Athena SWAN Institution Application
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Athena SWAN Institution Application Bronze Award Bronze Award Name of institution University of Melbourne Date of application 31 July 2019 Award Level Bronze Date joined Athena SWAN September 2015 Contact for application Professor Marilys Guillemin Email [email protected] Telephone 03 8344 0827 University of Melbourne Athena SWAN Bronze Award Application 5 ATHENA SWAN BRONZE INSTITUTION AWARDS Recognise a solid foundation for eliminating gender bias and developing an inclusive culture that values all staff. This includes: • an assessment of gender equality in the institution, including quantitative (staff data) and qualitative (policies, practices, systems and arrangements) evidence and identifying both challenges and opportunities • a four-year plan that builds on this assessment, information on activities that are already in place and what has been learned from these • the development of an organisational structure, including a self-assessment team, to carry proposed actions forward. Completing the form Please refer to the SAGE Athena SWAN Charter Bronze Institutional Award Handbook when completing this application form. Do not remove the headers or instructions. Each section begins on a new page. Word count The overall word limit for applications are shown in the following table. There are no specific word limits for the individual sections, and you may distribute words over each of the sections as appropriate. Please state how many words you have used in each section. Please refer to page 11 of the handbook for inclusions and exclusions regarding word limit. We have provided the following recommended word counts as a guide. Recommended word count Actual word count 1.Letter of endorsement 500 502 2.Description of the institution 500 554 3. Self-assessment process 1,000 1,501 4. Picture of the institution 2,000 2,402 5. Supporting and advancing women’s careers 5,000 6,239 6. Supporting transgender people 500 583 7. Intersectionality 500 706 8. Indigenous Australians 500 598 9. Further information 500 0 10. Action plan N/A Additional words permitted for resubmission 3,000 WORD LIMIT 14,000 13,085 University of Melbourne Athena SWAN Bronze Award Application 6 1. Letter of endorsement from the Vice Chancellor University of Melbourne Athena SWAN Bronze Award Application 7 University of Melbourne Athena SWAN Bronze Award Application 8 2. Description of the institution Please provide a brief description of the institution, including any relevant contextual information. This should include: i. information on where the institution is in the Athena SWAN process; that is, an indication of how the institution is progressing in their journey to improve gender equity, diversity, and inclusion ii. information on its teaching and its research focus iii. the number of staff; present data for academic staff, and professional and support staff separately iv. the total number of departments and total number of students v. list and sizes of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) departments; present data for academic staff, and professional and support staff separately The University of Melbourne (UoM) is a comprehensive, research-intensive university. Its global reputation for excellence is evidenced by its international rankings (38 in ARWU, 2018 and 32 in THE, 2018). UoM is proud to have been home to Australia’s first female Professor of Science, Georgina Sweet (PhD, UoM 1904) and Australia’s first female Nobel Laureate, Professor Elizabeth Blackburn (BSc & MSc 1972). The University’s People Strategy (2015-2020) and Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) implementation plan outline our solid commitment to D&I. Key focus areas are: 1) gender; 2) Indigenous; 3) LGBTI+; 4) disability; 5) mental health; and 6) cultural diversity. Athena SWAN (AS) is not an isolated initiative but forms part of the University’s strategic response to D&I challenges and opportunities to build a culture of inclusion. At UoM, women comprise the majority of professional staff and half of all academic staff. Gender distribution profiles vary considerably across and within faculties, and across academic levels. The University has identified that women in academic Level C (Senior Lecturer) positions need to be provided with increased support to progress their career trajectory. Furthermore, we have lower numbers of women at academic Level E (Professors), particularly in STEMM. In response, we have focused our actions on increasing numbers of Levels C and E women, especially in STEMM. We believe that this will drive change related to gender disparity, particularly at senior levels. The University has ten faculties with 63 schools/departments, five interdisciplinary research Institutes, and seven non-academic