UniBank supports the Pathways to Equity in STEM symposium

In Australia, demand for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills is high, and cannot be met over the coming decade unless action is taken to maximise the attraction, participation and retention of men and women in the workforce. In particular, women face barriers at all levels, including in their education and at all levels in the workforce.

Australia has not yet made the systemic changes required to achieve diversity in STEM, with the current under-representation of women in the STEM workforce posing a threat to Australia’s prosperity. Attracting women and girls to STEM and providing an environment for them to thrive and progress is the shared responsibility of government, academia, the education system, industry, and the community.

Making Change

At the request of the Australian Government, the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering have worked together to develop a Women in STEM Decadal Plan, with the purpose of creating a 10-year roadmap for achieving sustained increases in girls and women’s STEM participation and retention from school through to careers.

“Change can commence at the grassroots and this should not be discouraged. However, the systemic and sustained change required to make a step change in achieving gender equity in Australia will primarily occur when led and championed from the top,” said Australian Academy of Science Fellow, Professor Sue O’Reilly.

Overseen by an Expert Working Group comprised of representatives from across the STEM sector, the Decadal Plan is the result of an extensive research and national consultation process covering every state and territory, including written submissions, stakeholder interviews and roundtable discussions.

Read the full Decadal Plan

Rediscovering the Clever Country

The Decadal Plan offers a singular vision to guide all stakeholders – government, academia, industry, education sector and the broader community – as they go about identifying and agreeing on specific actions they must take to build the strongest STEM workforce possible to support Australia’s prosperity.

“Australia needs to be the clever country again. We need to be getting those large tech companies to stay in Australia and we need to be developing business capabilities around the new economies and become competitive again," said Australia’s first ambassador for Women in STEM, Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith.

The Decadal Plan outlines six opportunities to strengthen gender equity in STEM in Australia over the next 10 years, including establishing a national evaluation framework to guide decision making and drive investment and effort into STEM measures that work. These six opportunities are leadership and cohesion, evaluation, workplace culture, visibility, education and industry action.

“If this plan and the opportunities contained within it are realised, the STEM graduates of 2030 – 9 and 10 year-olds making their way through primary school in 2019, as well as those entering the workforce from other life journeys – will join workplaces that are respectful, free of harassment and discrimination, value diversity, and structured to support a variety of STEM careers that include women in leadership positions," said Dr Bruce Godfrey, Vice President of Diversity at the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.

UniBank and the STEM Community

Held in April 2019, the Pathways to Equity in STEM symposium was the first implementation step for the Women in STEM Decadal Plan.

Proudly supported by UniBank, the symposium brought together leaders from across the STEM community, providing opportunities to learn from each other and collaborate to define strategies for implementing the Decadal Plan.

“UniBank is a proud supporter of the academies’ 10 year plan to encourage gender diversity in STEM. We believe cross-institutional partnerships are vital if we are going to increase the numbers of women choosing STEM careers. We stand with the academy and the action plan to reach gender equity across Australian business and academic community," said Mike Lanzing, UniBank General Manager.

The main outcomes from Pathways to Equity in STEM can be summarised in 6 key points:

1. There is a need for a central repository for capturing information and evaluation;
2. Together we need to determine a way to transform voluntary action into accountability;
3. There is an abundance of resources available for creating change in industry, this plan provides an opportunity for these organisations to broaden their reach;
4. To create change you need to frame gender equity discussions around what drives decision making in your own organisation;
5. There is a big gap that must urgently be filled to address issues around how a given individual or group can often be discriminated against or disadvantaged by social categorisations such as race, class and gender; and
6. Organisations should consider the Decadal Plan opportunities at the leadership level and develop a formal response to the Decadal Plan.

A Bright Future For All

Since launching the Women in STEM Decadal Plan, the Expert Working Group has been overwhelmed with support.

In the coming months, the Australian Academy of Science will: support the formation of the Women in STEM Decadal Plan implementation taskforce; continue to collaborate with Science and Technology Australia, CSIRO and the Australian Science Media Centre in developing a searchable directory of women in STEM across all disciplines; and encourage all Fellows to take the panel pledge.

If you are interested in being involved in the implementation of Women in STEM Decadal Plan, contact the Women in STEM implementation taskforce via email or add yourself to the implementation mailing list.

The original source material for this article can be found at:

https://www.science.org.au/support/analysis/decadal-plans-science/decadal-plan-women-stem
https://www.science.org.au/support/analysis/decadal-plans-science/decadal-plan-women-stem/pathways-equity-stem-first-step