| Issue 62 (WAIS 2) Contents
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Women in Science - Welcome
Professor Gavin Brown FAA
Vice-Chancellor and Principal
The University of Sydney
On behalf of the University of Sydney, I am delighted to welcome you to the Second National Conference on Women in Science, Technology and Engineering. The University of Sydney is confidently committed to increasing the representation of, and promoting positive attitudes towards, women working in what have traditionally been regarded as non-traditional academic areas.
In the past three years to 31 March 2002, representation of academic women in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sydney has increased from 10.6% to 15.5%, in the Faculty of Science from 27.2% to 29.1%, in the Faculty of Veterinary Science from 26.7% to 36.9%, and in the Faculty of Medicine from 36.4% to 41.7%. Achievements by women in these areas receive wide publicity throughout the University community and are regularly celebrated in the University News.
For example, Dr Estelle Lazer, a forensic archaeologist, was named Unsung Hero of Australian Science for 2001 by the Australian Science Communicators group. Dr Lazer is archaeologist for the AAP Mawson’s Huts Foundation and has been involved in assessing, documenting and conserving the site of Douglas Mawson’s historic base camp in Antarctica.
Dr Joy Ho, a research fellow at the Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology, a staff specialist in haematology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and a clinical lecturer at the University, won the Leo & Jenny Leukaemia and Cancer Foundation’s Young Researcher of the Year award in 2001. Dr Ho was also awarded the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia’s Kanematsu Memorial Award for her work on the genetic changes associated with myeloma.
Dr Elizabeth Harry, ARC QEII Research Fellow in the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, and immediate past chair of the Sydney University Network for Women, won the 2002 Eureka prize for scientific research for her work in determining how bacterial cells regulate where and when division will take place to ensure accurate partitioning of chromosomes between newborn cells.
The University promotes the increased representation of women across academic disciplines by a number of means, including affirmative action programs (such as the annual Women in Leadership program and Career Development Support Program run by the Staff and Student Equal Opportunity Unit), coaching, mentoring, training, development, and family friendly work practices. Study leave, special duties leave, carers’ leave, flexible working hours, reduced working weeks, leave for assistance with family responsibilities, maternity and adoption leave all assist women to achieve a balance between their professional and private lives.
The University of Sydney has recently received advice that its statutory obligation to report to the Commonwealth Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency on progress in this area has been formally waived for the years 2003 and 2004. This waiver recognises the University’s continuing efforts to promote equal opportunity for its female employees and the positive impact of these efforts on women in the workplace.
I believe strongly in the aims of this conference and trust
that it will prove both productive and enjoyable for all participants.
