Resources and Events
The conference proceedings and presentations from the 2022 UK Diversity Interventions Conference are available to view here.
International Women’s Day Events – Monday 8th March 2021.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is held annually on the 8th of March. IWD first emerged from activities in labour movements in North America and across Europe around the turn of the twentieth century that sought better conditions for women in the workplace, at the same time that women were campaigning for the right to vote across the world.
IWD in Australia was first marked in 1928 and over the years has been focused on key themes highlighting successes and ongoing challenges for women. In 2021 the theme promoted by UN Women Australia is ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’.
To mark IWD, JCU’s GEAR team is screening the film ‘Picture a Scientist’ on both the JCU Townsville, Bebegu Yumba campus, Douglas and the JCU Cairns, Nguma-bada campus, Smithfield.
Picture a Scientist - Synopsis
Picture a Scientist chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we encounter scientific luminaries – including social scientists, neuroscientists and psychologists – who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable and open to all.
Screening Details
There will be two screenings on each campus on the 8th of March, conducted under COVID-19 physical distancing conditions. To enable us to run the events in a COVID-safe way, please select your preferred session in the table below and follow the links to reserve your place early.
BUILDING | ROOM | FROM | TO | TICKET BOOKING LINK |
TSV 025 | 001 | 12 noon | 2 pm | |
CNS D3 | 063 | 12 noon | 2 pm | |
TSV 142 | 111 | 4 pm | 6 pm | |
CNS D3 | 054 | 4pm | 6 pm |
Below are recommended readings and viewings to increase knowledge of gender equity issues and actions which you may find useful. All titles come recommended from members of the GEAR Team.
Books
1. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men - by Caroline Criado Perez
2. Men at Work: Australia's Parenthood Trap - by Annabel Crabb
3. Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons - by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
4. See What you Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse - by Jess Hill
5. Beating the Odds: a practical guide to navigating sexism in Australian universities - by Marcia Devlin
Webinars
1. Gender Equity Insights 2022 - a Bankwest and WGEA: Gender Equity Insights 2022: The State of inequality in Australia
Movies
1. Brazen Hussies - a documentary celebrating the bold women of the Women's Liberation Movement who reignited Australia's feminist revolution
2. Picture a Scientist - chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists
3. Women of Steel - the inspirational campaign to win 'jobs for women'
4. The Bystander Moment - The #MeToo movement has shined much-needed light on the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and abuse and created unprecedented demand for gender violence prevention models that actually work. The Bystander Moment tells the story of one of the most prominent and proven of these models - the innovative bystander approach developed by pioneering scholar and activist Jackson Katz and his colleagues at Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society in the 1990s.
5. Ms Represented - One hundred years after Australia elected its very first female parliamentarian, Annabel Crabb presents Ms Represented, a raw and honest account of politics from the female perspective.
A number of informative guides and tip sheets are available to support gender equity in day-to-day activities. These guides are available on the Staff Equity and Diversity website and by clicking below.
Find out about a range of flexible working arrangements you can access at JCU (login required).
The Women in STEM Ambassador has released a portal in 2022 to support evaluation of STEM equity initiatives.
SAGE Webinars
Universities around Australia are increasingly focused on supporting the participation and success of students from marginalised backgrounds. Early research shows that engaging students as partners can better facilitate that success.
Together with Dr Lucy Mercer-Mapstone, we’ll explore the concept of a student-staff partnership and the ways universities can introduce democratic principles into classrooms. Practices such as co-creation and co-design can enhance student learning, and have potential compensatory effects for historically marginalised student groups.
Next, Dr Arti Agrawal will tell us about the UTS Women in Engineering and IT programme, an example of student-staff partnerships in action. She will discuss the central role that students play as partners – particularly in their schools outreach activities – and share insights on how to engage students in gender equity and inclusion to foster a sense of belonging. We’ll also briefly consider how students’ intersecting identities manifest themselves in real and practical ways.
Further resources
- The Power of Partnership: Students, Staff, and Faculty Revolutionizing Higher Education, an open access eBook edited by Lucy Mercer-Mapstone and Sophia Abbot.
- Deakin University’s Australian Open Textbook Project, where researchers study how the use of free open textbooks can widen student participation and strengthen their sense of belonging through more socially diverse content.
To further their impact and engage a broad network of staff with their approach to diversity and inclusion, Macquarie University has established a network of local D&I committees, Executive-level gender equity KPIs, and a clear governance structure for D&I across the University.
The aim of these local level D&I committees is to drive sustainable cultural change, tailored to local issues and contexts, and to support the implementation of the University’s diversity and inclusion plans.
To tell us more about this work, we’ve invited Macquarie University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research Integrity and Development) and SAGE Academic Lead Professor Lesley Hughes, Workplace Diversity & Inclusion Consultant Harriet Jones and Workplace Coach & Consultant, Rachael Brady.
They’ll share the experiences, success stories, and struggles in establishing this new governance model, and give an overview of the training and support provided to establish, and successfully maintain, committees and networks at a local level.
To help us improve your SAGE webinar experience, we’d love it if you could complete this very short survey.
