About UQ

The SAGE Athena Swan Program

The University of Queensland is proud to be a Bronze Institutional Award level participant in the SAGE Athena Swan program, a charter for research organisations that is improving gender equity in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) disciplines all over the world.

The Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Athena Science Women’s Academic Network (Swan) charter aims to improve gender equity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine (STEMM) disciplines in higher education and research institutions.

Participating organisations apply for award levels that reflect their progress towards gender equity in STEMM. After successfully achieving the entry-level Bronze accreditation, organisations must then implement agreed actions and initiatives before they can apply for higher levels of Silver or Gold status.

SAGE Athena Swan is an Australian adaptation of an accreditation framework successfully implemented in the United Kingdom since 2005. In the UK, some research grant bodies now require organisations to have a minimum Bronze-level award to be eligible for grant applications.

SAGE Athena Swan specifically focuses on improving and supporting career progression in STEMM disciplines – where women are under-represented – and requires organisations to address challenges people may experience in these fields.

As of January 2024, SAGE has 42 subscribers from universities, medical research institutions, and publicly funded research agencies across Australia who are involved in the SAGE Athena Swan program.

Organisations around the world choose to participate in Athena Swan because:

  • it is the only internationally recognised framework for gender equity, diversity and inclusion
  • its evidence-based and data-driven approach is trusted by leaders, practitioners, researchers and the community
  • it lets organisations benchmark their work in gender equity, diversity and inclusion against an international standard.

SAGE is the only organisation that administers the Athena Swan framework in Australia. UQ has worked closely with the sector since 2015 to deliver an accreditation pathway that’s tailored to our national context.

 

SAGE Athena Swan at UQ

SAGE Athena Swan at UQ

At UQ, we value and apply the SAGE Athena Swan principles of reflection and support across our entire organisation. We are identifying and addressing barriers that all researchers experience in their careers, to improve diversity in all disciplines, at all levels, and for all people.

After a lengthy consultation, planning, and application process for our first submission for accreditation, UQ was awarded a Bronze Institutional Award in 2019. We are now focused on submitting for the next stage — SAGE Athena Swan silver accreditation. To achieve silver accreditation, UQ must earn 5 Cygnet Awards by the end of 2026, each recognising significant progress in specific areas of gender equity. We achieved our first Cygnet award in December 2024.

Scientists in lab

Why gender equity?

Diversity – of thought, experience, and background – strengthens an organisation.

In STEMM disciplines, women are under-represented in academic career levels as seniority increases – a phenomenon known as the ‘leaky career pipeline’.

For example, at UQ, women make up 51 per cent of Level A academics, but only 31 per cent of Level E professors. This imbalance at senior levels is reflected across the higher education sector domestically and internationally.

Scientists in lab

 

Researcher and students on beach

An extensive body of academic and corporate literature clearly demonstrates that a holistic approach to increasing diversity directly correlates to improved organisational performance.

Academic and corporate research also shows that senior role models who represent the same gender and culture as students and junior staff are critically important to show that career aspirations to these levels are achievable.

Addressing under-represented groups to ensure that teams are balanced and representative of the wider community is therefore essential for organisational success.

Unfortunately, working towards more diverse teams is sometimes opposed by arguments that fixate on merit – in simple terms, that ‘the best person should get the job, regardless of their gender, background, or identity’.

Practitioner consulting with patient

While this is true, the issue is far more nuanced, influenced by a number of issues including unconscious bias, social and cultural factors, and performance relative to opportunity, to name just a few – and in fact, diversity and merit are not mutually exclusive, and are often linked.

For example, at UQ, although all decision-making processes are ultimately merit-based, in situations where certain groups are under-represented – such as women in STEMM disciplines – we recognise that we need to work harder as an organisation to improve diversity by encouraging more eligible people from under-represented groups to apply for these roles so they can be considered in the first place.

We achieve this through a number of initiatives that are coordinated through the SAGE Athena Swan Action Plan, including revisions of formal processes, mentoring and support programs, training and representation in marketing and messaging, and many more, so that members of these groups are eligible for consideration through the selection process in the first place.


Practitioner consulting with patient

As part of UQ’s pathway to Silver Institutional Award accreditation and progressing gender equity, we must submit 5 Cygnet award applications and implement the UQ Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP). UQ’s Gender Steering Committee (GSC) is overseeing this action plan implementation.

UQ achieved our first silver accreditation Cygnet in December 2024 for our efforts to address gender equity in academic career progression, particularly improving performance development and promotion pathways for academic women.

To learn more about our work towards achieving silver accreditation, see Athena Swan's UQ webpage.

UQ’s Gender Steering Committee was formed to implement our SAGE Athena Swan Action Plan as we progress towards Silver accreditation.

The GSC champions strategic and transparent governance, accountability, planning and reporting frameworks for gender equity, which reflects UQ’s broader commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The GSC comprises representatives from across UQ, including staff (academic and professional) and students, who bring diverse experience from different roles, career stages, work arrangements, and personal backgrounds.

The GSC aims to reflect the diversity of our UQ community by maintaining a gender-diverse membership.

UQ staff and students can access the following information:

GSC Terms of Reference (PDF, 156 KB) 

At UQ, the SAGE Athena Swan charter is just one of the ways we are committed to improving gender equity.

 

For staff

For staff

Our workplace's progress is guided by:

 Staff initiatives to improve gender equity include:

  • increasing the proportion of women in senior positions
  • increasing support of career progression of women in research
  • providing equal remuneration for women and men for work of equal or comparable value
  • removing barriers that prevent women from participating equally in the workplace
  • providing more access to resources for women to achieve leadership roles
  • eliminating assumptions of caring responsibilities of men and women
  • changing workplace culture to embrace gender equality as a normative practice
  • assisting in making transition from parental leave to return to work as smooth as possible.
 

