15 institutions receive Athena SWAN Bronze Awards

Fifteen Australian institutions have received the inaugural Athena SWAN Bronze Awards for improving gender equity and diversity.

The awardees, listed in alphabetical order, are:

• Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
• Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
• Charles Sturt University
• CSIRO
• Curtin University
• Edith Cowan University
• Griffith University
• Monash University
• Queensland University of Technology
• Swinburne University of Technology
• University of New South Wales
• University of Newcastle
• University of Technology Sydney
• University of Wollongong
• Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
   

Nicolle Flint, MP for Boothby, representing Prime Minister Scott Morrison, presented the awards. Flint also recognised South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Southern Cross University, University of Canberra, University of Melbourne and University of Western Australia for their progress to date towards Bronze Award accreditation and their continued commitment to SAGE.

Around 50% of Australia’s higher education and research (HER) sector institutions participated in the SAGE Pilot. Benefits of the initiative include: increased career satisfaction and opportunities; improved working practices to support career progression; increased visibility of women in science; and an increased proportion of women in STEMM — science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine — departments nationally.

SAGE Executive Director Dr Wafa El-Adhami said that since SAGE began, the STEMM HER sector in Australia has stepped up significantly to address gender equity and diversity.

“The sector wants to make a difference and is now committed to and invested in Athena SWAN.

“Every institution on the SAGE journey that is implementing the Athena SWAN framework has chosen to make a positive difference to its workplace and culture for its staff.

“The commitment to transparency, to take action and to be held accountable is the true sign of leadership and a pledge to improve gender equity and diversity,” Dr El-Adhami said.

Elizabeth Broderick AO FTSE, lawyer, Sex Discrimination Commissioner in Australia (2007–15), Special Adviser to SAGE and Chair of the Expert Advisory Group (March 2016 to August 2018), said that the enthusiasm with which the sector has embraced the SAGE Pilot has been exciting to see.

“To those who may not be receiving an award but who are continuing to drive impact, thank you. It’s your participation in the process and the lessons learnt along the way that provide some of the most powerful parts of the SAGE journey,” Broderick said.

Image credit: Bradley Cummings