Project Report Adelaide Women: Q&A Event Page 1 of 26 Adelaide Women Project Report Adelaide Women: Q&A Event ‘Starting the conversation’ Status: Final Version: 2.0 Authors: Dr Jingxiu Bi, Senior Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering Ms Karen Burke, Grants Manager, Research Branch Associate Professor Melissa de Zwart, Law School Ms Siobhan Guy, Student Hub Manager, Faculty of the Professions Dr Tara Pukala, Senior Lecturer, School of Chemistry and Physics
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Adelaide Women · 6.2 Adelaide Women Video Interview Invitation 14 6.3 Collection of Ideas/Strategies 15 ... Aligned with the vision outlined in the Beacon of Enlightenment Strategic
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Project Report Adelaide Women: Q&A Event Page 1 of 26
Adelaide Women
Project Report
Adelaide Women: Q&A Event
‘Starting the conversation’
Status: Final Version: 2.0 Authors: Dr Jingxiu Bi, Senior Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering Ms Karen Burke, Grants Manager, Research Branch Associate Professor Melissa de Zwart, Law School Ms Siobhan Guy, Student Hub Manager, Faculty of the Professions Dr Tara Pukala, Senior Lecturer, School of Chemistry and Physics
Project Report Adelaide Women: Q&A Event Page 2 of 26
Contents
1. Executive Summary 3
2. Project Background & Objectives 4
2.1 Vision 4
2.2 Goals and Expected Outcomes 4
3. Project Implementation 6
3.1 Background Literature Survey 6
3.2 Key Stakeholders and Contributors 7
3.3 Event Structure 7
3.4 Event Participants 8
3.5 Supporting Media 8
4. Project Outcomes 10
4.1 Project Outcomes Summary 10
4.2 Project Evaluation 10
4.3 Organisational Impact 10
5. Recommendations 12
6. Appendices 13
6.1 Adelaide Women: Q&A Event Invitation 13
6.2 Adelaide Women Video Interview Invitation 14
6.3 Collection of Ideas/Strategies 15
6.4 Event Photographs 18
6.5 Links to Supporting Material 20
6.6 Event Feedback Survey 20
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1. Executive Summary
Despite substantial progress towards equity and diversity in Australian workplaces over past decades, significant gender inequities are still apparent, particularly in regards to women in leadership roles. This is reflected at the University of Adelaide, where staff gender balance remains a major challenge. Aligned with the vision outlined in the Beacon of Enlightenment Strategic Plan, the University of Adelaide is committed to implementing strategies which will increase the representation of women in senior academic and professional roles. As part of this commitment the University has developed a tailored leadership program for women at the University of Adelaide – Adelaide Women (AW). This Project Group was tasked with the organisation of a significant awareness raising event, intended to promote and raise awareness of the issue of women and leadership at the University of Adelaide. The event aimed to identify obstacles to equal opportunities existing within the University and broader workplace, including personal barriers, the prevailing workplace culture, and lack of female leadership. It also provided opportunities to debate preconceived ideas and offered a forum for University of Adelaide leaders to deliver insights and feedback on how they see gender equity evolving at the University. The event was held at the National Wine Centre on 25 September as a facilitated Q&A style discussion and networking opportunity for close to 60 targeted senior staff across The University. It showcased a specially produced video which identified the benefits, barriers and methods of overcoming barriers to gender equality and captured a range of inputs which may be used to further the gender equality discussion at the University of Adelaide, and ultimately, improve the the number of women in senior leadership positions at the University. Thus, both the event and its legacy have contributed to awareness raising of the gender equality issue.
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2. Project Background & Objectives
2.1 Vision Despite significant progress towards gender equality over past decades, Australian women on average continue to earn less than men, and are less likely to advance their careers to the same extent as men. At the same time, men find it more difficult to access flexible working arrangements. Australia wide, statistics concerning gender equality are disquieting. For example, Australian Bureau of Statistics data1 indicate that women make up 51% of all professionals in Australia, yet men outnumber women in managerial jobs by more than three to one. In 2010, women accounted for only 8% of executive key management positions, 8.4% of board positions, 2.5% of Chairs and 3% of CEOs of the top 200 ASX listed companies. The ratio of female to male average weekly full-time earnings is 85.6%. The situation at the University of Adelaide reflects a similar state of gender imbalance, with women at the UofA holding only 28% of senior leadership positions. UofA ranks below both the sector and Group of 8 (Go8) average in terms of academic female staff representation, and does not hold status as an employer of choice for women. A considerable body of evidence has emerged to support the notion that organisations such as the UofA with a mostly male senior management group limits capacity for innovation and productivity (section 3.2). Consequently, UofA faces a number of challenges to address gender balance, and achieve the vision for an enlightened and progressive university expected of a leading Go8 institution. As part of the UofA’s commitment to dramatically shift its performance in gender equity, the Adelaide Women (AW) program was established as a leadership development program for academic and professional women who have been acknowledged to have the potential and desire for greater impact and influence across the University in senior leadership roles. As members of the AW program, the project team has been asked to identify and advance a project that can deliver benefit in addressing current gender based issues, essential for positioning of the UofA within the context of its new Strategic Plan. A major CEDA report on women in leadership2 has identified key strategies to address workplace equity and equality for women. One of these strategies is the use of events which raise awareness of areas of unconscious bias and address them through unconscious bias programs, including educating employees about gender diversity and the detrimental effects of gender stereotypes. The report also states that such events should serve to engage current leaders and introduce accountability, thereby developing gender diversity strategies and clear governance to enable equality of workplace opportunities. The vision for this project was therefore to utilise this strategy to design a networking forum and event to ‘start the conversation’ regarding gender equity across the University of Adelaide.
