Higher education as a mechanism for empowering women

1. Professor Denise Bradley AC January 2010 Higher education as a mechanism for empowering women

2. The International context • Unprecedented change driven by transformative technologies in a globalizing world • Increased proportion of population with higher level skills (diploma and above) is now a critical advantage • National productivity underpinned by tertiary education participation • Concerns about economic, environmental and social sustainability

3. The International context 2 • Connections between higher education, research, innovation and economic development now widely accepted as critical for regions and nations • Rise of the education services market • An excellent system or some excellent universities? • No settlement on public/ private balance in funding tertiary education • Significant attention outside education system to economic benefits of higher skill levels

4. A complex story-women as HE students • Women the majority of u/g students in many countries • Greater spread of female u/g enrolments across discipline areas also evident • Higher degrees are more likely to show older patterns of stereotyping but that is disappearing relatively quickly • But still profound gender gap in access to HE in many countries

5. Women as staff members in HE • Poorly represented in positions of power whether as academic or professional staff • Often less research output and interrupted career trajectory among female academics • Where present usually leaders in female enclaves- institutions or discipline areas • Few signs of significant change

6. Australia - a small case study • More girls than boys have successfully completed schooling since late 1970s • More girls than boys have entered undergraduate education since 1980s • Numbers of women in higher degrees rose substantially in 1990s • Sex stereotyping in course choice remains but huge increases of women in high status professional courses like medicine, law and veterinary science

7. But a different story- women staff • Affirmative action legislation with mandatory reporting for universities since 1986 • Change did follow the legislation but it has stalled • Progress 2003-2007 • 23% of VCs (30% in 2004) • 22% of DVCs and PVCs( 21% in 2003) • 38% of most senior administrators (unchanged since 2003)

8. Women’s employment in HE is not a special case in Australia

9. Changing nature of work- a possible contributor in Australia • Intensification – time and commitment • Persistence of stereotypes about men’s and women’s attributes and skills • Nationally, lack of good child care arrangements • Choices in early stages of employment - career building or nest building

10. Nature of the academy- contribution to place of women in employment • Intensely competitive rather than collaborative • Career is made early in many fields • Still evidence that weight of research rather than its impact matters • Some fields have greater status than others • Overseas experience and mobility matter • Time served still seems to be important

11. What can be done?

12. What can be done? (2)

13. Strategic Steps

14. Strategic steps

15. Finally • Be optimistic- much has changed already • The intense pressure to compete globally will force national governments to take very seriously the use of all the talent available ... and • History is on our side