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ECU hosts national SAGE-sponsored Athena SWAN event for WA

Friday, 22 February 2019

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  • Dr Carole Thomas sharing insights from an Athena SWAN Gold Institution at ECU, 14 December 2018.

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Dr Carole Thomas leads the ‘Women in Science’ agenda at the John Innes Centre (JIC) and played an instrumental role in JIC being the first institution in the UK to receive a Gold Athena SWAN Award in 2017. ECU was pleased to host the WA leg of Dr Thomas’s Australian tour on 14 December 2018, as she shared her Athena SWAN experiences with SAGE members. Dr Thomas is also a Daphne Jackson Trustee, a UK charity dedicated to realising the potential of scientists and engineers returning to research following a career break.

Speaking on JIC’s experiences with Athena SWAN, Dr Thomas noted the importance of mentorship. The Centre has Fellow and Tenure-Track Project mentoring schemes as well as support for grant and fellowship writing. She noted the improved rates of professional registration success as a result for female scientists.

Covering a wide breadth of initiatives, Dr Thomas discussed the provision of visible role models, support for clarifying career pathways and family friendly schemes. She also noted the value of an agile, flexible and living Action Plan and the importance of communication to gain traction, support and momentum.

The event was well attended by members of the ECU community and a vote of thanks was provided by ECU’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Steve Chapman CBE.

The SAGE Pilot of the Athena SWAN Charter in Australia was launched in 2015. Events such as these are important opportunities to learn about best practice from international colleagues more advanced on the Athena SWAN journey with the initiative being in the UK since 2005.

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