The University of Newcastle, Australia

The University of Newcastle has been named a 2009 Employer of Choice for Women. To be included on the list by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) organisations are measured against a set of stringent criteria to assess their efforts in creating fair workplaces and achieving genuine results for women. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Director of Affirmative Action, Professor Kevin McConkey, said the University was continuously developing and implementing strategies to support all staff in the workplace, with a particular focus in recent years on women. "Some 60 per cent of the University's workforce are women. We have a higher than sector average of female professors at 25 per cent and overall 43 per cent of academic staff are female. "Women make up 61 per cent of senior non-academic staff, which is well in excess of Universities Australia's 2010 target of of 50 per cent by 2010. "While we are achieving significant ground on the representation of women at the University, particularly in senior positions, there is always more that can be done to provide greater equity and a fairer workplace." The University's innovative programs for women include: * Academic Women in Leadership (AWiL) comprises mentoring, executive coaching, and guest speakers * Career Enhancement Fellowships provide support for academic staff to spend 12 months to pursue activities that will increase the likelihood of promotion * Equity Research Fellowships offer women and Indigenous academics time and resources to progress their research or Research Higher Degree (research masters or doctoral degree) * Women@UoN supports a professional training and development program for all female staff of the University comprising workshops and guest speakers Professor McConkey said today's listing was one plank in a series of equity and diversity initiatives underway at the University. "Inclusion on the 2009 Employer of Choice for Women is great recognition of our efforts in this area and particularly the work of the previous Manager of Equity and Diversity, Glynis Wattus, and the current Manager, Belinda Munn. "The Hunter is brimming with high achieving women. The University is proud to be a workplace of choice for women and a leader in this critically important area."