The University of Newcastle first NSW university to achieve Cygnet Award

Wednesday, 8 March 2023

The University of Newcastle is the first NSW university to be awarded a Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Cygnet Award, recognising its work to boost career development support for academic and professional women.

A group of women in a Zoom meeting each holding up an A4 piece of paper with a personal motto written on it
To achieve a Cygnet Award, organisations must demonstrate their commitment to removing or reducing barriers to gender equity, diversity and inclusion.

To achieve a Cygnet Award, organisations must demonstrate their commitment to removing or reducing barriers to gender equity, diversity and inclusion.

The University of Newcastle identified that a lack of dedicated career conversations with supervisors, mentoring, and leadership development disproportionately hindered academic women’s readiness for promotion and professional women’s identification of career progression pathways. In response, the University has established targeted programs to support both cohorts.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky AO commended the staff involved in achieving the Cygnet, which has placed the University in a small group of institutions to have earned this recognition.

“I am incredibly proud that our institution is the first in NSW to achieve this milestone, and even prouder of the collaboration across multiple teams that has delivered significant improvements to how we support the careers of our female staff and students,” said Professor Zelinsky.

“We know we’re a stronger and more successful University if we have a diverse and inclusive workforce and supporting women’s careers is critical to ensuring that.”

The following targeted programs and initiatives have been rolled out or bolstered by the University:

  • Academic Mentoring Program for academic staff at levels A to C
  • Local mentoring and sponsorship opportunities for new academic staff, junior staff, and Indigenous Early and Mid-Career academics
  • Women’s Professoriate Network for academic women at levels D and E
  • Promotion Information Sessions for academic women
  • Women in Research Fellowship Program for academic women at levels B and C
  • Women in Leadership Program for academic women levels C-E and professional women HEW 8 and above
  • Women on Boards Program for academic women
  • Mandatory Performance and Planning
  • Supervisors’ training on career development discussions
  • The Indigenous Higher Degree Research Network

“People are more likely to stay at an organisation that values and supports their growth,” said Dr Janin Bredehoeft, CEO of Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE).

“It’s wonderful to see the amount of thought and care that the University of Newcastle has put into their career development programs, and how these have led to promotions and leadership opportunities for many women. Congratulations and well done to the University of Newcastle team – I’m looking forward to seeing what they achieve next.”

Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic Excellence Professor Jennifer Milam commented that while there was still work to do to embed some of the initiatives, she was pleased that SAGE had endorsed the progress the University has made.

“The impact of the step-change from career development conversations being considered ‘box-ticking’ exercises to more structured and robust processes supported by supervisor and mentor training cannot be overestimated,” said Professor Milam.

“The work we are doing as part of the SAGE Cygnet Awards will embed the cultural change that is required to ensure that our female members of staff have confidence that the University of Newcastle can offer them a career path.”

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Professor Mark Hoffman congratulated all involved.

“I am delighted we are able to meaningfully demonstrate our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion to our students. The more barriers we remove, the brighter the future is for our University and future generations of women in higher education,” Professor Hoffman said.

About the SAGE Cygnet Awards

The SAGE Cygnet Awards is the accreditation pathway for achieving ‘Silver’ under the Athena Swan program. Institutions must implement actions designed to remove or reduce five Key Barriers to attraction, retention or progression of female staff in the seven years after being awarded Bronze. The University of Newcastle was among the first 15 Australian research institutions to receive the Bronze Award in 2018 and is working towards submitting its application for Silver accreditation in March 2024. More information on the University’s Cygnet can be found here.

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