The Australian Academy of Science acknowledges and pays respects to the Ngunnawal people, the Traditional Owners of the lands on which the Academy office is located. The Academy also acknowledges and pays respects to the Traditional Owners and the Elders both past and present of all the lands on which the Academy operates, and its Fellows live and work. They hold the memories, traditions, cultures and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia.
The Australian Academy of Science aims to be a national leader in diversity and inclusion in Australia’s science sector.
The Academy is committed to supporting excellence in science and empowering the next generation of scientists. As recognised in our strategic plan, we recognise that to achieve this we must celebrate and embrace diversity and inclusion in all its forms and embed diversity and inclusion in everything we do.
As a national academy we have a responsibility to model, promote and influence best practice in diversity and inclusion in the science sector in Australia.
To support our work in diversity and inclusion we have adopted a Code of Conduct which clearly outlines conduct expectations, the values of the Academy and procedures for handling misconduct. The code is based on best practice and is binding for Fellows, staff and participants in all Academy activities. The Academy has established a Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee (DIACOM) that reports to Council and includes external experts in the field of diversity and inclusion.
The Academy is a proud member of Diversity Council Australia, a peak body leading diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This membership not only provides the Academy with resources to assist in supporting our diverse workforce and our inclusion activities, it also identifies the Academy as an employer of choice. We were recognised by Diversity Council Australia as an Inclusive Employer 2023–24 following our participation in its Inclusive Employer Index.
See our Diversity Strategic Statement 2022–2025
On this page, find out more about what we’re doing in the areas of:
The gender imbalance of the Fellowship is an important issue for the Academy. As of 1 June 2023 women comprise 19% of our 601 Fellows, and we have worked hard in recent years to address this issue. Our actions to improve diversity are succeeding—over the past five years (2019-2023), 44 women have been elected (by Ordinary and Special Election) into the Academy, representing 40% of the Fellows elected during that time. This has been achieved by adopting a range of best practice measures to improve our nominations process and increase opportunities to recognise all scientists. Learn more about the election process.
The Academy’s Executive Committee comprises seven Officers of Council, and women currently fill the following three Officer positions: Foreign Secretary; Secretary for Education and Public Awareness of Science; and Treasurer.
We have appointed more than 35 ‘Champions of Diversity’ within the Fellowship to be ambassadors in each scientific discipline across the country, tasked with identifying diversity candidates and proposers to put forward nominations for Fellowship and awards.
Professor Cheryl Praeger, former Foreign Secretary of the Australian Academy of Science, chairs the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA) Special Committee for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). In 2018, WISE published Profiles of Women Scientists in Asia: Their inspirational stories, featuring 50 researcher profiles from across the AASSA membership countries in a celebration of the dedication, passion and resilience of women in science throughout the region.
The Academy successfully nominates women scientists to international scientific committees. For example, Academy Fellow Professor Nalini Joshi is Vice President of the International Mathematical Union Sciences, and Dr Helen Cleugh is a member of the joint scientific committee of the World Climate Research Programme.
We have developed the Women in STEM Decadal Plan in collaboration with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. The plan provides a 10-year roadmap for achieving sustained increases in women’s STEM participation and retention from school through to careers.
Action is being taken by Women in STEM Decadal Plan Champions—members of the STEM ecosystem who have agreed to publicly align their gender equity journey with the decadal plan. Learn more about the Women in STEM Decadal Plan Champions.
We partnered with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering to roll out the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) pilot. The pilot is now complete. To find out more about this project visit the SAGE website.
STEM Women is a dynamic, curated online directory of Australian women working in STEM across industry and academia. Developed in partnership with Science & Technology Australia, CSIRO and the Australian Science Media Centre, the directory aims to promote gender equity in STEM by showcasing the breadth of scientific talent in Australia, enabling a diverse range of women to be offered exciting opportunities to progress their careers and personal capabilities.
Building on the success of the Academy’s successful Australian version of the STEM Women platform, STEM Women Asia was launched in September 2021, extending the STEM Women network to women in Asia and Oceania. Featuring profiles of women from more than 30 countries, the Academy is committed to growing the exciting opportunity offered by STEM Women Asia as a platform to increase the representation of all women at all stages of their STEM career.
The Academy Council has taken the Panel Pledge, agreeing to only participate in events where efforts have been taken to ensure women have meaningful representation. Learn more about the Panel pledge.
We are continually seeking to increase diversity of nominees for all our grants and awards. We are improving gender equity in grants and awards programs through improved advertising mechanisms, changes to the application process that normalise career breaks and presenting multiple awards if one of the top two ranked candidates is a woman. Exploration into a new honorific career medal that would honour and celebrate women scientists’ achievements is also underway.
Changes to membership requirements have led to each of our award selection committees consisting of a broader cohort of the scientific community than Academy Fellows. In addition, all members are requested to undergo unconscious bias and group think training.
The Academy wants to ensure everyone can participate fully in our events. During our annual flagship event, Science at the Shine Dome, we offer assistance to support the attendance of delegates who would not otherwise be able to attend or who face obstacles to their attendance. Previously this has included onsite childcare and carer’s assistance grants. Accessibility assistance for speakers is also offered across Academy-run events such as the Canberra Speakers Series, and is strongly encouraged at Academy supported events.
We are committed to advancing reconciliation, creating opportunities to work respectfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, supporting their contribution to scientific activities, and increasing understandings of Indigenous knowledge.
See our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan
See our progress towards reconciliation.
The Early- and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Forum is the national voice of Australia's emerging STEM researchers. It champions improvement in the national research environment for EMCRs through advocacy.
Through the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia), the Academy conducts 3-6 activities and events annually to support Australia’s EMCR community. The purpose of these activities is to provide tangible benefits to EMCRs to support their careers and ultimately further scientific discovery.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
