Dr Yee Lian Chew, Flinders University
Chair of the 2021 EMCR Forum Executive
When I was 11 years old, my science teacher told me ‘Girls can’t do science’. When I was 21 years old and a PhD student, I was mistaken for the child of one of the department professors. When I was 25 years old, I wore my staff badge constantly around the institute where I was doing my postdoctoral training, just to avoid people looking at me warily before asking to see it. When I was 29 years old and on the job market, a senior person in my field said to my face that no one would pay my salary, no one would give me a job, and no one would attend my seminar (that I was presenting to his department). When I was 30 years old, somebody I worked with told me that the reason I was awarded a prestigious fellowship was because I was a ‘minority woman’.
I applied to join the EMCR Forum Executive in late 2019, when I was a new early-career research group leader, wanting to feel a sense of belonging in a sector that seemed to tell me in a myriad of ways, from the very beginnings of my career, that I didn’t belong there.
(Even so, I am one of the very lucky ones, because for me, the stars aligned in 2019, when I was awarded a 5-year research fellowship. Finally, after many rounds of failure, I could breathe easy. For a while, at least.)
I applied to join the EMCR Forum Executive (the Executive) because I wanted to advocate for junior researchers in a sector that still lacks meaningful diversity among senior leaders, where so many people face discrimination and feel like advancement is lightyears away. I wanted to contribute to a group that could plan boldly and strategically in the long-term, rather than trying to solve only small, short-term problems. I strongly believe that all researchers, regardless of their circumstances, deserve a healthy and happy career in STEMM—without fear of getting booted out because they don’t have millions in research funding, because they took parental leave, because they had a chronic illness, or because they simply didn’t fit the ‘mould’ of an Oxford-educated white male professor. Getting the call back that I was offered a position on the Executive for 2020 was thrilling and terrifying in equal measure. I felt—and still feel—so lucky to have the opportunity to help other EMCRs.
My first year on the Executive in 2020 was an incredibly challenging year for everyone. It seemed that all the structural inequities that made the world a difficult place to live for the disadvantaged were amplified a thousand-fold as the pandemic spread globally. As someone who works in higher education, I witnessed first-hand colleagues and friends in multiple departments being made redundant for cost-saving measures. In May 2020, the EMCR Forum Executive designed a survey to identify impacts of COVID-19 on EMCRs in Australia. Analysing the responses to this survey was depressing, and occasionally distressing—this was a time of great pain for many EMCRs who felt abandoned by their institutions and political leaders, and reading their responses was heartbreaking. However, having data showing this huge impact on the future research potential in Australia meant that we could write letters to funders and decision-makers. We were fortunate to meet and discuss next steps with senior funding managers at the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and with Minister Karen Andrews (formerly of the Industry, Science and Technology portfolio). We hope that some of these conversations will soon yield meaningful results for the future of EMCRs.
When I was invited to be Chair of the Executive in 2021, I was terrified. Previous Chairs Drew Evans, Nikola Bowen and Carly Rosewarne (also contributors to this issue) can tell you that I expressed my fears to them over Zoom (a conversation facilitated by the wonderful Emma Beckett, former Executive member). How would I lead something so big and amazing as the EMCR Forum Executive? Fortunately, I don’t have to do this alone. I am supported by a great and diverse team of EMCRs across academia, industry and government, as well as support from the Australian Academy of Science in the form of the indefatigable Laura Navarro. Although we are a diverse team, we are united by a vision that EMCRs from all walks of life should have fulfilling and rewarding careers in their chosen sector. In line with this, the advocacy theme for this year is ‘Sustainable Careers’—envisioning a future where STEMM researchers have job security, that there is diversity and inclusivity at all career stages, and that EMCRs are empowered with opportunities for professional development and being given the space to care for their mental and physical health.
There are so many exciting things that we have planned for 2021. One of our major plans for this year is the Science Pathways 2021 conference, where the theme is (you guessed it) ‘Sustainable Careers’! We will have inspiring keynote speakers, targeted professional development, workshops, and the chance to hang out with fellow EMCRs (hopefully in-person, definitely online). We’ve updated Science Pathways with more online events and have jazzed them up beyond the usual array of Zoom windows. We can’t wait to hold this event in November.
One great thing about our advocacy theme for 2021 is that it covers many elements that are always important to EMCRs. It was hard in 2020 to put our efforts into anything not purely reactionary—moving forward we want to focus on advocacy that spans multiple years, that can be bolder and have a bigger impact. ‘Sustainable Careers’—including engagement between academia, industry and government; a focus on mental health and job security; and as always, equity, diversity and inclusivity—will be both a continuation of so much amazing work in the past 10 years of the Forum, and a sustained effort in coming years. We want a brighter outlook for EMCRs, which will in turn drive the advancement of the future STEMM ecosystem in Australia to tackle important issues such as climate change, public health, and so many others.
