equity, diversity and inclusion

The objectives of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) portfolio are to improve gender balance in STEM, support families and carers, inspire a new, more diverse generation towards STEM and build a culture of respect and inclusion.

The EDI committee includes representatives from each node and has been very active in 2022, meeting on a bi-monthly basis. EDI training and awareness activities initiated in 2021 have been pursued in 2022, while new actions targeting Women in Physics were initiated in 2022. In particular, the Centre sponsored three of its female ECRs to undertake the intensive Leading Edge program offered by Women Leadership Australia (see details under Training and Development below).

The SBS Inclusion program has been our primary support for EDI training in 2022. Beyond skills and knowledge, this program is designed to improve the workplace by maximising the benefit of diversity and inclusion. In addition to the core inclusion module, another one focusing on gender issues (which is particularly relevant in Physics) was selected. A majority of Centre members belonging to all categories (from students to professional staff, as well as academics) have fully completed the modules. A survey on the SBS training has been done at the annual workshop that will indicate further needs and aspirations in terms of EDI training topics such as culture, Indigenous, LGBTIQ+, age and disability.

As part of the registration process for the Centre’s annual workshop, the Centre offers support to members who have caring responsibilities so that they can attend in person. Conference organisers work with individuals to assess their needs and discuss the best options for support. The Centre and EDI committee will review other ways that we support our members in 2023.

Associate Investigator Christine Thong led the EDI session of the annual meeting which showcased Virginia Kilborn, Chief Scientist at Swinburne University of Technology, who gave an inspiring presentation on gender diversity in science. Prof Kilborn was then joined by postdoc Zuzana Slavkovska (scholar of the Leading Edge program) and Chief Investigator Nicole Bell (incoming AIP President) for a Q&A session.

The Centre continues to seed new tenure and tenure track positions within its nodes with a particular emphasis on hiring women ECRs, in line with its commitments outlined in the proposal. The University of Sydney has now hired Theresa Fruth, who, despite being at an early stage of her career, has already established her international leadership in dark matter direct detection within the LZ experiment. The University of Adelaide has advertised a new female only continuing position and the selection process is ongoing. The impact of COVID on the ANU Research School of Physics budget has unfortunately delayed ANU’s female only continuing position. ANU CIs are strongly engaged in the process to secure a recruitment in 2023.