When we began the thinking process of putting this WISENET Journal together, we thought “what would be something regional and cover a typically Canberran

aspect of science, which we could introduce to the rest of the country?” One thing was of course the ever-present Australian Public Service (APS) in this town, as well as the iconic Australian Academy of Science (AAS). So, we set to find women who work in science-related departments and asked questions about their jobs, experiences and what advice they have to others who may consider a scientific career other than traditional research and/or teaching within university or research institute settings. The stories of these women highlight the variety of professions available in connection to the public service, as well as in science communication.

Despite the range of jobs described, there were some common issues mentioned in the interviews. Job security provided by the APS was seen as a relief after sometimes numerous shorter postings. The need to constantly update one’s knowledge of the scientific advances related to the work area was a pressing one. A positive finding was that in general, these women did not encounter major problems in adapting to their new workplaces in cases where they left academia.

All the women seemed to have rather good gender balance in their workplaces. In fact, at June 2005 women represented 54.2% of all APS staff, a 2.7% increase from the previous year, but there are differences in womens’ participation between departments. The Bureau of Meteorology has the least female staff (19%) whereas CRS Australia (formerly known as the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service), and Child Support Agency have the most (84% and 74% respectively). However, a closer inspection reveals that women are well represented in the lower to middle classifications and under-represented at senior levels in APS – a picture that is all too familiar from the academic appointments (Source: Women in the APS: Australian Public Service Commission’s report regarding the State of the Service 2004–2005).

We hope that these interviews give information on what goes on in the science in the public sector, as well as encouraging exploration of various career options. Many thanks to the women for taking time in their busy lives to answer our questions.