The University of Newcastle has been recognised as a leader in addressing inequality, becoming one of the first two universities in Australia to receive a Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Athena Swan Silver Award.
Western Australia’s Edith Cowan University (ECU) also celebrates the achievement.
Athena Swan accreditation is the only internationally recognised framework for gender equity, diversity and inclusion and draws on a peer-reviewed process to assess an organisation’s progress and impact towards improving equity.
University of Newcastle’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alex Zelinsky says universities should be leaders in creating a more equitable society where everyone can thrive regardless of their gender or their background.
“Soon after I commenced as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Newcastle, I had the pleasure of accepting the Athena Swan Bronze Award in December 2018. It has been extremely pleasing to see the commitments we made at that time being realised and now recognised with Silver accreditation,” says Zelinsky.
“We know there is still much to be done however, we are proud to be implementing changes that are creating an inclusive culture where equity is embedded across the university.”
Professor Jennifer Milam is the uni’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Excellence) and Athena Swan Lead and says that, in the context of national and international conversations about societal gender equality, the University of Newcastle is proud to partner with SAGE in advocating to make gender equity a priority.
“This accreditation is recognition that we are at the forefront of gender equity in the workforce,” Milam says.
“We know that central to attracting and retaining female staff is providing an inclusive culture and flexible workplace where women’s careers are genuinely supported and accountability for gender equity is embedded in leadership across the University.”
“We know we’re a stronger and more successful University if we have a diverse and inclusive workforce. We have genuinely put action ahead of talk to remove barriers and ensure future generations of women and people from underrepresented groups can thrive in higher education.”
Nurturing transformative change
SAGE CEO Dr Janin Bredehoeft congratulated the University of Newcastle on its milestone achievement by saying that university “has shown what a huge difference it makes to have equity, diversity and inclusion embedded at the leadership level”.
“They have established dedicated senior positions and ensured that the transformative change is well-resourced, with specific funding for research programs and quantitative data analysis,” Bredehoeft says.
“This has secured their foundations, allowed them to make significant improvements in specific areas and will support their future progression as they tackle widespread transformative change.
“Milestones of this magnitude are never reached alone: this SAGE Athena Swan Silver Award is the achievement of many. Congratulations to everyone at the University of Newcastle who drove and continues to drive their equity, diversity and inclusion work forward.”
About the SAGE Cygnet Awards
SAGE is Australasia’s leading advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the education and research sector. They provide a pathway to creating vibrant workplaces where everyone can thrive.
The SAGE accreditation pathway is a dynamic journey, marked by cycles of self-evaluation, action planning, implementation and measurement. The Silver Award does not represent a destination, but rather honours an organisation’s ongoing effort and deep engagement with the process of honest reflection and incremental change.
The SAGE accreditation pathway is a dynamic journey, marked by cycles of self-evaluation, action planning, implementation and measurement. The Silver Award does not represent a destination, but rather honours an organisation’s ongoing effort and deep engagement with the process of honest reflection and incremental change.
The Silver Award is achieved through the Bronze – Cygnet – Silver pathway. The Bronze Award stage enabled the University to identify where challenges for women and other underrepresented groups existed and then develop evidence-based actions to improve outcomes.
These Bronze actions formed the basis of the University of Newcastle’s five ‘Cygnet Awards’ where the University was able to demonstrate the elimination or reduction of key barriers to the attraction, progression or retention of women and other under-represented groups. Cygnet insights also included (where possible) an intersectional lens in recognition of the inequities that students and staff from equity groups often experience.
The Silver Award reflects the progress and impact made since Bronze and identifies where there was more work to do, captured in the University of Newcastle’s Silver Action Plan, to be delivered over the next seven years.
Supporting women in leadership
Dr Ayanka Wijayawardena is a University of Newcastle researcher, originally from Sri Lanka, who is investigating effects of PFAS on groundwater organisms and is a member of the Athena Swan Working Party. She says the University’s Gender Equity Plan, under the auspices of Athena Swan has fundamentally changed the workplace by supporting women to take leadership roles in their disciplines and research centres, as well as locating childcare centres on campus.
“Environmental research is in traditionally a male-dominated field and we’re now getting equal opportunities. We have women who are chairing discussions at international conferences such as Cleanup2024, taking leading roles to organise as well as to present at conferences and we’re in managerial positions,” Wijayawardena says.
“Our research centre, Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), has also focussed on taking a more inclusive approach that actively seeks to attract and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds. This has enriched our centre’s research and helped us to create more research solutions.
“I’m a mum and my youngest child goes to the childcare centre on campus, which was really good for me. Having my child so close means that if an experiment takes a little longer I can stay until it’s finished and still have time to pick him up afterwards, without having to rush. I value things like that because they give me more flexibility to juggle work and my family.
“Looking to the future I can see that more women will be contributing to science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics (STEMM) fields. The university will benefit from empowering women and so will the students, staff and the next generation.”
Removing barriers to research
Dr Kcasey McLoughlin is a 2018 Women in Research Fellow, which was established as part of the University’s Gender Equity Plan under the Athena Swan framework, as direct support to advance women’s academic careers. As a recipient of the Fellowship, she enjoyed access to dedicated mentoring, funding, and career-development support for women.
“I feel the Women in Research program is best practice in how to support people in their career journeys and how to ensure women are able to progress within the academy,” she says.
“It feels meaningful and that it’s connected to outputs, but it’s still individualised enough that it suits the different challenges that we all have.”
The Fellowship allowed her to present at international conferences, form relationships with researchers in the UK and the US and even write an award-winning book. During her Fellowship year, McLoughlin also successfully applied for an ARC Discovery Project with colleagues at UNSW and University of Sydney.
As part of its Athena Swan Silver Action Plan, the University of Newcastle has expanded this fellowship program to include all academics who experience barriers or systemic disadvantages to research progression.
“I don’t know what my career would have looked like without the fellowship, but it was a massive turbocharge,” she says.
“The fellowship coming through was the torch that led me through the next few years as it set up a bunch of projects that are still coming to fruition. It was also a massive gong, it was my first big, individual win.”
