This special edition of the Wisenet Journal is devoted to the Women Achieving in Science Conference (WAIS) which was held at Story Hall RMIT University, on 12 November 1999. The Conference was jointly organised by the CSIRO Staff Association, efficiently headed by Pauline Gallagher, together with FASTS (Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies), the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and WISENET.
Attendance
was gratifying, the maximum number of 224 for the space available being reached
well before the due date. Most of those present were of course Victorians;
New South Wales had 35 representatives and ACT, Tasmania, Queensland and South
Australia were also well represented.
Much ground was covered in a single day. Participants were welcomed by Michelle Smyth, president of CSIRO-CPSU and by Margaret Gardiner, an Elder of the Wurundjeri People, the Aboriginal people of the area. These opening talks were followed by plenary lectures from Professors Sue Serjeantson and Ann Henderson-Sellers. A further plenary address was given after lunch by Dr Miriam Baltuck from NASA.
Workshops were run in two concurrent sessions in the morning and afternoon. These focused on the following topics:
Scientific leadership - the uses of diversity (Nan Bray);
Public image of science - putting women in the picture (Bernie Hobbs);
Masculinity and the culture of science (Sue Lewis);
Sustaining careers - must we stick to convention? (Sandra Eady);
Science politics - daring to dream (Jan Thomas);
Surviving and thriving in non-traditional roles (Annabelle Duncan);
Performance pay - poison, placebo or panacea (Michelle Brown);
Ensuring equity in performance management (Clare Keating);
Mentoring - managed matching of minds (Michelle Smyth);
Family friendly work - the best for both worlds (Rosemary Sutton).
Overviews of some of the workshops were presented in the final plenary session by Rosemary Sutton and Bernie Hobbs. Michelle Smyth chaired a short feedback discussion at the end of the day to wrap up the Conference. Outcomes and conclusions from some of these workshops are published in this issue.
Also included is a letter addressed to the conference from Fiona Krautil, the newly appointed Director of the Affirmative Action Agency and a related paper by Elizabeth Heij and Sandra Eady which was presented at a WISENET sponsored session at the XIX Pacific Science Congress (ANZAAS) last year in Sydney.
WISENET would like to that both the CSIRO Staff Association and the NTEU for funding towards the production of this journal.
A plan was proposed for another such conference, in about two years time, perhaps to be held in Sydney. We should try to ensure that this happens (see xxxxx).
Julie Evans, Rosemary Sutton and Diana Temple, WISENET Editorial Team.