Towards gender equity
Macquarie University gender equity data summary
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Our journey so far
Macquarie University launched its first Workplace Gender Equity Strategy on International Women’s Day 2017, setting out an ambitious action plan for real and sustainable change towards gender equity, diversity and inclusion. Our Towards Gender Equity 2.0.strategy details our gender equity priorities, progress to date and future plans. The strategy outlines six key commitments, which drive our actions and ongoing progress towards real change:
- Building an equitable and inclusive organisational culture
- Embedding leadership commitment and accountability for Gender Equity
- Building our talent pipeline by attracting and recruiting more academic women
- Improving the representation of women in senior and leadership positions
- Establishing a workplace culture of flexibility
- Closing the gender pay gap
While these goals are not unusual, our approach to achieving change is. Our bold vision is to lead the way for other universities and organisations, and society more generally, to create greater equality for all genders at work.
At Macquarie we take a broad and strategic approach to diversity and inclusion – focussed on building a workforce that truly reflects the diversity of our community, and creating an inclusive culture where everyone is respected, supported and progressing.
We know that to make real progress, we need to transform the traditional approach to gender equity. Our approach is to 'fix the system' - meaning we're focusing our attention on the policies, systems, processes and cultures that create and maintain inequality. This means changing the way we do things.
We ultimately want to see equality consistently reflected in the fabric of our University. Working with a shared purpose to create real change, our leaders and teams aim to proactively challenge gender stereotypes and biases, build pipelines to better harness talent, and remove systemic obstacles to genuine equality of opportunity.
Learn about our Gender Equity priorities, progress and future plans.
SAGE Athena Swan Bronze Award
Macquarie is a member of Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE), and a proud recipient of a Bronze Athena SWAN. The SAGE Athena SWAN Bronze accreditation recognises our commitment to advancing the careers of staff from diverse backgrounds and addressing the underrepresentation of women in Science, Technology Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine. To achieve this internationally recognised award, we undertook a broad analysis of statistical and qualitative data to interrogate and understand our own context and the gendered outcomes of key processes such as recruitment, retention, progression as well as our university culture. In response to this analysis, we developed a 4-year action plan, which is included in our application.
Our SAGE action plan closely aligns with our Workplace Gender Equity Strategy, and we took a university-wide approach to the development of our action plan. Our 2019 Bronze application can be found here.
“The accreditation process at Macquarie has been highly collaborative, involving colleagues across the University. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to achieving our SAGE Athena SWAN Bronze accreditation, and to the broader Macquarie community and industry partners for continued support to help close the gap. We know that we need to be bold and innovative to create real change for equity, diversity, and inclusion. Our focus is on addressing the causes of underrepresentation and inequality, not the symptoms. We’re already seeing the impact of this approach and will continue to make it a key priority for our University.” Macquarie Vice-Chancellor, S. Bruce Dowton.
The Athena SWAN charter was first developed in the UK in 2005. The Australian SAGE pilot (supported by the Australian Academy of Science in partnership with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering) launched in 2016 and adapted the Athena SWAN charter for the Australian context.
Macquarie University is a Women in STEM Decadal Plan Champion
The national Women in STEM Decadal Plan was launched by the Australian Academy of Science in collaboration with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering in 2019 to guide organisations and stakeholders to achieve a transformative, systematic and sustained change towards gender equality in Australia’s STEM sector by 2030. As a Champion organisation, Macquarie outlined how our progress and actions towards gender equity align with and support the National Decadal Plan. Macquarie has made a significant commitment to prioritising gender equity, and we are already seeing the impact of our Workplace Gender Equity Strategy.
The women in STEM Decadal Plan provides a framework to ensure the STEM ecosystem is moving towards a shared vision. It outlines six opportunities for all stakeholders - government, academia, industry, education and the broader community - who have the power to act and create change. The six opportunities are:
- leadership and cohesion
- evaluation
- workplace culture
- visibility
- education
- industry action
More information about the national decadal plan can be found here.
Read Macquarie University's successful submission to become a champion for the national decadal plan.
Gender Equity Strategy Committee
Our work in building a culture of equity is led by members of our Gender Equity Strategy Committee, who monitor and provide regular updates on priorities and progress to the University community.
Professor Sakkie Pretorius | Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Co-Chair |
Nicole Gower | Director of Human Resources and Co-Chair |
Mark Broomfield | Director, Property |
Jo Hatton | Manager, Workplace Diversity and Inclusion |
Professor Lesley Hughes | Pro Vice-Chancellor, (Research Integrity and Development), Distinguished Professor of Biological Science |
Pete Boyle | CEO, U@MQ |
Professor Barbara Messerle | Executive Dean, Faculty of Science and Engineering |
Professor Anne Ross-Smith | Associate Dean, Curriculum and Quality Assurance, Faculty of Business and Economics |
Professor Johanna Westbrook | Director, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation |
Gender Equity Self-Assessment Team
Our Gender Equity Self-Assessment Team (GESAT) leads strategy implementation and has developed numerous change initiatives to improve the inclusivity of University policies, processes, and culture.
| Izzy de Allende | Workplace Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator |
| Albert Atkin | Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy |
| Nicole Matthews | Senior Lecturer, Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies |
| Leigh Boucher | Senior Lecturer, Department of Modern History, Politics & International Relations |
| Pete Boyle | CEO, U@MQ |
| Emily Brennan | Project Manager, DVC Research |
| Maria Dahm | Research Fellow, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research |
| Judith Dawes | Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy |
| Joanne Dawson | Lecturer, Department of Physics and Astronomy |
| Saveria Dimasi | Vice-President University Services and Strategy |
| Thom Dixon | Research Engagement and Impact Coordinator, DVR Research |
| Louise Fleck | Director, Research Services |
| Nicole Gower | Director, Human Resources |
| Jo Hatton | Manager, Workplace Diversity and Inclusion |
| Mariella Herberstein | Professor & Chair of University Senate, Department of Biology |
| Lesley Hughes | Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Integrity and Development) |
| Harriet Jones | Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Consultant |
| Rachel Kallen | Associate Professor, Department of Psychology |
| Candace Lang | Professor, Department of Engineering |
| Mauricio Marrone | Senior Lecturer, Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance |
| Richard McDermid | ARC Future Fellow, Department of Physics and Astronomy |
| Rebecca Mitchell | Professor, Department of Management |
| Todd Phillips | Indigenous Workforce Development Coordinator, PVC (Indigenous Strategy) |
| Ronika Power | Associate Professor, Department of Ancient History |
| Anina Rich | Professor, Department of Cognitive Science |
| Alison Rodger | Head of Department, Department of Molecular Science |
| Katrina Sealey | Head of Research Data and Software, Australian Astronomical Optics |
| Lan Snell | Associate Professor, Academic Program Director, Global MBA |
| Johanna Westbrook | Professor, Director of Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research |
Workplace Gender Equality Agency reports
In line with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, Macquarie submits its public report with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. All universities are required to submit their reports by 31 July each year.
The 2018-2019 Workplace Gender Equality Agency Report is now available to be viewed. Macquarie University employees are invited to provide comments on the report to Jo Hatton, Manager, Workplace Diversity and Inclusion, by emailing jo.hatton@mq.edu.au. All comments are confidential. If you have any issues with the accessibility of this report, please contact Jo Hatton.