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This document contains examples from across the research community of how funders and research performing organisations have already taken action to improve outcomes for women in research.

The examples demonstrate the wide range of potential changes that organisations could make to improve conditions and remove barriers for women in research, based on what has already proven successful elsewhere in the UK鈥檚 research and development (R&D) community.

We hope they will inspire other organisations to make similar changes where they can, and foster further conversations about how government, funders, and research performing organisations can go further together and make sure all women researchers can enjoy thriving careers.

These examples are neither prescriptive nor exhaustive. There are many other examples and approaches across the research community of practices and policies that demonstrably improve outcomes for women. We encourage all signatories of the charter and the entire research community to share and implement best practice to drive positive outcomes for women in research.

We would like to thank UKRI, Advance HE, the British Academy, and the Daphne Jackson Trust for their help in preparing these materials.

Examples from funders

UK Research and Innovation

Post-graduate research (PGR) maternity support

Around half of all are female and 80% are 25 or older. When UKRI , it estimated that it would see 1,500 maternal births and 500 miscarriages a year across the 27,500 students that it funds, assuming similar fertility trends in the wider UK population.

鲍碍搁滨鈥檚 cater for students who are pregnant or whose partner is pregnant. They also provide research organisations with funding to support students who may be adopting, suffer baby loss, who need medical leave (including pregnancy-related sickness) or additional leave (such as bereavement leave).

As well as allowing students to continue to receive their stipend payment for periods when they cannot realistically be expected to continue studying, UKRI also provides that the student must be given additional funded time at the end of their studentship. This means that the student can take the time away without fear that they will be left unable to complete their PhD.

UKRI generally requires training grants to pay for studentship extensions from their existing grants. This reflects that most grants (particularly large grants with many students) tend to return underspend to UKRI at the end of the grant. UKRI has a mechanism in place to provide an additional funding stream to a grant if the cost of the extension cannot otherwise be met.

For more detail see and Training Grant Conditions (TGCs):

Future Leaders Fellowships

is committed to supporting researchers and innovators with outstanding potential, regardless of their background. It explicitly references support for diverse career paths and is open to those returning from a career break or following time in other roles, whilst allowing Fellows to work part-time and/or job share. During panel discussions, all applicant career breaks and part-time working are clearly stated prior to discussions, so that panels can fairly consider the applicant鈥檚 trajectory and outputs in the context of their career.

Prior to assessment of applications, our Peer Review College and Panel Member College are asked to undertake training which includes EDI and Unconscious Bias modules. Panel members are also encouraged to be open and call out any biases observed during panel discussions. Additionally, we employ roving panel members who observe and move between our panel discussions, ensuring that UKRI guidance is adhered to, and that panels are assessing applications fairly.

To ensure funding decisions can be delivered in a reasonable timescale without overloading the research and innovation community with peer review, academic institutions are asked to prioritise the number of applications they submit to this funding opportunity. To assess the impact of demand management on the overall diversity of applicants, UKRI commissioned CRAC to the preparation and selection processes which have been undertaken in research and innovation organisations. The review recommended adjustments to the FLF process to enhance inclusivity during selection and host institutions are required to submit an

Employment models to support leave

UKRI is working to incentivise a diversity of more flexible staffing models. Roving Researchers is an example of how more flexible resourcing models can reduce precarity and support women鈥檚 participation. This novel employment model is designed to provide more flexible staffing that can cover gaps on projects.

Rover researchers are employed on a permanent basis and are deployed on different projects over time. This enables project continuity over periods of parental leave and enables a different, more stable, career path for precariously employed researchers. The initiative was launched by and following has been implemented at several BBSRC institutes, MRC LMS institute, and the wider sector including internationally at the .

Since 2022, the LMS Roving Researchers (1 at present, with 2 individuals having consecutively taken up the post) have supported 11 different projects across multiple research groups. You can read a case study at .

The Cambridge School of Biological Sciences has secured funding from the to support a 12-month pilot expansion of the Roving Researcher Scheme to physical sciences disciplines across the University of Cambridge.

Individualised support through mentoring and coaching

The and several other projects funded via the mentoring, coaching and professional training in presentation skills, leadership, career development and enhancing CVs for individual or small groups of women. Participants came from a wide range of institutions and backgrounds including different ethnic groups and socio-economic backgrounds, and reported that as a result they had a greater sense of belonging, changed their mind about considering leaving research, had more confidence, and were more comfortable being seen and heard in scientific settings. Several BBSRC institutes are now co-developing a mentoring scheme that aims to formalise support for Fellows, and/or launching research culture events with mentoring as a central theme.

Investing in evidence and good practice

The , funded by UKRI and the British Academy, provides high-quality research evidence on how to build inclusive careers across the UK鈥檚 research and innovation systems, providing recommendations for organisations, employers and funders. For example, work on menstrual health and/or (peri)menopause in R&I workplaces led to the .

For more information on resources, including reports, recommendations, cartoon strips and guidance, see

The provides leadership and coordination to share and amplify effective EDI practice across the engineering, physical and mathematical sciences research community. The mission of the EDI Hub+ is to drive systemic change, creating a research and innovation system that is equitable and inclusive for everyone. Its aims include:

• enabling sharing and knowledge exchange of EDI expertise, good practices and 鈥榳hat works鈥�
• disseminating successful interventions and scaling up to widespread adoption, working with partners from across the sector
• supporting the wider development, implementation and evaluation of successful EDI initiatives and practices to support outcomes for everyone in research and innovation

The Daphne Jackson Trust

Providing Daphne Jackson Research Fellowships

The Trust supports researchers returning to their careers through flexible, part-time Fellowships typically undertaken over 3 years. Designed for individuals who have taken a career break of at least 2 years for family, caring or health reasons, the Fellowships enable returners to rebuild their research careers while maintaining the work-life balance they need. Each Fellowship combines an individually tailored research project with mentoring, training and career development support, ensuring that valuable skills, expertise and potential are retained within the research sector.