Other initiatives

Other initiatives

We recognise the importance of inspiring students from diverse backgrounds and genders to study in disciplines they may be under-represented in, as they will be our future researchers, leaders and thinkers.  

A number of research and resources are available to inform the development of evidence-based diversity and inclusion initiatives in your organisational unit.

 

SAGE and Athena Swan

SAGE and Athena Swan resources

 

Women in STEM decadal plan

Women in STEM decadal plan

 

Academic career path

Academic career path

 

Performance relative to opportunity

Performance relative to opportunity

 

Business case for gender equity and leadership

Business case for gender equity and leadership

 

Gender pay equity

Gender pay equity

  • The Gender Pay Gap – WGEA
    The Workplace Gender Equality Agency analyses and contextualises the gender pay gap in Australia.
  • The gender pay gap calculator – WGEA
    The Workplace Gender Equality Agency provides this tool to identify and analyse the causes of the various types of organisational gender pay gaps.
  • "Tracking pay equity: The impact of regulatory change on the dissemination and sustainability of equal remuneration decisions"
    This paper provides valuable insights into the impact of regulatory change in addressing gender pay equity.
  • The UQ pay equity guide  (PDF, 662.5 KB)
    Equal pay for equal work. A phrase we have all heard, and a phrase, despite the best intentions of many, that has been consistently overlooked by institutions, leaders and managers, and employees themselves.

    We understand that pay inequity is a complex ground, and that’s why we have created this guide. To help explain to the UQ community about the gender pay gap, its causes and the benefits we will receive if we work towards achieving gender pay equity in our work areas, and academia as a whole.

    For leaders and managers: this guide provides actionable suggestions to ensure you are an inclusive leader and help employees that seek to achieve gender pay equity. Key steps include: liaising with your Human Resources team to begin the process, devising an internal strategy to tackle pay inequity through the help of a pay audit, and annual performance and pay reviews. Another key consideration in today’s world is the impact, challenges and opportunities that flexible work provides for reinforcing pay equity and challenging gendered stereotypes at the same time.

    For UQ staff: this guide outlines key steps you can take to begin exploring opportunities where they present themselves to have a positive impact on pay equity. While this needs to be enabled by institutions, it is never too early for you to begin informing yourself about this journey.

  • UQ negotiation guide (PDF, 159 KB)
    We all know the role of negotiation skills. Whether it’s to make a sales pitch or apply for a research grant – good negotiation skills play a crucial role. They play an even more crucial role in one’s own career development.

    Research demonstrates that gender impacts negotiation styles, outcomes and even women’s desire to engage in negotiations for personal gains.

    This guide has been created by the Gender Steering Committee under the auspices of the UQ SAGE Athena Swan program.

    For leaders and managers: it highlights the role you play to enable an equitable workplace. It does this by providing action items which foster an environment that abandons gendered expectations and stereotypes, and puts the focus on an employee’s growth and performance.

    For UQ staff: it provides tangible opportunities, especially for women, to start their negotiation journey for their own career progression and remuneration outcomes. We know it is not an easy journey, burdened with so many social gendered biases, but this guide is a great place to start!

 

Quotas and targets

Quotas and targets

 

Parental leave

Parental leave

 

Intersectionality

Intersectionality

 

Unconscious Bias

Unconscious Bias

The Merle Pledge

Many high-profile conferences, events, task forces and media outlets lack gender balance, despite there often being no shortage of qualified women to contribute.

To help address this, the Panel Pledge initiative encourages academics and professionals to commit to requesting gender equity as a condition of participation on any panel or conference.

The concept was originally developed through a partnership between Women’s Leadership Institute Australia, Male Champions of Change and Chief Executive Women.

At UQ, we have tailored this to create an initiative known as The Merle Pledge.

The Merle Pledge is an effort to substantially improve women’s representation in public and professional forums.

We encourage academics and professional staff from all backgrounds and genders to take the pledge, and join the worldwide movement to advance gender equity in academia and other occupations.

The Merle Pledge

 

I commit to:

I commit to:

  • increasing the visibility and contribution of women in public and professional forums
  • advocating for gender balance and diversity in all professional events, panels and conferences
  • encouraging my colleagues and friends to participate in the Merle Pledge
  • questioning and raising the issue of gender balance and diversity when the opportunity arises
  • actively encouraging and supporting the voices of women
  • honouring the Merle Pledge whenever I am invited to speak
  • standing up for what is right
  • persevering and not accepting excuses for unequal representation.
 

When attending or organising panel sessions and conferences, I will:

When attending or organising panel sessions and conferences, I will:

  • Make it known to my colleagues that I stand for gender equality and that I will only support, attend and organise events where a gender diverse panel or line-up of speakers is offered (or all reasonable attempts have been made).
  • Request information about other panellists, speakers, and participants in advance, and ask explicitly how gender balance will be achieved.
  • Insist, as a condition of acceptance, that women be encouraged to participate and contribute in a meaningful way.
  • Offer names of women from within UQ or my network, or direct the organisers to resources that can assist them in finding women to participate.
  • Question the composition of panellists and speakers, and reserve my right to withdraw from events, even at the last minute, if gender balance and diversity is not achieved.

Want to get involved in staff diversity and inclusion initiatives at UQ?

The UQ Gender Steering Committee welcomes feedback and suggestions from UQ staff.

ideals@uq.edu.au