The SAGE Athena Swan Program

A framework for change in STEM

Organisations participating in the SAGE Athena Swan program apply for award levels that reflect their progress towards gender equity in the Australian higher education and research sector.

After successfully achieving the Bronze accreditation, organisations must then implement agreed actions and initiatives before they can apply for higher levels of Silver or Gold status.

As of January 2024, SAGE has 42 subscribers from universities, medical research institutions, and publicly funded research agencies across Australia who are involved in the SAGE Athena Swan program.

Organisations choose to participate in Athena Swan because it:

• is the only internationally recognised framework for gender equity, diversity and inclusion
• is an evidence-based and data-driven approach is trusted by leaders, practitioners, researchers and the community
• lets organisations benchmark their work in gender equity, diversity and inclusion against an international standard.

SAGE Athena Swan at UQ

UQ is now on the pathway to a Silver Award through the assessment of the delivery of our actions to address the key barriers to gender equity, diversity and inclusion identified through the Bronze award accreditation process. UQ achieved its first silver accreditation, Cygnet, in December 2024.

At UQ, we value and apply the SAGE Athena Swan principles of reflection and support across our entire organisation. We are identifying and addressing barriers that all researchers experience in their careers, to improve diversity in all disciplines, at all levels, and for all people.

Why gender equity?

Diversity of thought, experience, and background strengthens an organisation.

Women are under-represented in academic career levels as seniority increases – a phenomenon known as the ‘leaky career pipeline’.

An extensive body of academic and corporate literature clearly demonstrates that a holistic approach to increasing diversity directly correlates to improved organisational performance.

Academic and corporate research also shows that senior role models who represent the same gender and culture as students and junior staff are critically important to show that career aspirations to these levels are achievable.

Addressing under-represented groups to ensure that teams are balanced and representative of the wider community is therefore essential for organisational success.

Unfortunately, working towards more diverse teams is sometimes opposed by arguments that fixate on merit – in simple terms, that ‘the best person should get the job, regardless of their gender, background, or identity’.

While this is true, the issue is far more nuanced, influenced by a number of issues including unconscious bias, social and cultural factors, and performance relative to opportunity, to name just a few – and in fact, diversity and merit are not mutually exclusive, and are often linked.

For example, at UQ, although all decision-making processes are ultimately merit-based, in situations where certain groups are under-represented – such as women in STEM disciplines – we recognise that we need to work harder as an organisation to improve diversity by encouraging more eligible people from under-represented groups to apply for these roles so they can be considered in the first place.

We achieve this through a number of initiatives that are coordinated through the SAGE Athena Swan Action Plan, including revisions of formal processes, mentoring and support programs, training and representation in marketing and messaging, and many more, so that members of these groups are eligible for consideration through the selection process in the first place.

Gender Steering Committee

UQ’s Gender Steering Committee was formed to implement our SAGE Athena Swan Action Plan as we progress towards Silver accreditation.

The GSC champions strategic and transparent governance, accountability, planning and reporting frameworks for gender equity, which reflects UQ’s broader commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The GSC comprises representatives from across UQ, including staff (academic and professional) and students, who bring diverse experience from different roles, career stages, work arrangements, and personal backgrounds.

The GSC aims to reflect the diversity of our UQ community by maintaining a gender-diverse membership.

Initiatives

For staff

Our workplace's progress is guided by:

• Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA)
• SAGE Athena Swan
• University of Queensland Strategic Plan
• diversity and inclusion policies and procedures
• career programs for women.

 Staff initiatives to improve gender equity include:

• increasing the proportion of women in senior positions
• increasing support of career progression of women in research
• providing equal remuneration for women and men for work of equal or comparable value
• removing barriers that prevent women from participating equally in the workplace
• providing more access to resources for women to achieve leadership roles
• eliminating assumptions of caring responsibilities of men and women
• changing workplace culture to embrace gender equality as a normative practice
• assisting in making transition from parental leave to return to work (staff login) as smooth as possible.

View resources for staff

Other initiatives

We recognise the importance of inspiring students from diverse backgrounds and genders to study in disciplines they may be under-represented in, as they will be our future researchers, leaders and thinkers.  

• Women in Engineering
• UQ Women Create Change
• Centre for Gender Equality in the Workplace