8
BAMOS
June 2017
News
Introducing the AMOS Equity and
Diversity Committee
Melissa Hart, Equity and Diversity Committee, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science
In February, I had the pleasure of taking over as Chair of the
AMOS Equity and Diversity (E&D) committee from the inaugural
chair, Ailie Gallant. Thank you Ailie, for all your work initiating
this committee!
The committee aims to include regular pieces in BAMOS
discussing equity and diversity, so I thought I’d kick things off
by introducing the committee members, and the committee’s
goals.
Firstly, our members:
• Melissa Hart (ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System
Science, UNSW)
• Jaclyn Brown (CSIRO)
• Helen McGregor (University of Wollongong)
• Agata Imielska (Bureau of Meteorology)
• Zanna Chase (University of Tasmania)
• Willow Hallgren (Griffith University)
• Rachel Badlan (UNSW, Canberra)
As you can see, although we have good diversity of affiliation,
sector, and expertise in our members, we are greatly lacking
when it comes to gender. To be able to truly advocate for equity,
particularly gender equity, it is important that men in the AMOS
disciplines are involved in the conversation. We need Male
Champions of Change. There are also many equity issues that
affect men, particularly those with carer’s responsibilities. If you
would like to join the committee, please contact me, or one of
the committee members.
In these regular BAMOS E&D pieces we would like to share
new research into issues that affect E&D, discuss the benefits
of an equitable and diverse discipline, and highlight examples
of successful organisational change that have increased E&D.
If you have suggestions, or would like to contribute, please
contact me.
I will start by sharing what is commonly known as the ‘scissor
plot’ (below). This is a plot that those of us passionate about
gender equity in science could draw in our sleep, yet it always
surprises me how many people have not seen it before. So, here
it is—more women at the bachelor’s level, parity at the PhD,
all downhill from there. This plot shows why we need an E&D
committee within AMOS, and why we have, in our initial stages,
concentrated on gender. However, regardless of this initial
concentration on gender, the committee act to advocate for all
under-represented groups in AMOS.
Going forward the committee plans to continue to run E&D
sessions at AMOS conferences, introduce an AMOS ‘equitable
practices’ statement, and develop and implement strategies to
reduce social inequity within AMOS. We look forward to your
involvement and suggestions.
Gender distribution of student
completions and academic staff in
Natural and Physical Sciences in
Australia..Source: SAGE