About Equity & Diversity at UWA

Statement of Purpose

Equity and Diversity promotes and supports UWA's vision to provide an inclusive environment for all staff, students and the broader community we engage with. It aims to create an environment which  celebrates diversity and is free from all forms of discrimination and harassment - which recognises, utilises and values the knowledge, abilities, skills and ideas of all our people, irrespective of race, ethnicity or religion, gender or sexual orientation, education level, socio-economic background, age, disability or family responsibility.

Background

Many years of organisational commitment to gender equity has resulted in tremendous gains and the dismantling of structural barriers that have benefited both female and male members of staff.  UWA has been named as an Employer of Choice  for Women since 2002 when the Award was first offered nationally.  Two reviews on the position of women at UWA in the mid 1990's resulted in marked improvements; however there still needs to be a concerted effort at the Faculty/organisational unit level to develop appropriate strategies to create a more equitable representation and distribution of women, particularly in the academic stream.

The concerted focus and sustained commitment of the UWA executive to the broad areas of equity and diversity have resulted in an excellent policy environment within which organsiational change can continue to occur.

Next Steps

Current projects/areas of focus include the development of a coordinated strategy to address the issue of bullying (and non inclusive behaviour) on campus - allied with a greater focus on creating and promoting an inclusive work and study environment that values diversity.  Under the same strategic heading of diversity also comes the issue of life balance and flexible work practices, as well as the creation of a work and study environment that is neither heternormative or homophobic.  As with many of the University’s achievements in the area of equity and diversity, there have been several sexuality/gender identity strategies that have gained national attention and are now being emulated within the higher education sector (e.g. Ally Network).

Operational Status

Equity and Diversity  has 2 full-time and 3 part-time staff and is located within Human Resources in the Motorola Building.  Human Resources lie within the responsibility of the Executive Director Finance and Resources.  Matters of strategic policy on staffing and teaching and learning issues lie within the responsibility of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee assists in shaping the campus wide strategic direction of equity and diversity matters for both staff and students.  The Committee is chaired by the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor  and comprises representatives from across faculties and various specialist areas of expertise or operational focus.

UWA has developed a series of high level plans to assist the University to continue to strive for good practice in the development and implementation of equity and diversity strategies.  These Plans will form part of the University’s Cycle of Planning and Accountability.

The Equity and Diversity Management Plan 2004-2007 provides strategic direction for Deans of Faculties and Heads of Administrative units in the development and implementation of equity and diversity strategies.  The development of a current Equity and Diversity Management Plan is a requirement of the WA Office of Equal Employment Opportunity under the WA Equal Opportunity Act 1984.

The UWA Disability Access and Inclusion Plan is a ‘good practice recommendation’ of the commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission which administers the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.  The Disability Access and Inclusion Plan is a tool to assist the University to dismantle structural and attitudinal barriers when providing staff, students and visitors with a disability, with goods, services and facilities.

Current Status

This past decade has seen the strategic shift from an organisational focus on gender equity to a wider focus on diversity.  The development of the Workforce Diversity Strategy is one example of the shift in the focus of Equity and Diversity activities. There has been greater emphasis and effort on awareness raising and customised training programmes for work areas (and the student body) and increasing contribution to the teaching and learning environment through guest lectures, participation in the evaluation of the entry system for medicine, the development of the Equity and Diversity Advisers as agents of change at the local level (rather than being merely providers of advice around rights and responsibilities), etc.