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ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ signs Women in Business Charter

Monday, 5 October, 2026

ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ has formally joined the Women in Business Charter, becoming one of the first organisations outside Bristol to join the Charter and reflecting the University's ongoing commitment to gender equality and inclusion.  

The represents organisations across the West of England and provides ongoing support for businesses to truly embrace diversity, increase representation, and empower women to thrive in their careers. 

The Charter has seven goals that support signatories in achieving gender equity in their organisation. Signatories select two to three of these goals to work towards, and report on their progress annually to retain their accreditation. BSU has committed to three objectives:

• Increasing flexible and part-time opportunities at senior levels 
• Creating pathways for progression for women in lower-graded roles 
• Improving support for under-represented groups 

In a historically male-dominated field, ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ continues to champion gender equality in leadership and business. The University's most recent data shows 62% of senior staff identify as female and 60% of professors are female, both above benchmark institutions and up on the previous year. 

ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ is also continuing its work to decrease the gender pay gap, with the proportion of women earning within the upper and upper-mid quartiles at 53% and 59% respectively. 

Melissa Mulhall, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Student Success and Inclusion and Co-Chair of the Women's Staff Network at BSU said: 

"We're delighted to be joining the Women in Business Charter. The work they are doing supports and reflects ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿'s ongoing commitment to advancing gender equality, is aligned with our Equality Objectives and underpins our Strategy 2035 – particularly BSU's commitment to removing barriers to opportunity and enabling our diverse community to flourish.  

"Being part of the Women in Business Charter creates an important platform and partnership for collaboration, shared learning and collective action. It will also build upon the progress we have made as we strive to continue to drive positive change for our staff, students and the wider West of England region." 

ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ joins , the Bristol-based animation studio behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, , the UK's digital, data and technology agency for tertiary education and research, , and , the Bristol-headquartered legal expenses insurer, in formally committing to the Charter's seven goals on gender equality. 

The new members, spanning technology, higher education, creative industries, legal services, and financial services, reflect the breadth of the West of England economy and the increasingly regional reach of a movement founded in Bristol six years ago. 

Kristal McNamara, Director of the Women in Business Charter, said:  

"The organisations joining the Charter this year are not starting from zero. They are coming with existing networks, existing commitments, and existing momentum, and they are choosing a framework that turns that momentum into measurable, reportable progress.  

“Gender equity cannot sit in an EDI folder or be managed by one team in isolation. It has to be woven into how organisations recruit, develop talent, structure flexibility, and hold leadership to account. What excites me about this cohort is that they understand that. And as we expand across the West of England, we are building the infrastructure to support organisations across the entire region in doing exactly that." 

Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿.