Women support each other on academic pathways

June 25, 2007

Academic women at the University of New England have attended the third group of workshops in a career-development program that has won the commendation of the Australian Government's Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA).

UNE's "Pathways to Careers and Promotion" program brings together academic women from various parts of the campus – including some who hold senior positions – to share information on career choices and research possibilities. Its ultimate aim is to help participants prepare for promotion.

Since the program began in 2004, EOWA has commended it – along with several other equity programs at UNE – in its annual "Employer of Choice for Women" citations. (UNE has been named an "Employer of Choice for Women" every year since 2002.)

In officially opening this year's workshops, the Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Alan Pettigrew, said the "Pathways to Careers and Promotion" program reflected the University's commitment to promoting the full participation of women, and to supporting the exchange of information and experience that can be vital to the advancement of their careers.

The workshops, held on two half-days earlier this month, dealt with issues such as balancing work and other areas of life, leadership, managing workload, research networks and collaboration, and applying for promotion.

The special guest speaker was Dr Colleen Chesterman, an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at the University of Technology, Sydney. Dr Chesterman has published extensively on women's leadership in higher education and has conducted a ground-breaking research project on the impact of women in senior management positions. She presented an overview of women in the higher education sector, and discussed gender differences in academic career paths (such as the "time out" taken by many women in bearing and raising children), and the characteristics of workplace cultures that sustain and support women.

"Women have a great deal to offer within universities," Dr Chesterman said. "They should be looking for opportunities to contribute, and universities should be looking for ways of encouraging them to do so."

"The feedback I've had on the workshops shows that women appreciate the opportunity to meet together and establish networks," said Lyn Tucker, UNE's Employment Equity and Diversity Officer. "They find the personal stories and strategies of recently promoted and senior women invaluable. The senior women involved have been very generous with their time, both in the workshops and in terms of providing ongoing assistance."

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Dr Colleen Chesterman (left) and Lyn Tucker.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at June 25, 2007 10:53 AM