Impact on research

Daphne Jackson Fellows make a significant contribution to the UK research landscape. Fellows have secured more than 拢87 million in research funding and produced over 2,200 peer-reviewed publications. Since its establishment, the Trust has safeguarded over 2,400 years of research training, experience and expertise that might otherwise have been lost to the sector.

The impact of the Fellowships is reflected in the UK Government鈥檚 commitment to increase its annual support for the Trust from 拢1.7 million to 拢4 million from 2026. More than 70% of Fellows remain engaged in research-related work 5 years after completing their Fellowship, while almost 60% continue to work part-time or flexibly. Former Fellows have progressed into senior leadership roles across academia, industry, government, policy, public engagement and the charity sector, including positions such as professors, lead scientists, chief executives and Members of Parliament.

As advocates for flexible working, non-linear career pathways and a more inclusive research culture, Fellows and the Trust have contributed to more than 200 policy, public engagement and sector-influencing activities, helping to drive positive change across the research ecosystem.

Creating supportive Fellowship networks and inclusive research communities

Returning to research after a career break can be challenging. Daphne Jackson Fellows have taken career breaks ranging from 2 to 24 years (an average of 7 years), for family, caring or health reasons. Alongside rebuilding technical knowledge and professional confidence, many returners must navigate changing workplace cultures, balance caring responsibilities, and re-establish professional networks.

A key element of the Daphne Jackson Fellowship model is the supportive community that Fellows become part of throughout their Fellowship (and beyond). The Trust actively encourages peer support and networking opportunities through initiatives such as Fellows鈥� Days, conferences and regional networking groups of former and current Fellows. These events provide a safe and supportive environment where Fellows can share experiences, discuss challenges, celebrate successes and build valuable connections with others who understand the unique experience of returning to research.

The Trust works closely with funders and host institutions to ensure that networking and professional development opportunities are recognised as an essential part of a successful return to research, alongside retraining and their research project. Funding is available to support attendance at networking events and conferences, including through extraordinary expenses where caring responsibilities might otherwise present a barrier.

Through its Fellowship programme and wider advocacy work, the Trust also promotes the importance of flexible working, supportive management practices and inclusive workplace cultures that enable parents, carers and other returners to thrive. The Trust champions research environments where career breaks are recognised as a normal part of working life, where flexible and part-time working are valued, and where there is zero tolerance for bullying, harassment and discrimination.

By creating strong support networks and promoting inclusive research cultures, the Daphne Jackson Trust helps ensure that talented researchers and technical professionals can successfully return to their careers, contribute fully to the research community and progress into future leadership roles in science, innovation and technology.

Learn more about the Daphne Jackson Fellowships deliver in the Trust鈥檚 .

The British Academy

Additional Needs Funding

The British Academy鈥檚 programme is explicitly designed to help researchers who might otherwise face barriers to being able to fully utilise the research funding opportunities they have been offered. Many of the successful applicants to the programme so far have been women who have specific caring responsibilities around which they have to work.

For example, Professor Mary Lawhon, now Professor of Political Ecology at the University of Edinburgh, was, while a Senior Lecturer, awarded a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant for research on 鈥楪overning Infrastructure of the Future: Understanding the Changing Role of the State in Off-Grid Sanitation in eThekwini鈥�.

The award enabled a field visit to South Africa, during which Professor Lawhon was also able to build a partnership with Professor Catherine Sutherland at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and successfully apply for an ODA Challenge-Oriented Grant (Learning from Durban: Resilience, climate action and reconfigured infrastructure in changing social and environmental conditions). This enabled further visits, which included co-hosting a workshop with key stakeholders including technology developers, technology commercialisation representatives, urban residents, and actors from a wide range of state institutions (the Water Research Commission, the eThekwini Water & Sanitation Unit), as well as NGO and state representatives from Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Due to her family circumstances, 2 of her research trips 鈥� and the second grant application 鈥� would not have been possible without awards of additional needs funding support to allow her children to accompany her. This research has fundamentally shaped Professor Lawhon鈥檚 future research trajectory.

In addition to the above programme, the Academy鈥檚 guidance explicitly allows for career breaks. For example, the Academy says the following for their current Mid-Career Fellowships call:

• In considering eligibility, the Academy will make due allowance for applicants who have had career breaks, and for established researchers who do not have doctorates.

In the Postdoctoral Fellowship call launching early July 2026, the Academy says:

• Early Career Status: There is no age criterion for these awards. Instead, eligible applicants are expected to be at an early stage of their career. Applicants are expected to have completed their viva voce examination between 1 April 2024 and 1 April 2027.
• Exemption from this criterion may be granted for reasons occurring after the date of the viva voce examination such as maternity leave, illness, family commitments etc.

Examples from Research Performing Organisations

Note these are drawn from the Athena Swan applications and case studies of the institutions listed. As outlined in the Charter, we are seeking to build upon the excellent work initiatives like Athena Swan have already driven in the sector.