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Gender equality

Gender equality

As the only university in Australia named after a woman, Edith Dircksey Cowan, at ECU we are deeply passionate and committed to achieving gender equality as an educator and employer. We believe universities have a crucial role in creating a relevant and responsive workforce which is able to meet, if not subvert, global challenges by removing the gender barriers faced by aspiring researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs. Not only does this recognise basic human rights, it improves our ability to develop organisational sustainability and national and global economic growth.

The ECU Strategic Plan 2017 – 2021 World Ready sets the direction and identifies ECU’s strong commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and social responsibility as a key strategic priority which we are implementing through our ECU Gender Equality Strategy 2019-2021. This Strategy captures our overall vision for gender equality and outlines our goals, actions and indicators of success.

Athena SWAN

As one of the first 15 Australian institutions to receive an inaugural Athena SWAN Bronze Institutional Award, ECU is proactively redressing gender inequalities and improving education and opportunities for women, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM).

Development hub

At ECU, we pride ourselves on being inclusive, flexible and relevant to the real world. We celebrate the gender diversity and talent of ECU staff by offering dedicated support schemes to remove obstacles and enable career development and progression.

Our stories

Mahbuba Rakhi

Rakhi is currently an engineering student and vice-president of the Women in Engineering at ECU.

Mahbuba Rakhi

Dr David Rhodes

Read about Dr David Rhode's insights on supporting student diversity in regional locations, from ECU's South West campus in Bunbury.

Dr David Rhodes

Sophie Brouwer

Read about Sophie's story as a staff member and student at ECU, aspiring to become a teacher in STEMM.

Sophie Brouwer

WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality

ECU has achieved the Citation as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) for the fourth consecutive year. The citation recognises our long-standing commitment to creating an inclusive culture in which female staff participate equally at all levels.

Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings

ECU has been ranked in the top 4% of universities in the world for Gender Equality in the Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings in 2020. As a socially responsible organisation, we are exemplars in our community for sustainable practices. We are recognised for our work to redress inequalities through our commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Resources

ECU provides a number of gender equality related resources and information to inform staff and students at the University.

News

WGEA logo - EOCGE

Workplace Gender Equality Agency Data Launch 2020

Wednesday, 09 December 2020

On Thursday, 26 November 2020, ECU marked the release of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) 2019-2020 reporting dataset with an on-campus screening of the data launch.

Dr Michelle Ellis speaking to a group of young women about the Girls' Programming Network.

Girls Programming Network Day at ECU

Thursday, 26 November 2020

The final Girls Programming Network event for 2020, saw women from the IT industry teaching 70 high school girls how to code at ECU’s Joondalup Campus.

CEDA Women in Leadership panel discussion

CEDA Women in Leadership series 2020: Women in leadership – the ‘isms’ of diversity

Wednesday, 11 November 2020

On 27 October 2020, CEDA held their most recent event in the ‘Women in Leadership’ series for Western Australia; an event that ECU has proudly continued to co-sponsor for the fourth consecutive year.

Events

WED
02
DEC

Resilience in Research

Wednesday 2 December 2020, Microsoft Teams Event.

Professor Parker discusses research on resilience, as well as some of her personal experiences. She will be joined by ARC Laureate Fellow Alexandra Aikhenvald (James Cook University) and ARC Centre Director Janeen Baxter (University of Queensland), who will each share challenges they have experienced, how they handled these challenges, as well as how they help others to be resilient.

Participants will have the opportunity to virtually share tips with each other, and ask the guests questions.

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