A Sydney Morning Herald report on May 11 again drew attention to the disparity in salaries of men and women academics. The report, based on a study commissioned by the National Tertiary Education Union, reveals that male academics earn on average $439 a fortnight more than females; male administrative staff are paid about $264 a fortnight more than females; fewer women hold PhD degrees than men and on average they are six years older than men when they complete this degree largely due to family needs. It follows that women are underrepresented in the highest posts - accounting for only about 10 per cent of associate professors and professors. See article on page 10.
Alerted by Nicola Elliott to the following notice, Wisenet will be donating a set of our old Journals and will include the Centre on our mailing list. Perhaps you can help too? "The Australian Red Cross visits the Immigration Detention Centre in Villawood each week to provide practical assistance and support to asylum seekers detained during the refugee determination process. We often receive requests from detainees who were doctors in their country of origin for medical journals to assist them in using their time in detention constructively." If anyone has medical journals/magazines/old text books that they are willing to give they could perhaps contact the Red Cross.
Kate Rode, a graduate in Architecture and in Town Planning from Hungary, was recently awarded the Sydney Cove Authority's Conservation Prize for her Masters thesis, "Sandstone Quarries in Sydney". Her interest in the subject was sparked while compiling a sandstone quarry data base for the NSW Department of Public Works' Heritage Group. At the award ceremony she noted the important role of sandstone in creating the character of many areas of Sydney and the wide use of the building material not only in large public buildings but also in domestic architecture since the early 1800s. "As they are part of our cultural heritage, these quarry locations should be protected, conserved and interpreted according to their significance", she commented. (Source: The University of Sydney News, 14 May 1998)
Erica Wolff, the first woman to gain a PhD in Australia, was born in Germany in 1916 and migrated to Australia in 1938. She became an Australian citizen in 1944, the year she completed her honours BA, while working part time in the History Department at Melbourne University. Her PhD was conferred in 1948, the same year as the first male PhD was awarded (Rupert Myers in Metallurgy). Wolff's thesis combined her interests in History and French literature, being a study of the life and work of French-Australian writer, Paul Wenz. (Source: University of Melbourne Gazette, Autumn 1998)
The January 1998 edition of Scientific American outlines the fascinating story of Lise Meitner, one of the discoverers of nuclear fission whose participation in this work failed to gain the reputation it deserved. The article, by Ruth Lewin Sime, is based on her biography of Meitner published in 1996. The story is not merely one of denigration of the role of women though this plays its part. It is also an illustration of the power of nationalism and of racial intolerance and to some extent of the effect on career of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thus Germany in the late 1930s was the wrong place for a Jewish woman scientist who had little choice but to emigrate. Widespread fear within German society led further to the distancing of former colleagues from the noted physicist. The awarding of the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Otto Hahn alone, ignoring the role of Meitner and Fritz Strassmann, showed that the Nobel committees failed to grasp the close links between physics and chemistry in the discovery of nuclear fission and failed to recognise that Hahn had distanced himself from Meitner "not on scientific grounds but because of political oppression, fear and opportunisrn".
