Equal opportunities for all staff to flourish regardless of age, gender or family circumstance
Professor Katherine Linehan, Faculty Director for Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Professor of Anatomical Education.
![Professor Katherine Linehan celebrating International Women's Day outside Firth Court - image](http://cdn.sheffield.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/mobile_single_column_1x/public/2020-06/katherine-linehan.jpg?itok=FPjeu-Nv&h=e6d9e7fc)
As Chair of the University's Gender Equality Committee, I take every opportunity I can to advocate for other women, particularly those early in their careers, those who work part-time and those who are carers.
This has included encouraging a number of women, who were reticent to apply, to successfully gain promotion, working with Human Resources to ensure the new Academic Career Pathway had a mechanism to make it equitable for those who work part-time and ensuring Faculty Directors for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion across the institution were part of the recent University flagship recruitment panels.
Locally in the Faculty of Science, this work has involved the adoption of a faculty-wide policy that all leadership roles in departments are recruited to by a transparent call for interest and interview process ensuring that opportunities for career advancement are available to all staff.
In addition, to engender an inclusive culture in the faculty for new parents we have recently created a purpose-built parent room that offers women a private space to express and store milk or breastfeed their child close to where they work.