Two articles in this issue highlight the changes which can be wrought in scientific organisations by approaching management with "hard" data identifying inequities in the workplace.
The first is Rosy Sutton's comprehensive account of EEO development within CSIRO since the time of our first Wisenet Journal in 1984. The second (thanks to Wendy Russell) is a newspaper article "MIT women win a fight against bias", reprinted from the Boston Globe, which describes major changes which have occurred at MIT in recent years. Readers who prefer a less journalistic description of events at MIT can browse at the MIT website.
At the end of her article, Rosy has identified a number of challenges for the future, including the 'revolving door' and the prevailing attitudes towards people who work part-time. Any feedback about these issues or any points raised in the article would be very welcome. "How to combine physics and a family" extends the discussion by describing various schemes operating around the world which assist women to return to scientific work after breaking their careers to have a family.
We were all saddened to learn of the death of Toni O’Neill who started the Wisenet group in Wollongong. The Wollongong group have written a brief obituary, but have asked to produce a special edition of the Journal in honour of Toni, probably early next year.
A group from ANU may also take on a journal next year. Any offers are accepted, as the journal is still too Sydney based - how about a Western or Southern edition? The layout is now completely electronic, and created by Andrew Netherwood in Wollongong, so the location of the editorial team can be anywhere in the world.
Julie Evans