The Athena Swan Charter has been a feature of the UK higher education (HE) equality landscape for two decades. Established in 2005 to advance the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM), the Charter has since expanded in scope to address gender equality across all disciplines and professional groups, and operates as a central part of our equality charters ecosystem. By 2025, Athena Swan had become embedded across most UK universities with activity spanning institutional, departmental and research institute (RI) contexts.

Advance HE commissioned this impact evaluation in 2025 to coincide with the Charter’s twentieth anniversary and to provide assurance of its continued effectiveness, sustainability and value for money in a period of significant sectoral change. Since the previous impact evaluation in 2019, the Charter has undergone a major transformation (2020–2021), widening its scope and streamlining processes, while institutions have faced intensifying financial pressures; workforce challenges; and increasingly contested environments for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work.

The evaluation was not designed to generate a further major revision of the Charter framework. Rather, its purpose was to

• inform whether and how Advance HE and Charter members can best use Athena Swan in the future, including alongside the recently introduced Inclusive Institutions Framework.
• assess the extent to which Athena Swan continues to contribute to its intended outcomes
• examine whether outcomes are sustained over time
• consider the efficiency and value for money of participation for members.