The SAGE Athena SWAN Pilot And What It Means For Australian Universities

​Abstract

Australian universities have been training more undergraduate women than men for more than 30 years. Yet at senior levels, universities continue to reflect the long distant past with less than 20% women professors. The Science in Australia Gender Equity committee (AAS and ATSE) is running a pilot of the UK Athena SWAN system in Australia to address this waste of talent and opportunity. Find out what Athena SWAN is and how it benefits everyone.​

Bio

​Professor Jennifer Martin is a Professor of Structural Biology and Drug Discovery who recently moved from the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience to Griffith University to take on the role of Director, Eskitis Drug Discovery Institute. She trained as a pharmacist in Melbourne, undertook her DPhil at Oxford University and her postdoctoral research at Rockefeller University. Jenny is a recent Australian Laureate Fellow with the Australian Research Council (ARC), and has previously held Research Fellowships with the ARC and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Jenny is the recipient of many honours including the ASBMB Roche Medal, the Queensland Smart Women Smart State Research Scientist Award, and the Women in Biotech Outstanding Biotechnology Achievement Award. Jenny was one of three finalists in the 2015 NAB Women's Agenda Mentor of the Year Leadership Award. She is passionate about gender equity and was a founding member of the SAGE Steering Committee that is now running a pilot of the UK Athena SWAN Awards in Australia. She is currently a member of the NHMRC Women in Health Sciences Committee.