Women
Consultation with women
Employment initiatives for women and staff with carers' responsibilities
Women in Research and Women in non-traditional fields of employment
Analysis of employment outcomes for women
Women @ UTS Career Development and Community Building
Consultation with women
Consultation with employees is a strong feature of the UTS Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program for women. Women employees are consulted in relation to the development, implementation and evaluation of EEO strategies.
The University has an Equity Reference Group that reports directly to Council (the governing body), that includes representation of women employees, and that considers issues relating to women's employment at its quarterly meetings, with an Annual Report to Council on issues and outcomes.
The Women@UTS program has an Executive Steering Committee including representatives of both academic and general staff, Indigenous women, women employed at a range of different levels, and women in non-traditional fields. A Women@UTS listserv of all employees interested in receiving information about EEO programs is used to promote events, disseminate information and to consult on particular issues; currently 1,200 staff are subscribed to this listserv.
The Australian Technology Network (ATN) Women's Executive Development Network (WEXDEV) provides ongoing consultation with women in senior positions and women with managerial aspirations.
The University has an Indigenous Women's Network which meets regularly to identify and address issues for Indigenous women employees.
Employment initiatives for women and staff with carers' responsibilities
UTS has an extensive range of EEO policies and programs in place, and continues to seek innovative ways to address key employment matters for women. Recent EEO initiatives implemented over 2004-2005 have included:
- increasing paid maternity and adoption leave from 12 weeks to 20 weeks;
- introducing new measures to support primary carers returning from parental leave. A Primary Carers Development and Return to Work Fund has been established to assist staff who have been on parental leave with their return to work. $4,000 funding or up to 30 days leave per staff member can be used to fund professional or career development projects or to buy out work time to support a phased return to work, depending upon the needs of the individual staff member.
- increasing paid partner's leave (including same-sex partners) from 5 days to 10 days, with up to 104 weeks unpaid leave for partners who are primary carers;
- introducing paid foster parents' leave;
- increasing the maximum period of unpaid parental leave available from 52 weeks to 104 weeks;
- introducing unpaid parental leave for casual support staff in particular circumstances. The University has made a commitment to ensure that casual staff members' employment prospects are not disadvantaged by pregnancy or parental leave;
- extending personal leave, which can be accessed to assist staff to accommodate carer's responsibilities or emergency situations, from 3 days to 7 days per annum;
- introducing part-year employment for support staff and senior staff;
- launching two research reports in late 2004: Research Issues for Women at UTS and Issues for Women in Non-Traditional Fields of Employment at UTS. These Reports have significant policy recommendations impacting on women and are the culmination of two years of data gathering (quantitative and qualitative) across the university;
- continuing implementation of the Women@UTS Program, which was established in 2003 to provide a comprehensive and integrated program of professional development opportunities for all women working at UTS. From 2003 to mid-2005, there have been 1,593 attendances by women staff at 47 activities provided through the program;
- establishing the UTS Indigenous Women's Network under the auspices of the Women@UTS Program. The Program also includes Women's Business@UTS sessions, which aim to build links between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women at UTS;
- initiating the Early Career Women Researchers (ECR) Program at UTS in 2005, involving 92 women academics from across all nine faculties and the Institute for International Studies;
A new Educational Access Scheme for women in non-traditional fields is being developed in 2005 for implementation in 2006, aiming to increase the number of women studying (and in the longer term working) in fields such as Engineering, Construction Management, Information Technology and Materials Science.
Women in Research and Women in non-traditional fields of employment
UTS has developed action plans in response to issues identified in the Women in Non-Traditional Fields of Employment at UTS and the Research Issues for Women at UTS reports. A number of new initiatives and strategies have been put in place in response to these reports, including a new professional development strand for women early career researchers, the implementation of recruitment workshops for faculties and units that are non-traditional areas of participation, and the development of a new Educational Access Scheme to encourage more young women to study in non-traditional fields.
Analysis of employment outcomes for women
The UTS EEO program for women is underpinned by in-depth analysis of both quantitative and qualitative information about outcomes for women, undertaken on an annual basis. The University views the reporting process as an opportunity to critically evaluate outcomes for women employees, to monitor the direct and indirect impacts of new initiatives on women's participation, and to address any issues that are identified.
The University reports annually to the NSW Office of Employment Equity & Diversity and the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA reporting requirement currently waived) based on a comprehensive analysis of statistical data relating to the following employment equity indicators:
- women's representation at each level of employment;
- recruitment by level;
- promotion by level;
- reclassification by level;
- separations by category of employment;
- occupational classification;
- employment basis; and
- pay equity.
In addition to the required reporting data, the University also reports on a number of other key gender equity outcomes, including salary supplementation / market loadings; workers' compensation claims; utilisation of parental leave; access to selected developmental opportunities; and representation on decision-making bodies.
