for the first time. It also reduced considerably the stress of setting up childcare and supporting my children with that transition" - RCS applicant.
Following staff feedback, we conducted a thorough review throughout 2023. Recommendations to broaden the scheme were put in place (January 2024), which allows applications from colleagues holding external fellowships or external research grants and also allows colleagues who are breastfeeding to use some of the funding to pay for their baby and another adult to attend a conference; we have supported applications from all of these colleagues since January.
Key barriers and facilitators
The only barrier to the scheme is the availability of funding. Although this has not been an issue this far as all requests have been successful, it does mean that we cannot open the scheme up to all academic staff. A slight confusion remains with regards to what the scheme can cover, for example, we cannot pay professional memberships, as this has HMRC implications, but we receive requests to cover these via the scheme as it makes conference registration cheaper.
Importantly, the scheme continued to run during the COVID-19 pandemic, recognising the extra pressures of parenting and caring responsibilities during this time. The number of applications made during this time did not increase in comparison to the years either side of the lockdown period.
As mentioned previously, the vast majority of applications are from female staff however the low number of women in some STEMM sectors means we see fewer applications from these faculties (Science and Engineering) compared to Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, and so the scheme is limited in its impact by external factors that are subject-specific.
Increasing the number of applications from male and non-binary staff would be a welcomed result, as the scheme is open to all genders. We recognise the culture shift needed to happen in order for this to happen and currently highlight the positive feedback from male applicants to the scheme and clearly state that the scheme is open to all genders. Our Schools are helping to raise the profile of the scheme at local levels.
The future?
The scheme is embedded in the University as business as usual and will continue for the foreseeable future. We will continue to listen to the views of our staff and review our data to make sure the scheme remains responsive and relevant. We strive to change the culture and challenge the ‘societal norms’ around parenting and caring responsibilities.
Advice for other members
For colleagues who are thinking of developing such a scheme it would be useful to give thought to as broad a criterion as possible within the funding constraints and how to maximise the positive impact to staff aiming to meet the criteria for promotion. Often pedagogical research is overlooked, meaning staff on teaching-only contracts often progress at a slower rate compared to those in a teaching and research role. Listening to the views of your staff and responding to these, where possible, is so important to make sure your scheme remains relevant to the needs of staff.
Web links
Returning Carers' Scheme | Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Team | University of Bristol
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