“Science is a human endeavour and that means that ICRAR and its achievements are the product of everyone associated with it. People are at their best when they can see that their contributions are valued and are respected for who they are, they can bring their whole selves to work. Over my career I haven’t always felt comfortable or supported in expressing my values at work and I know that things are much better when I can.
I’m strongly committed to improving the diversity of ICRAR and support everyone here through inclusive practices. That means a process of iterative evaluation and reflection – as ICRAR evolves and societal values change there will always be work to be done and ways in which we can improve. Being challenged by new ideas and new perspectives is one of the most rewarding parts of science and at ICRAR we want to cement that as a core part of the culture.”
— Professor Simon Ellingsen
ICRAR Executive Director
Executive Summary
The Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee was established in Oct. 2014 as part of an ICRAR-wide initiative to foster matters related to equality, inclusion, and diversity.
DEI’s objective is to
- continually review current practices at ICRAR-UWA
- identify areas of improvement
- design targeted initiatives
- monitor the progress of these initiatives using KPIs.
The DEI committee is also responsible for promoting ICRAR’s inclusive work environment and reporting to the ICRAR executive.
The DEI committee is composed all genders and all levels of seniority, as well as pulling from both academic and professional staff. The DEI Committee leads initiatives including the annual climate survey, the Women+ in Astronomy Fellowship program, Mentoring for staff and students and a range of events to promote and foster inclusion in the workplace and recognise the cultural diversity within ICRAR-UWA.
The Pleiades Awards, inspired by the UK’s Athena SWAN program, were originally launched by the ASA Chapter for Women in Astronomy (WiA) to recognise organisations in Australian astronomy that take active steps to advance the careers of women through focused programs and strive for sustained improvement in providing opportunities for women to achieve positions of seniority, influence and recognition. Starting in 2018 the criteria for the Pleiades Awards changed to reflect this expanded goal of equity and inclusion at all levels, and across all people in the astronomical community. ICRAR-UWA first attained the Gold Award in 2019 and retained this status in 2021 and 2023, and are in the process of applying to renew this status for 2025.