About 40,000 women have used the facilities in this Melbourne Centre, at 210 Lonsdale Street, since its opening last year. The centre offers access to information, education and recreation. It has rooms and catering facilities for seminars and presentations. A new tenant is the Board of Directors of the National Council of Women of Australia. The centre can be contacted at (03) 9663 8799 (Phone); (03) 9663 8580 (Fax)
Local senior primary school students enjoyed a hands-on half-day at Sydney University in Giant Science during Science Week 1998. Students were able to choose from a variety of sessions ranging from a science relay quiz, the use of microscopes and computers, a close look at items from the Nicholson and Macleay Museums, and finding out how heat drives chemical reactions. The aim was to show youngsters, at a stage when career ideas were being formed, that science can be fun. That this aim was met appeared to be proved by the applause which greeted the demonstration that four raw eggs in their shells could support the not inconsiderable weight of Professor Collins in the Physics is Fun Show. (Source: The University of Sydney News, 14 May 1998)
A booklet with the above title is available from the Office of the Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment. It outlines the stories of 18 women in the NSW public sector - their careers, their problems and their advice. Contact: Phone: (02) 9248 3555; Fax: (02) 9248 3500; e-mail: eeo@ceo.nsw.gov.au
Seven Australian scientists will visit institutions in France this year under the Bede Morlis Fellowship scheme. The French Embassy Fellow is ANU chemist Dr Edith Sevick who will go to Mulhouse for five weeks to study the stacking of disk-like molecules and the compression of watersoluble polymers at surfaces. (Source: Australian Academy of Science Newsletter, Number 39, January to March 1998)
Miss Mel Wei, of Materials Science and Engineering at UNSW will visit Kyoto University for two years as part of an exchange program. She will investigate the development of bioactive composite that will mimic the structure and mechanical properties of natural bone. (Source: Australian Academy of Science Newsletter, Number 39)
Dr Liz Dennis of CSIRO Division of Plant Industry in Canberra was the recipient of the 1997 Avon Spirit of Achievement award. She is studying the role of genes in how plants know when to flower and how they react to stress. She will use the grant in The Discovery Centre, an interactive project aimed at increasing the understanding of and interest in science by the general public. (Source: Australian Academy of Science Newsletter, Number 39)
Horticultural scientist and Wisenet member Dr Acram Taji of the University of New England was awarded one of ten University Teaching Awards at a ceremony in Canberra late last year. The awards recognise innovative and practical approaches to student services that assist learning. Dr Taji is an authority on plant blotechnology and is especially interested in Australian native flowers. (Source: Smith's, Vol 38, No23, 5 December 1997, University of New England)
Professor Lesley Rogers, Division of Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour at UNE has been granted one of eight Special Investigator Awards by the Australian Research Council. Valued at $750,000 over a five year period, the award will enable Professor Rogers to undertake a flexible program of research activities. She is considered one of the leading authorities on the function and development of the brain and her long-term study is aimed at discovering how sensory information is integrated within the brain. (Source: Smith's, Vol 38, No 23, 5 December 1997, University of New England)
Jennifer Wright was editor of Australasian Science, a monthly general science magazine produced by the University of Southern Queensland. Cuts to University budgets have forced USQ_to cease publication of this journal. It has been bought by Guy Nolch who will amalgamate it with Search. jennifer has registered a business, Creative Cohesions, and will seek science editing work from her base in Toowoomba.
The Minister for the Status of Women, the Hon Judi Moylan MP, recently launched Inching Forward.. Newspaper coverage and portrayal of women's sport 'M Australia. The report, produced by Womensport Australia, a non-government organisation, showed that 93 per cent of sport coverage in the print media featured men. This is in spite of the fact that women comprise almost half of the people playing sport. Womensport Australia was formed in 1991 to represent the interests of women in sport and physical activity. Its role is to communicate, to monitor and comment, to lobby, support and advise. For-more information, phone (02) 6257 1402 or click on their homepage at: http:// www.ausport.gov.au/wspahome (Source: Network Exchange of Women's Services)
Tammy Acciari, a first year veterinary science student at Sydney University, won the U48kg National judo title in May and will next compete as a member of the Australian team at the Oceania Championships in Samoa in June. (Source: University of Sydney News, 28 May 1998)
Jane Carey, of the Department of History, University of Melbourne is engaged in research on the history of women in science in Australia between 1930 and 1960. The study is concerned with the nature and extent of women's contribution and the influences that brought them to the discipline. It will look at women scientists as students, as University staff members and in the workforce. As part of the study a survey is being distributed through Melbourne University's Science Alumni News, November 1997, but if you know of women who graduated in science in this period Jane would be pleased to hear from you. Phone (03) 9344 5967.
