Athena SWAN Gender Equity Charter at Charles Sturt
Athena SWAN
'Inclusive' is one of the four core values at Charles Sturt University. Our commitment to gender equity is vital to attracting the best researchers and academics.
"Women comprise more than half of science PhD graduates and early career researchers, but just 17% of senior academics in Australian universities and research institutes. The loss of so many women scientists is a significant waste of expertise, talent and investment, and this impacts our nation's scientific performance and productivity." - SAGE
About Athena SWAN
Athena SWAN is an accreditation framework to address gender equity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine disciplines (STEMM) in higher education and research. Established in the UK in 2005, Athena SWAN has a proven reputation for creating a gender inclusive workplace. In Australia, Athena SWAN is run by Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE), a partnership between the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. SAGE is funded by its member institutions and the Commonwealth government under the National Innovation and Science Agenda.
Members commit to adopting 10 key principles within their policies, practices, action plans and culture.
Athena SWAN @ Charles Sturt University
Charles Sturt was awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze Institutional Award in December 2018 and is one of the first Australian universities to receive this prestigious award.
Charles Sturt University's Athena SWAN action plan outlines 43 actions that have been developed to reduce gender inequity, not only in STEMM but across the institution. These actions address issues identified in recruitment and induction; career progression and promotion; the gender pay gap; research; leave and flexible work arrangements; promoting inclusivity; and embedding the Athena SWAN principles within core business.
Our participation augments the Leadership Development for Women program, the Senior Women's Leadership Forum, and the University's Workplace Gender Equity Strategy (2018-2022).
The Award is granted for a four-year period. Re-accreditation is based on demonstrated progress against the action plan.
Quarterly newsletters
A key part of the Workplace Gender Equity Strategy 2018-2022 and the Athena SWAN Action Plan is the ongoing communication and distribution of information to staff regarding equity principles across Charles Sturt. In addition to training and webinars, a quarterly newsletter distributed to all staff, will contain updates on the progress of gender equity initiatives, case studies, research findings and other relevant articles and information.
We’d love to hear of any gender equity initiatives and good news stories from your area, please email details to genderequity@csu.edu.au.
Upcoming initiatives
As part of the Athena SWAN action plan, we will continue to communicate to staff regarding Athena SWAN and equity principles through regular webinars. Topics include unconscious bias, privilege, life as an academic, and popular culture messages.
These webinars will be advertised through What's New and other communication channels.
For more information, or if you have a topic you wish to present, please contact us.
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 who have the power to act and create change.
- leadership and cohesion
- evaluation
- workplace culture
- visibility
- education
- industry action.
Charles Sturt is a proud Women in STEM Decadal Plan Champion and the Organisation has developed a response to the Decadal Plan. Women in STEM Decadal Plan Champions are Organisations that have agreed to publicly align their gender equity journey with the decadal plan.
Get involved
The journey toward achieving gender equality is for everyone. These are some simple ways you can make a difference.