2.2 Goals and Expected Outcomes The primary goal of the project was to deliver a networking event targeted to approximately 60 Senior UofA Staff. Aims of the event were:
to provide a forum for future decision makers within the University to discuss and debate gender equity and what it looks like at the UofA at present and into the future, and
to generate momentum and an impetus for change that will address the currently unsatisfactory state of gender equity at the UofA.
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Anticipated outcomes for the AW event were:
increased awareness of the current state-of-play of gender equity at the UofA,
a showcase of the achievements and initiatives that the UofA has implemented to date to address gender equity issues in the workplace, and
collection of ideas and feedback that to feed into a broader, long-term UofA framework for addressing gender issues at the University.
The outcomes of the project have a broad relevance towards enhancing an institutional approach to diversity across all areas of the University, and increasing opportunities arising from the creation of a workplace culture and environment in which diverse employees can meet their professional and personal priorities.
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3. Project Implementation
3.1 Background Literature Survey The project commenced with a comprehensive review of the state of gender equity and diversity at the
UofA, and more broadly, current literature surrounding areas contributing to gender diversity; women in
society, women in the workforce and women in leadership, and current policy recommendations to
government and business. Significant findings were used to inform design of the networking event and
forum discussion, as summarised below.
Current Status at UofA
Sector wide benchmarking reported in 2012 across 41 Universities indicates that the UofA has one of the
lowest rates of women in senior academic positions, as described in the table below.
% Female Academic Staff Level D Level E and Above
UofA 23.25 16.53
Sector Average 32.01 23.14
Go8 Average 28.00 19.45
The Vice Chancellor’s Equity Objectives (2013-2015) set a revised organisational target of 30% women in
senior leadership roles according to the following scheme.
Current Status (2013) Revised Target (2015)
Professional 11 34 % 12 38
Academic 8 21 % 10 26
Total 19 27 % 22 31
Current UofA Initiatives to Address Gender Diversity
Gender, Equity and Diversity Committee
Women’s Professional Development Network and Academic Women’s Forum
Fay Gayle Centre for Research on Gender
Dedicated HR team
Adelaide Women Program
DVC(R) University Fellowship Scheme (in 2013)
Barbara Kidman Fellowship Scheme
Selective Recruitment
Equity and Diversity Grant Scheme
AWF Promotions Forum
Faculty Diversity Committees
Research Context for Gender Equity
Key literature consulted during the background survey revealed three consistently recurring themes, namely
(i) current gender based barriers which prevent equality of opportunity in the workplace, (ii) potential
business gains realised by achieving gender equity, and (iii) recommended organisational strategy to address
current gaps in gender equity.
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Representative publications consulted in the literature survey include;
Australian Government: Workplace Gender Equality Agency: The Business Case for Gender Equality, March
2013, www.wgea.gov.au
CEDA Women in Leadership: Understanding the gender gap, June 2013
McKinsey Women Matter: Women at the top of corporation: Making it Happen, 2010
McKinsey Women Matter 2012: Making the Breakthrough, 2012
3.2 Key Stakeholders and Contributors Major stakeholders identified for this project were:
University Executive, University Council, Executive Deans
Female professional and academic staff members of the University
Prospective University Staff, University Alumni, Industry
Broader University community
Human Resources
Mr Jonathan Pheasant (Director, Office of Services and Resources) was identified as a suitable project
sponsor due to his past experience as a participant in the Leading at Adelaide Program, and his
demonstrated passion for innovative approaches to organisational change.
3.3 Event Structure The project group decided to structure the event as a 1 hour facilitated Q&A style forum, followed by a 1
hour opportunity for continued free discussion and networking. The group devised ways to raise awareness
of the current state of gender inequity in Australia and specifically at the UofA throughout the event, as well
as to share examples of positive action by The UofA.
