The 40 organisations in Australia’s Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Pilot are meeting for the first time at a national symposium today in Sydney.
The SAGE Pilot of the UK-based Athena SWAN Charter is a partnership of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). It promotes equity and inclusion through an evaluation and accreditation framework to identify and address gender inequity in science and research organisations.
Professor Susan Pond from ATSE, speaking at the symposium this morning, emphasised the importance of recognising and acting on the current gender imbalance in Australia.
‘It matters because Australia’s higher education and research sectors are … failing to benefit from the additional range of perspectives and backgrounds [women] would bring to the table,’ she said.
‘It matters also because gender equality is a moral imperative, and it matters because of this new and bright, shiny thing: the challenge of innovation.’
The SAGE symposium is supported by principal sponsor Universities Australia and by the Office for Women in Prime Minister and Cabinet, La Trobe, EY, L’Oréal Australia and Flinders University.
More information about SAGE and its participating institutions
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
