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Edith Cowan Memorial Lecture 2020 – ‘Each for Equal’

Wednesday, 18 March 2020

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International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated around the world annually on the 8th of March and is a day to both celebrate the incredible achievements of women and acknowledge the work that still lies ahead in achieving gender parity. ECU’s twelfth annual Edith Cowan Memorial Lecture to celebrate IWD, was held on Friday, 6 March 2020 and featured a gender-balanced panel which made for an insightful discussion at the Pines on the Joondalup Campus.

The 2020 global campaign theme for IWD is #EachforEqual and ECU’s event provided the opportunity for ECU staff and the local community, to engage with four experts in their field to discover how an equal world is an enabled world. Discussions took place exploring the relationships between gender equality, climate justice and sustainable development.

Proceedings commenced with a Welcome to Country by Noongar Elder Betty Garlett, followed by an opening address from the Honourable Simone McGurk MLA, Minister for Child Protection; Women's Interests; Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence and Community Services. ECU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Strategic Partnerships), Professor Cobie Rudd then moderated a panel discussion where she posed a series of thought-provoking questions on the many social and gendered aspects of climate change in Australia, and how we each have a responsibility to strive for gender equality.

The panel featured:

  • Mr Mike Rowe – Director-General, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Government of Western Australia;
  • Dr Naomi Godden – Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, ECU’s South West Campus, specialising in research in gendered impacts of climate change and co-chair of the national Women’s Climate Justice Collective;
  • Professor Rob Newton – WA Scientist of the Year 2019, Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Research Fellow, and Professor of Exercise Medicine, ECU; and
  • Ms Kathleen Jahour – State General Manager, Business Banking WA, ANZ Commercial Banking.

The well-attended event was a discussion between the four panellists surrounding how climate change can impact women and gender equality in Australia, and how an organisation’s sustainability and gender equality platforms may intersect to create an environment where gender equality is possible. A series of themes were explored, including the gendered impacts of climate change and issues such as domestic violence, economic issues, mental and physical health issues.

Following stirring discussion, the audience members eagerly asked questions of the panel members on climate change; what it can do to us achieving gender equality worldwide and what can we as individuals and organisations to do support this goal.

ECU has been active in forging ahead for gender equality. In December 2018, ECU was one of the first 11 universities in Australia to receive an inaugural Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Athena SWAN Institutional Bronze Award, with this award recognising ECU’s efforts in improving gender equity and diversity in STEMM in Australia's higher education and research sector. Also, ECU was ranked sixth in the world for Gender Equality in the 2019 Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings and was recognised as a Women in STEM Decadal Plan Champion.

Additionally, just last month ECU was named an ‘Employer of Choice for Gender Equality’ by the Australian Workplace Gender Equity Agency for the fourth year in a row. ECU is the only University in Western Australia to have this citation.

For more information about ECU’s commitment to gender equality, visit the ECU Gender Equality website or contact athenaswanaustralia@ecu.edu.au.

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