Based on the key ideas identified from the background literature survey, the following three themes were
defined and formed a structure for the facilitated discussion;
1. Benefits of gender diversity in the workplace
2. Current barriers to employment opportunity for women
3. Future strategies to address gender imbalance
A crucial aspect of the event was to incorporate interactive activities which promoted debate on gender
equity and what it looks like at the UofA, currently and into the future, and allowed for the collection of
ideas and feedback that could inform future recommendations for longer-term, University wide strategic
action.
To encourage critical thinking and engagement, a Q&A style facilitated forum, incorporating group work was
decided upon as the structure for the event. Key to this was choice of facilitator; Mr Paul Duldig (Vice
President, Services and Resources) was recruited as facilitator to involve senior executive in the project, and
as a key stakeholder in initiatives which promote University strategic priorities under the Beacon of
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3.4 Event Participants Invitations to the networking event were targeted in an approach to optimise representation across
university sectors, and provide diversity in terms of gender, professional and academic staff, and differing
levels of career progression. An audience of approximately 60 people was considered by the project group
to optimal for maximum audience interaction and effective discussion.
Invitations to were sent to all Executive Deans and Divisional Heads to attend the event, and nominate four
additional colleagues from the Faculty/Division to attend. Directive was given to nominate men and women
who would be able to contribute to a discussion on issues of equity and women in leadership, and who were
(or may be) in a position to affect change in the way the University tackles these issues and promotes
women in leadership.
Additional key stakeholders including AW line managers and facilitators and participants of the AW program
were also invited.
The final email invitation (appended in Section 6.1) was sent to 82 invitees, of which 56 participated in the
event.
3.5 Supporting Media The group decided that the messages and themes of the event needed to be presented in a diversity of
ways. Consequently a range of supporting media was used to disseminate information.
Adelaide Women Video In order to encourage an open, sharing debate in the style of Q&A, it was decided that much of the
background information and conversation starters could be provided by video. This also facilitated the
inclusion of multiple voices reflecting the diversity of the university and involving people who were not able
to attend the event. The video style enabled the message to be presented directly and dynamically, rather
than being presented statically (through a power point presentation) or as reportage from the group.
Therefore we developed criteria for invitations for participation in the video and the themes to be
addressed. We wanted to reflect the broader University community (excluding students). Therefore, we
needed a mix of male and female, senior and junior, academic and professional staff. We also wanted people
who had specific roles in the gender and equity area (see stakeholders) as well as recipients of the Barbara
Kidman fellowship, to address the concept of initiatives to overcome barriers.
Invitations to participate in the video were sent to thirty people outlining questions appended in Section 6.2.
Fifteen people agreed to be involved, and due to practical issues twelve people were interviewed. Extracts
from all participants were included in the video. The resulting video was broken into three themes,
matching the themes used to focus discussion at the event. The full video is to be included on the Adelaide
Women website (see below) as a legacy of the project.
Adelaide Women Twitter Feed As part of the intention to spread the message as far and wide as possible, the group engaged with the use
of social media. The Adelaide Women twitter account (@Adelaide Women) was created and used to
promote and build up some “vibe” around the event. It was also used on the night to attract questions from
the floor and those outside the room, with questions and comments being shown live on the screen and fed
to the moderator on his iPad, using the #AWQandA. The Twitter feed was an alternative means of displaying
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comments and feedback and capturing the contributions from the activities. The Adelaide Women twitter
account may remain as a legacy of the event as a means to publicise ongoing activities and for networking by
interested parties.
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4. Project Outcomes
4.1 Project Outcomes Summary Outcomes of the event included a collection of discussion points from the key themes, as appended in
Section 6.3. Participants were also asked to record a statement describing one action they would take at an
individual level to drive change in gender diversity at the UofA. A photograph gallery was also generated to
document the event (Section 6.4).
It is proposed that the video and a range of discussion points captured at the event via whiteboards and the
“I will” statements will be made available on an Adelaide Women website to be hosted on Unified (Section
6.5). The website and its resources will be publicised through email, Twitter and feedback directly to those
who attended the event. The ongoing management of the site will be transitioned to HR at the conclusion of
the Adelaide Women program.
4.2 Project Evaluation The event was evaluated primarily by anonymous feedback collected through means of an email survey of
participants. A complete collection of the survey questions and responses is given in the appendix (Section
6.6).
In summary, the objective of this project was to address the relatively poor performance in gender equity at
the UofA, by providing a forum to inform discussion and future policy for the broader University community.
Feedback confirmed the project was successful in meeting this aim by;
hosting a networking forum in which participants actively engaged in the gender debate
collecting a series of recommendations for future strategic initiatives
Primary criticisms consistently identified by the feedback included a lack of clear aims, and a lack of clear
forward plan for future strategies. In addition, it was recognised the short event was insufficient to explore
the complexities of the gender issue, and allow detailed problem solving strategies to develop.
