Today, Wednesday, 16 September 2015, is a very special day. A red letter day. A day to mark in the calendar. A day we will look back on in years to come as the day we changed the course of history herstory. Today we launched the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) pilot of Athena Swan in Australia. At Parliament House in Canberra. In the presence of MPs and academic VIPs from around the country.
From the kernel of an idea a couple of years ago, a group of incredibly inspiring people have now changed the landscape of science in Australia. I cannot tell you how proud I am to count myself among their number. And I cannot describe the overwhelming feeling of joy when I learned that 32 Australian institutions had put up their hand to participate in the rigorous SAGE Athena SWAN accreditation pilot that rewards best practice in supporting the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM). Those 32 organisations recognise that diversity is strength; diversity is good for business; and that supporting and achieving diversity will give them a competitive edge.
For me, it was a blur of a day, starting with a SAGE committee meeting at the Academy of Science, then the SAGE launch at Parliament House, a brief lunch with attendees, followed by media interviews, photos and video shoots.
A question posed by many was “how will you know if you’ve succeeded?“. In one respect, we have already succeeded. After all, we have 32 Australian institutions – including 25 of the 39 Australian universities, more than half! – signed up to participate in a pilot program to address the attrition of women in STEMM. That’s got to count as a win.
But what if I pose the question to myself? How will *I* know when we have succeeded? Well that would be:
• when 50% of professors and vice chancellors in Australia are women
• when 50% of Australian scientists taking extended parental leave or working flexibly are men
• when 50% of grants and fellowships in Australia are awarded to women
• when 50% of invited speakers at 100% of conferences in Australia are women
• when 100% of women scientists are paid 100% of the salaries earned by men with equivalent loads/roles
• when 0% of Australian STEMM professionals experience workplace sexism, racism, intimidation, harassment, or bullying
• when the alpha-male model of success is the exception not the rule
Clearly, we have a long way to go when we struggle to reach 1 in 5 women STEMM professors. The SAGE pilot of Athena SWAN in Australia is only the first step on a long road towards a new norm of true gender equality. Nevertheless, my heart sings knowing that the winds of change are finally blowing through the crusty old cobwebbed halls of science in Australia.
Today, the sound of that howling wind means success to me.
cubistcrystal 
A win on the way to reducing the gender gap
Thanks Frances!
Excellent news Jenny, thank you! That howling wind is like a symphony. Just curious…what do you think are realistic timeframes for meeting these success criteria. Does the existing data give any insights?
If I remember correctly, the existing data are v depressing. That’s one of the reasons why we need an intervention/disruption – to put this issue firmly and squarely on the change agenda.
Agreed! It would be great to see some projections around the impacts of particular interventions/policy changes…to give a timeframe, provide some accountability/checks, but most importantly provide inspiration/motivation esp. for mid and ECRs coming through the system. It’s the latter that seems to be sorely needed at present, despite lots of really really great things going on. I’d love to see some graphs that predict positive change as a result of all the activity…I suspect that would be pretty empowering with positive flow on effects.
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Congratulations!
Thank you!