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Equality, Diversity & inclusion

Diversity is critical for world leading teaching and research. Working alongside people with different experiences and perspectives encourages innovation and creativity, prompting us to develop new ideas and consider decisions from multiple points of view.

We are committed to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the culture of the Department of Chemistry. Our vision is to maintain a fair and inclusive environment for all staff and students, so that everyone the support and opportunities they need to achieve their full potential.

What we are doing

The Department EDI Committee oversees all activities and feeds into the Faculty EDI Committee. We continually monitor our progress within the department through yearly surveys and respond with decisive action plans as and when necessary.

We are proud of the achievements we’ve made in just over 10 years since reopening in 2012. Notably, our gender parity among academic, research and teaching staff, and the proportion of female students on undergraduate courses have been above the national benchmarks since 2015, and this is something we continually monitor.

Our Committee works to improve the following areas:

  • Proactive and inclusive recruitment - We take steps to make sure our job adverts are gender neutral in language and actively seek diverse candidates for these positions.
  • Promoting career progression at all levels - We have established support and mentoring structures for postgraduates, postdoctoral and early career researchers. In addition, our committee has strong representation from colleagues at all stages of their career to enable inclusive decision making.
  • Nurturing collegial communities - We encourage and promote the creation of networks to foster cohesive communities, including the postdoc community, People Of Colour networks, and active involvement in the King’s parents and carers network.
  • Inclusive working environment - We promote a healthy work-life balance in our department with flexible working options, core hours of 1000 – 1600 for meetings and seminars, protected lunch breaks, and meeting-free Fridays. 
Women in STEM Scholarship

Scholarships

Information about applying for a Women in Science Scholarship in the Faculty of Natural,…

Athena SWAN

In 2020 we were awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze Award for our achievements in ensuring equality, diversity, and inclusion principles are embedded into the core of our Department. We were commended particularly for the gender ratio of our undergraduate students (60%), postgraduate students (50%), and academic staff (40%), as well as for our inclusive recruitment strategies and the work we put into ensuring internal and external events such as seminar series are equitable.

Athena SWAN bronze contensis

Women in STEM season

In 2024 King's is holding the first Women in Science Season - a month-long celebration that takes place between the the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February and International Women’s Day on 8 March.

Through a series of inspirational talks and panel discussions from a wide variety of speakers, Women in STEM Season aims to analyse inequality in STEM through an intersectional lens, including exploring why historically underrepresented groups, such as women of colour, are not equally represented in the sciences.

The campaign hopes to bring together staff and students from across King's science faculties to share empathy and allyship on how we break down the barriers faced by women in STEM, sparking new conversations and actions on building an equal place in science and technology, for the benefit of all.

Women in STEM season

Race Equality Charter

In line with King’s commitment to tackling racial discrimination (as part of the recent Race Equality Charter Bronze Award) we are actively working towards ensuring our successes in promoting gender equality is extended to include all underrepresented groups in STEM.

students talking stairs

Professional Skills for a Globalised World

We developed a course on Professional Skills for a Globalised World in collaboration with the Department of War Studies and the Department of Informatics, including sections on the importance of diversity and inclusion, managing biases, consideration of how our words and actions can impact others, and details on the small steps we can each take to create a more inclusive environment. This course is mandatory for all students on our Chemistry Undergraduate courses

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Explore

People

People

Meet the Department of Chemistry, King's College London.

Undergraduate

Undergraduate

Find out about undergraduate courses in the Department of Chemistry.