Why gender equity is an important issue to men

Institute news

The Baker Institute's Gender Equity and Diversity Committee was formed in 2014. It aimed to establish initiatives to address female under-representation at senior levels in science at the Institute, and more broadly across the medical research sector.

Studies show while almost 50 per cent of science graduates in Australia are women, only 17 per cent of women occupy senior academic positions at research institutes and universities. While there have been significant advancements in gender equity in many sectors of our community, this remains a significant issue for the Australian medical research sector.

In 2018, the Baker Institute was one of 15 research institutes and universities recognised for its efforts to improve gender equity and diversity with an inaugural Athena SWAN Bronze Award from Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE). The Bronze level is the first SAGE award to be made available in Australia, and we are now working towards a silver award.

As we continue our journey, we are committed to addressing key barriers in our organisation around gender equity, and more recently, diversity. This includes working to embed a positive culture that prioritises and supports gender equity and a culturally diverse workforce.

Our Gender Equity and Diversity Committee has grown rapidly in the past few years and we’re proud that it is becoming a diverse committee in the true sense. What started as largely a female committee driven by a handful of scientists has evolved significantly. The number of men joining the Committee and actively working to drive change, for example, has grown in the past few years and we want to share some of their thoughts on why gender equity is an important issue to men, and much more than just a female issue.