departments. Whilst Parkville is the largest campus, UoM has six other metropolitan and regional campuses. Of the ten faculties, four are classified as Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM), and six as Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) (Table 2.2). In the recent past, leadership on D&I has been largely devolved to faculties, resulting in some excellent local initiatives documented in this submission. The self-assessment process has reinforced the importance of rigorous evaluation, leadership and resourcing for University-wide initiatives which support gender equity and diversity and inclusion more generally. University of Melbourne Athena SWAN Bronze Award Application 9 In 2018, UoM’s EFTSL (Equivalent Full Time Student Load) was 52,725, composed of 57.11% female students and 42.1% international students. The University’s curriculum model (introduced in 2008) comprises a small number of broad-based undergraduate degrees coupled with excellent professional education at graduate level. This results in a 50/50 split between undergraduate and postgraduate students, including 5,000 higher degree research students. UoM has an annual budget exceeding $2 billion. The University employs over 14,000 staff, including 8,622 fixed term and continuing staff (Table 2.1), 6,127 casual staff and has 5,919 honorary staff. Of continuing and fixed term staff, 49% of academics are women, compared with 67% of professional staff. Overall, 58% of the University’s workforce is female (Table 2.1). Table 2.1: All staff (academic and professional), continuing and fixed term (2018) STAFF MEN WOMEN NON BINARY ALL Academic 2,244 2,119 * 4,369 % 51% 49% 51% Professional 1,396 2,857 * 4,253 % 33% 67% 49% TOTAL 3,639 4,976 7 8,622 % 42% 58% *Number of non-binary staff not provided due to low numbers The Melbourne Operating Model, implemented in 2014, is a shared services model with staff employed in Chancellery, University Services or Faculties. Of all staff, 75% are employed in faculties; of these, 70% work in STEMM faculties, with 56% of STEMM employees working in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS) (Table 2.2). Some staff in STEMM faculties hold joint appointments with external institutions, predominantly in hospitals and medical research institutes. Table 2.2: All staff (academic and professional) continuing and fixed term by operating unit, and split by HASS/STEMM faculties (2018) OPERATING UNIT NUMBER OF STAFF % OF TOTAL Chancellery & University Services 2,114 25% of all staff Faculties 6,508 75% of all staff HASS FACULTIES 1,961 30% of faculty staff Arts 489 25% of HASS Business and Economics 520 27% of HASS Architecture, Building and Planning 211 11% of HASS Education 259 13% of HASS Law 232 12% of HASS Fine Arts & Music 250 12% of HASS STEMM FACULTIES 4,547 70% of faculty staff Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences 2,551 56% of STEMM Science 930 20% of STEMM Engineering 602 13% of STEMM Veterinary & Agricultural Sciences 464 10% of STEMM TOTAL STAFF 8,622 100% University of Melbourne Athena SWAN Bronze Award Application 10 Table 2.3 outlines academic and professional employees by gender within the four STEMM faculties. Overall, gender distribution in academic positions is approximately equal (48% women), whilst professional staff are predominately women (74%). Table 2.3: Gender distribution of STEMM staff by faculties: academic and professional, continuing and fixed term (2018) FACULTY MEN WOMEN NON ALL BINARY Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences 900 1,648 2,551 % 35% 65% Academic 730 1,001 1,731 % 42% 58% Professional 170 647 817 % 21% 79% Science 510 420 930 % 55% 45% Academic 416 220 636 % 65% 35% Professional 94 200 294 % 32% 68% Engineering 399 203 602 % 66% 34% Academic 322 93 415 % 78% 22% Professional 77 110 187 % 41% 59% Veterinary & Agricultural Sciences 170 294 464 % 37% 63% Academic 129 136 265 % 49% 51% Professional 41 158 199 % 21% 79% All STEMM 1,979 2,565 3 4,547 % 44% 56% Academic 1,597 1,450 3,047 % 52% 48% Professional 382 1,115 1,497 % 26% 74% University of Melbourne Athena SWAN Bronze Award Application 11 3. The self-assessment process The University is in the process of developing a new Strategic Plan (2020-2030) which will provide commitment and continuity of action with respect to gender equity and D&I. The UoM AS action plan has purposely been aligned with this plan, supporting a high likelihood of success. In 2019, governance mechanisms and senior leadership accountability for D&I matters has been strengthened (as outlined in Section 3iii below). Describe the self-assessment process. This should include: (i) a description of the self-assessment team Established in 2016, the UoM Athena Swan (AS) team included a Project Lead and a four-member Project Taskforce (comprising senior