4.3 Organisational Impact Potential business gains to the University from improved gender equity balance making it attractive to
employees/students, improve staff retention, changing culture and breaking barriers. These gains further
and facilitate the aims of the Beacon of Enlightenment Strategic Plan.
The event served as a conversation starter and launching pad for further consideration of gender diversity
issues across the University. The event was well attended by senior management and a range of other
change leaders, indicating that organisational impact was diverse, and that a range of people across the
University community are open to participating in cultural change.
Despite the positive contributions of attendees however, it is clear from the event feedback that there is a
feeling of uncertainty regarding next steps to address gender issues for UofA staff, and in particular the
expectation that this will be largely driven by University senior leaders. This highlights an underlying
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organisational culture which sees gender equity issues as the responsibility of the organisation rather than
the individual.
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5. Recommendations
Future ventures may extend the findings of the current project by seeking to evaluate and implement some
of the strategies raised during the networking event, and providing a systematic appraisal of their successes
and shortcomings.
A set of recommendations for future initiatives to be implemented at The University of Adelaide was collected from discussion at the AW event. These are as follows;
Make a clear commitment to action some of the initiatives identified in the “I will” statements;
Make the video available for staff discussion;
Consider an annual networking and awareness raising event for University staff;
Maintain a website and mailing list for those engaged in awareness raising; and
Promote an organisational culture change to empower individuals to address gender diversity issues.
Acting on these recommendations is crucial if we are to redress the current gender imbalance at the UofA, maximise the contributions of women within the University, and enhance the long-term prosperity of the organisation.
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6. Appendices
6.1 Adelaide Women: Q&A Event Invitation
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6.2 Adelaide Women Video Interview Invitation We are currently engaged in a project (as part of the Adelaide Women program) to plan and deliver a
Women’s Networking Event which will promote the benefits of gender diversity in an entertaining and
impactful way to a large group of University leaders.
As part of this project we are producing a short video which will interview a diverse range of staff about
their experiences of and observations regarding barriers, limitations and opportunities to gender equity.
This video will be used at an event on 25 September as part of a Q and A style event to prompt further
discussion and will be placed on the Adelaide Women website as a legacy of the project and a resource for
addressing and improving gender equity at the University of Adelaide.
We have identified you as someone who would make a valuable contribution to the video and we would
really value your participation.
In particular we are interested in your thoughts regarding:
Personal barriers to equality of opportunity
Institutional barriers
Strategies to overcome these barriers
Good news stories regard how such barriers have been overcome.
The sorts of questions that you might address include but are in no way limited to:
1. Have you experienced or observed any barriers to equality of opportunity or outcome in the
workplace?
2. If so, what was it?
3. How, if at all, was it resolved?
4. Have you experienced any of the following:
a. Lack of flexible work practices?
b. Sexism?
c. Entrenched attitudes to gender stereotypes?
d. Lack of mentoring?
e. Lack of female leadership?
f. Poor workplace culture?
g. Lack of confidence?
5. How have these affected you personally? Or from the point of view of your career?
6. Who has helped you?
7. What do you think we can change to improve gender equity?
a. Greater flexibility?
b. Access to childcare?
c. Mentoring?
d. Corporate change?
8. Tell us about a bad experience
9. Tell us about a good experience 10. How does the University support senior women to balance career and family? 11. What are the benefits of diversity in leadership? 12. Why are only 28% of senior management positions at the University held by women? 13. When will we see women making a greater impact and having more influence across the University? 14. Do you have a message for the organisation/audience?
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6.3 Collection of Ideas/Strategies
Theme 1- Benefits of Gender Diversity
Table 1
Why?
Better performing university
Better decisions- diversity in decision making
Draw full spectrum for best talent/solutions
What will be better?
Different views
Attract the best people
Table 2
Why?
Good modelling for students
Better mix of skills
Balanced decision making
It’s what civil societies do/should do
Improves bottom line
What will be better?
Interactions
Collaborations
Communications
Leadership
Management
Morale
Career partnership
Public face/image
Graduate profile
Accelerated development –Particularly but not only for women
Table 3
Values & behaviour
Leadership and employment opportunities
Compassionate
Creative
Multidimensional
Fair = equity not homogeneity
Recognizing /Permitting difference
/ Celebrating
/Valuing
Table 4
Benefits
Why?
Project Report Adelaide Women: Q&A Event Page 16 of 26
Talent pool
Dynamics
Role models for students etc
Rights?
Better?
As above
Morale
Retention
Look like?
Fair
Table 5
Why?
Enhance different perspective
Better decision making
Why not? 50% of the population are women
Lead by example. University to reflect diversity that is found in the surrounding community
Better representation/governance
Improve the staff experience including and regarding a family friendly culture
3 top reasons:
Attract and maintain more talent
Better decision making that is inclusive and comprehensive
Role modelling for the community as a responsible institution