Further resources
There’s plenty of research on employees’ needs and perceptions of gender equality in their workplace, but the role of middle managers is often overlooked. Unless these key players are fully engaged in operationalising change initiatives, organisations’ top-down commitment to gender equality tends to stall at the middle management level.
In this webinar, industrial relations expert Dr Sue Williamson will outline how middle managers can progress gender equality, providing practical tips and strategies on what works, and the challenges which remain.
Like anyone else, middle managers may struggle to champion inclusion because they lack the interest, skills or resources to do so. Prof. Carol T. Kulik tells us about University of South Australia’s Small Steps program, an example of how organisations can empower “inclusion beginners” to take action. Small Steps is a roadshow that delivers a short series of research findings, each accompanied by a small step that any employee can take to make the university more inclusive.
To help us improve your SAGE webinar experience, we’d love it if you could complete this very short survey.
Further resources
- Report by Dr Sue Williamson and colleagues, The role of middle managers in progressing gender equity in the public sector.
Effective evaluation and monitoring of the progress made towards achieving an institution’s gender equality goals requires dedicated tools, leadership and ongoing commitment to support action and ensure accountability.
In this webinar, Edith Cowan University’s (ECU) Professor Cobie Rudd shares her insights and how their use of a custom dashboard drives the implementation of gender equity initiatives across their institution.
Learning from experiences throughout their Athena SWAN journey, ECU has developed a coordinated approach to the collection and analysis of institutional gender-associated data. This data allows the University to oversee, monitor and report on progress made against the Bronze Action Plan both within and external to the institution.
We’ll hear how ECU tracks progress on gender equity initiatives and provides evidence to their leadership and governing bodies, allowing far-reaching information sharing across the university.
To help us improve your SAGE webinar experience, we’d love it if you could complete this very short survey.
At most institutions, the intensive preparation process for an Athena SWAN award is coordinated by Project Leads and Self-Assessment Teams (SATs). What is it like to be in the driver’s seat for gender equity, diversity and inclusion? What motivates these individuals in their work, and how can their organisations support them?
In this webinar, University of Tasmania sociologist Assoc. Prof. Meredith Nash explores how SAT members think about gender and gender equity. Gender differences in SAT members’ reasons for participating could translate into unequal workload distributions on the SAT, which in turn reproduces gender inequality in the academic workforce.
We’ll also hear from La Trobe University’s SAGE Athena SWAN project manager Dr Natasha Weir, who will examine the lived experiences of Athena SWAN project leads, their perceptions, perspectives, understandings and feelings about their efforts to apply the Charter in Australia.
Further resources
- Paper by Assoc. Prof. Meredith Nash and colleagues, An exploration of perceptions of gender equity among SAGE Athena SWAN self-assessment team members in a regional Australian university, published in Higher Education Research & Development.
The Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report (2020) identified the use of industry, state and federal awards and recognition programs as a key tool to incentivise industries to improve their approaches to preventing and addressing workplace sexual harassment. SAGE was cited in Respect@Work as an effective model for encouraging positive organisational change – eliminating sexual harassment is directly relevant to a number of the Athena SWAN Charter principles.
In this webinar, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, outlines how SAGE members can use the Respect@Work findings, as well as key recommendations from Change the Course, to strengthen approaches to tackling workplace sexual harassment. The webinar is facilitated and moderated by Professor Kay Latham, Dean of STEMM Diversity and Inclusion at RMIT University.
You can also read a summary of the webinar highlights and key recommendations.
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As a result of Athena SWAN’s datacentric approach to achieving equity, diversity and inclusion, SAGE members have gathered vast amounts of gender data. We know that these data are essential for locating sources of gender inequity, but can they also help us predict future gender gaps (or lack thereof) in the higher education and research sector?
Professor Lisa Kewley FAA (Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in All-Sky Astrophysics in 3D, ASTRO 3D) says yes, they can! She presents an evidence-based Monte Carlo model that can reproduce and explain the current gender disparities in Australian STEM academia. These models show that the gender gap for Levels B-E can be closed within 12-15 years through initiatives such as 50:50 hiring, a goal of 50:50 departures, and equal retirements.
Mei Leow, SAGE intern, also shares some trends and insights from her analysis of recruitment and promotion data in SAGE Athena SWAN Bronze applications.
About this SAGE webinar
Efforts to promote gender equality in workplaces and organisations often meet resistance. Resistance takes a variety of forms, from denial of the problem, to inaction, to victim-blaming, to outright attack. How should we respond to resistance and backlash, and how can we make resistance less likely in the first place?
In this presentation, Assoc. Prof. Michael Flood from QUT first describes the character, dynamics, and origins of resistance and backlash. Then, he explores the strategies we can use to respond to, and prevent, resistance.
Highlights
- Pushback can be a sign that positive systemic and cultural changes are taking place
- How to promote your initiatives for maximum buy-in
- Tips for designing effective training on gender equity
- In the Q&A: Do men-only training sessions work?
You may also like:
- Webinar slides [.pdf, 669 KB]
- Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention, a free eBook by Michael Flood.
- (En)countering resistance: Strategies to respond to resistance to gender equality initiatives, VicHealth 2017.
- Backlash and buy-in: Responding to challenges in achieving gender equality, MCC and CEW.