Professor Drew Evans, University of South Australia
Chair of the 2018 EMCR Forum Executive
I joined the EMCR Forum Executive in 2016. My motivation to join stemmed from a desire to actively make change in the research sector around culture. Having a background of employment in the private sector, I was very keen to see how the voices of those outside universities could be heard. This is an interesting challenge, given there is no easy way to reach out to the large numbers of EMCRs working outside universities. What came from these original motivations, and morphed once I joined the Executive team, was a broader focus on increasing the number and diversity of voices that contribute to the ‘agenda’ of the EMCR Forum. Whether this relates to professional development of EMCRs, or advocating to government on behalf of the sector, having greater input across the sector was key. While there is a long way to go, I was so happy to be part of a team and a community that were/are so keen on ensuring everyone has a voice.
In 2018 I took on the chair role for the Executive. To be honest, I was rather scared of taking on this role. I had directly witnessed two incredible and amazing people chair the Executive in my time on the team, and definitely felt like I was underprepared. I decided that my job as Chair was to implement some internal processes that helped the Executive connect the day-to-day tasks with the overall strategy focus. That is, background work was being done on particular topics (industry engagement, mental health, career stability, transitioning between sectors, etc) in any given year that would become the focal point of the following year. This would hopefully give the Executive team some breathing room to plan towards future activities. The historical mode of operation from what I could see was very reactionary. With so many issues/topics/actions coming up throughout a given year it slowed down any strategic proactive work taking flight. I’m hoping that some of these internal processes stick, giving the Executive some room for strategic work, and as a result leading to EMCRs across Australia seeing meaningful change happen soon in their sector.
Now that I have seen the inner workings of the EMCR Forum Executive and had a few years in the industry and academic sides of the research sector, I am confident we are seeing change in the research environment. My hope is that the opportunities for positive change outweigh the backwards steps, and that the progression of change happens faster than generational change. We do not have time to sit around and wait for generational change to see improvements in the way the sector treats people. Yes, I refer to the people within the sector, and all the things that make these people individuals. We need a sector that welcomes and includes everyone within, and provides the flexibility to allow everyone to contribute in the way they can, when they can.
Dr Carly Rosewarne, University of South Australia
Chair of the 2017 EMCR Forum Executive
I applied to join the EMCR Forum Executive in late 2015, after returning from a six-month sabbatical in the USA as a Fulbright Scholar. The Fulbright Program emphasises the importance and ability of alumni to give back to their profession and society. I felt that the EMCR Forum would provide a mechanism to address key issues that were affecting many of my peers. My career trajectory up to this point had shown me that successful R&D requires teamwork and collaboration over an extended period, yet it is often ‘individual brilliance’ that garners recognition and accolades in academic and government research organisations. This is vastly different to my experience of undertaking research in an industry context, where outcomes were delivered together and acknowledged collectively. The narrow focus on individual performance across much of the research sector creates a significant barrier to career stability and progression for women in STEM, while also stifling our ability as a nation to solve the challenges we face due to the loss of capacity and continuity within research teams. A strong desire to bring these concerns to light formed the basis of my application.
Being part of the EMCR Forum Executive gave me the opportunity to engage with a broad cross-section of early and mid-career researchers in Australia. I realised pretty quickly that career stability and access to opportunities is dictated by more than the gender binary, and so my focus shifted to ensuring that action on equity and inclusion was central to all EMCR Forum activities and discussions. Through this lens, it was impossible to ignore the fact that the past and present membership of the EMCR Forum Executive was not reflective of the Australian EMCR community we were tasked with representing. In the first two years of my service (2016 and 2017), we iteratively revised the process for selecting new members to reduce bias and diversify the composition of the Executive team. Significant progress has been made in subsequent years as a result, but more can still be done. If you feel that you have perspectives to offer that haven’t yet been represented, I encourage you to consider applying when the call for EOIs is opened later this year. If you want more information about what’s involved, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. As an extracurricular service role, it does bring with it a responsibility to contribute to strategic objectives in your area(s) of interest. In acknowledgement of the fact that many marginalised EMCRs already need to work harder than their peers to sustain a career in research, we increased the number of positions from ten to twelve so that more people would be available to share the load. We also provided scope to make a part-time equivalent contribution. Having said that, the reality is that many EMCRs just aren’t in a position to be able to make this type of commitment. This doesn’t mean that your voice isn’t important, in fact it’s the responsibility of the Executive team to ensure that all voices can be heard. If you ever want to get in touch with them, you can reach them via email at emcr@science.org.au
Over the last 10 years, the EMCR Forum has championed improvements in the national research environment through targeted advocacy and engagement efforts. Using feedback from members, the EMCR Forum Executive has made submissions to multiple Australian Government inquiries and reviews, with evidence showing that these efforts have made an impact through their influence on strategic policy reform. The Science Pathways conferences have provided an avenue for professional development and networking for hundreds of EMCRs, with key outcomes from the 2018 event including a best practice guide for increasing representation in award recipients and establishment of the EMCR Forum Representative Network. This conference also saw the introduction of flexible carer’s grants for attendees, which are now made available for other events hosted by the Australian Academy of Science. None of the successes achieved by the EMCR Forum would have been possible without assistance from behind the scenes. Both Sandra Gardam and Laura Navarro from the Academy deserve a special mention for their outstanding efforts during my term of service, providing stellar support that enabled us to convert our ambitious ideas into reality. My experience with the EMCR Forum Executive reinforced my view that ‘teamwork makes the dream work’. It allowed me to realise that I could make more of an impact by transitioning into a research support role, and so I took the leap in 2018. It’s been incredible to play a small but important part in helping many amazing EMCRs to achieve their goals, and I’m excited to see where the future takes them.
