Marion Stevens-Kalceff, Maria Cunningham, Susan Hagon and Aileen Woo, who have been investigating the factors influencing academic progression in the School of Physics.

At the end of 2003, a group from the School of Physics; Marion Stevens-Kalceff, Maria Cunningham, Susan Hagon and Kate Wilson, were awarded an UNSW Equity Initiative Grant for a project entitled ‘Achieving Maximum Potential in the School of Physics’ The focus for the 2004 grants was the development of initiatives to bring about the necessary structural and cultural changes to address the under-representation of women in academic positions in Schools/Centres and Faculties within the University.

During 2004, with the assistance of Aileen Woo, a graduate from UNSW’s School of Sociology, we have been gathering information on all aspects of academic life within the School of Physics. This has involved collating statistics on all teaching duties, including lecturing, tutorial and laboratory supervision, research student supervision, research grants received, as well as details such as ages and academic levels of staff. Staff also completed a questionnaire about their work. Finally, two focus groups were held, one for female academics, one for males, to explore some of the issues raised by the statistics and questionnaires in greater detail.

The School of Physics currently has 22% female academic staff, which is comparable to the percentages in the student and postdoctoral feeder groups. While there was no evidence of deliberate, systemic discrimination within the School, it was found that the female academic staff had not progressed in their careers at the same rate as their male colleagues. This appears due to a variety of factors including allocation of teaching duties and different career paths taken by male and female staff, especially in the early stages of their academic careers. A final report, including all results and recommendations, is currently being written.

All staff in the School have been very supportive of this initiative and it is hoped that the changes implemented as a result of this research will help develop a more equitable environment, where the full potential of all academic staff can be maximised, not only for the current academic staff, but also for new staff who join the School in the future.

Marion Stevens-Kalceff, Maria Cunningham, Susan Hagon and Aileen Woo