UA takes another step on the gender equality path

Universities peak body Universities Australia has taken another step toward its goal of gender equality.

Universities peak body Univer­sities Australia has taken ­another step toward its goal of gender equality in senior leadership roles in universities, with a new guide to help develop up-and-coming women leaders.

The publication, Sponsorship: Creating Career Opportunities for Women in Higher Education, outlines how senior leaders can “actively create opportu­nities to develop the skills and careers of their staff”.

“It really highlights that caree­r development is a core leadership responsibility and that sponsorship is a powerful tool that can accelerate career progression, especially for women,” said Universities Aust­ralia chief executive Catriona Jackson.

The guide was created by Universities Australia Executive Women, which aims to end the underrepresentation of women in the executive ranks of universities. AUEW co-chair Kerri-Lee Krause said that, rather than put the onus on staff to seek development opportunities, it encouraged senior leaders to use their power, networks and influence to assist more junior colleagues.

According to recent data, women hold about one-third of executive team positions in universiti­es, and one-quarter of deputy vice-chancellor roles.

At the moment about one-third of university vice-chancellor­s are women. But women are far better represented in more junior university ­positions. Although women make up the majority of postgraduate students, only 27 per cent of professors are women.

Among all professional staff in universities, two-thirds are women but of senior profes­sional staff, half are women.