The career of Diana Ryall, appointed as Managing Director of Apple Computer Australia in December 1997, was the subject of a profile in The Weekend Australian, April 4-5, 1998. From a maths teaching position in Dorrigo in 1966 to becoming the first woman to head a computer hardware company in Australia, Diana Ryall's career involved travel and work overseas, part time work as a consultant for Apple from 1982 when the industry was in its infancy, and full-time work in the education division, customer support and financial management.
A summary of the activities of 47 Australian Women's Non-Government Organisations in Australia has been prepared by the Office of the Status of Women. Titled Australian Women Working Together the booklet lists their priorities, achievements, membership, financial base and contact addresses.
The National Council of Women of Australia which represents over 470 affiliated organisations is planning an Annual Conference in Melbourne on 21-23 August in place of the previous triennial 'Mid-Term Executive'. NCWA can be contacted at Suite 1.06 Queen Victoria Women's Centre, 210 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, 3000. Phone: (03) 9662 9177 ; Emall NCWA@bigpond.com (Source: NCWA Quarterly Bulletin, March 1998)
The National Women's Education Centre of japan last year celebrated its twentieth anniversary with a series of programmes under the theme "Empowerment is the Password to the Twenty-first Century'. The Women's Exchange Festival attracted 1,135 participants from 30 metropolitan areas representing 88 women's groups. A third of the participants were in their fifties while some people in their forties and sixties accounted for 20 per cent each. Other functions reported in the NWEC Newsletter of jan 1998 were a special exhibition, a volunteer festival, a seminar on gender equality education for teachers and the production of two publications.
For some years RMIT has offered an informal Women in Engineering mentor scheme. One strand covers mentoring of first year female engineering students by second or third year students. The other, known as the WIE professional Mentor program, offers final year and post graduate students the chance of being mentored by professional female engineers. Students and their mentors try to meet regularly in person or by phone or e-mail. The mentor is not a coach or tutor but is available to listen, guide, encourage and to provide a positive role model. The professional mentor may be able to provide tips on finding employment, organise site visits, and give practical advice on the challenges and difficulties women engineers face in working life. More information from Margret Wynll, Equity Coordinator, Faculty of Engineering, RMIT. Phone: (03) 9660 2342; Fax: (03) 9639 1104; email: m.wyrill@rmit.edu.au (Source: National Women in Engineering Newsletter, May 1998)
The Fiji Association of Women Graduates recently held a conference on strategies to encourage participation of girls in science and technology. The action plan includes: seeking statistics on training, curricula, facilities; promotion of attitude changes; support for curriculum review; recommending that all science teachers be graduates with teacher training certificates; encouragement and support for primary and secondary teachers; marketing the participation of women in science. (Source: Ecowoman March 1998, c/- SPACHEE, Box 16737 GPO, Suva, Fiji)
Readers interested in the outcomes of the Women's Constitutional Convention in January this year can contact The Secretariat, PO Box 191, Civic Square ACT 2608. Phone/Fax: (02) 6249 7042, Email: welact@dynamite.com.au http//www.womensconv.dynarriite.com.au/outcomes.htm
The NSW Department of Industrial Relations has established the Women's Equity Bureau (WEB). The unit focuses on women's industrial relations and employment matters with the aim of improving the social and economic position of women workers in NSW. Research in 1977 suggests that there are discriminatory provisions in a number of awards and enterprise agreements and this research will assist in the modernising of these provisions to comply with the Anti-Discnmination Act 1977. (Source: The NSW Government's Pay Equity Report, 1998)
The National Centre for Women based at Swinburne Institute of Technology sponsors this award. For 1998, the winner is electrical engineer Martina Calais, a PhD student at the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology Australia, in Perth. Martina came ftom Germany in 1996 to study photovoltaics, working with cells which produce electricity from the sun's rays, Like most women engineers, she believes that there is a cultural barrier to women studying engineering and a negative attitude among women based on incomplete understanding of what engineering usually involves.