faculty focus campusreview. com. au
Put holes in glass
ceilings
Australian business schools should take on gender and ethnic discrimination across their curriculums.
Greg Whitwell interviewed by Antonia Maiolo
The dean of the University of Sydney Business School is calling for a change in the business curriculum to tackle gender and ethnic inequalities in Australia.
Professor Greg Whitwell says the topic of diversity should be a core part of all programs that every business school delivers across the country.
“ The reality is that women, as well as people of minority ethnic, religious, racial or cultural heritage, continue to suffer from a tyranny of inequality,” Whitwell says.
“ Women are paid consistently less than men. It’ s also the case that women are much less represented at the senior managerial level than men.
“ Likewise, our Asian-Australian students are likely to encounter at some point what is sometimes referred to as a cultural ceiling.
“ As thought leaders, we need to engage in public debate, to be proponents of change, particularly in relation to diversity. Through our curriculum, we can help students confront the notion of unconscious biases, to understand how diversity makes us smarter.”
Here, Whitwell discusses the urgent need for curriculum reform to address what he describes as the tyranny of inequalities in Australia.
CR: What do you see as the major inequalities that exist?
GW: There are a number of major inequalities. The first one – the one most
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