The impact of strategic interventions at critical career points on gender equity in academia – a case study

The University of Technology Sydney understands that women and men are increasingly seeking workplaces that understand and support their commitments to family and lives outside the workplace. The university also understands... [ view full abstract ]

The University of Technology Sydney understands that women and men are increasingly seeking workplaces that understand and support their commitments to family and lives outside the workplace. The university also understands that diversity is essential for innovative research and creative scholarship.
In 2012 UTS introduced a Research Equity Initiative (REI) – a cross-university program with interventions for academic staff at key career transition points. Most initiatives are open to both female and male research staff with caring responsibilities, and men are actively encouraged to participate in the organisational conversation about work/life balance.
Key aspects to the program include:
• integration of a gender dimension into UTS research KPIs
• a resilience program for female PhD students, and a development program assisting HDR supervisors to navigate diversity in their supervision practice
• funding for researchers to maintain an ongoing research project while on parental leave
• financial support for researchers with caring responsibilities to attend overseas conferences
• research re-establishment grants of up to $15,000 for staff to kick-start their research after returning from parental leave
• a prestigious fellowship of up to $75,000, for mid-career academics whose careers have been significantly affected by caring responsibilities, to build their research profile.
This presentation will explore the impact to date of one of the central REI programs, the Research Re-establishment Grant, which has been in operation since 2013. It will provide a brief outline of the program, and analyse the outcomes to date. The presentation will address the central question of whether such programs can make a real difference in research engagement and performance for women/staff with carer responsibilities, at a critical career stage by exploring what has worked, what hasn’t and how the impact of the program might be extended.