Although the efforts of the EMCR Forum over the last decade have made a significant impact, the structural problems that it was established to solve still exist. I personally feel that this is because the big issues are engrained in every aspect of a system that is gatekept and resistant to change. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that change is impossible. Each of us can make a difference with the decisions we make, by thinking about how our actions will affect others. Those with privilege can centre the voices of people from minoritised groups, elevating their needs as the priority and providing the critical mass of support required to challenge the status quo. As an example, it is vitally important that efforts to promote women in STEM do not exacerbate pre-existing inequities faced by people who are already marginalised. We can actively identify and correct for our biases, so that selection processes are robust and fair. We can be constructive when giving feedback, taking care to avoid harsh criticism and offering targeted guidance about how to improve. We can give our sponsorship and encouragement to the good people around us, so that they are in the best possible position to succeed. We can be kind and compassionate to ourselves and each other, providing a positive framework in which the endeavour of research is not made harder than it already is. The scope of what you can do as an individual is dependent on your circumstances, but as the established voice of Australia’s future scientific leaders, there is strength in uniting with your peers and using the platform that the EMCR Forum offers as a conduit for change.
Associate Professor Nikola Bowden, University of Newcastle/HMRI
Chair of the 2016 EMCR Forum Executive
In late 2012, whilst on parental leave (for the third time), I attended a reference group for ECRs in Canberra. I remember feeling a mixture of desperation and rage at the impossible task of maintaining a research career whilst raising 3 small children. During the meeting, a very senior Academic told the entire group that the best way to be successful was to find a successful senior Academic, buy them a coffee and hope they will impart their wisdom on you, maybe they will even let you work with them. A voice from the back of the room called out “that is not good enough, we need to build our own careers, we need opportunities and equity, the Australian Academy of Science has recognised this and we have just had a meeting of the EMCR Forum Executive”. All the ECRs clapped and cheered and it was at that moment I knew the EMCR Forum was going to lead the change we so desperately needed. I followed the EMCR Forum Executive around for the rest of the day like they were rockstars—they were leaders and I wanted to hear what they had to say.
I was incredibly honoured to join to the EMCR Forum Executive in 2014 and soon after took over the gender equity portfolio. There were very few equity initiatives at the time and I am so proud of all the EMCR Forum members that have contributed to being the voice EMCRs needed to start many of today’s equity, diversity and inclusivity programs. I was Chair of the EMCR Forum Executive in 2016 which was straight after a period of huge growth in activities and recognition for the EMCR Forum and we decided it was time to develop a strategic plan. I am really proud of the Executive in 2016–18 for being BOLD; we stepped out of our comfort zone and became the voice of EMCRs on many platforms. We met with government ministers, CEOs, funding bodies; visited institutions; and started using social media to gain support. We were given a seat at the table at Australian Academy of Science events, and we built on all the groundwork of previous Forum executive members.
I look back on my four years on the EMCR Forum with enormous gratitude. The EMCR Forum could not exist without the support and guidance of Australian Academy of Science staff; in particular Sandra Gardam and Laura Navarro guided me as Chair and Executive member and always made sure we were on the bus at Science Pathways!
I met so many passionate and driven individuals that I now call lifelong friends. I particularly want to mention Darren Saunders and Maggie Evans-Galea for their enduring support and warm welcome to the EMCR Forum in my early days; and Carly Rosewarne and Drew Evans for their ongoing friendship and for speaking up when others could not—they are all exceptional Leaders and are the diverse voices of EMCRs that I am privileged to still learn from every time we see each other. I am looking forward to seeing what the EMCR Forum can achieve over the next 10 years and beyond.
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