USP Leads Regional Study On Gender Equality In STEM Disciplines

The University of the South Pacific (USP) recently formalised a grant agreement with the Pacific Women Lead programme of the Pacific Community (SPC) to facilitate a regional approach to the advancement of University female staff leadership in the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Through the multidisciplinary project, a diverse team of researchers will collectively work to understand the barriers that Pacific Island female staff at four different Pacific Island University’s experience when progressing towards leadership and decision-making positions in the STEM field.

USP Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Pal Ahluwalia has welcomed the partnership, which is aligned with the University’s strategic objective of championing cultural competencies and valuing equality, diversity, and difference.

“Given that our institution has produced more female graduates for successive years – an average of 60% of those who graduated over the last six years are female, we want to see more women play leading roles in such spaces. We also have other initiatives such as the VCP Strategic Fund for Female Academics at USP which aims to increase the number of women in academia across all fields,” Professor Ahluwalia said.

“Having field-specific information is beneficial as it helps us serve our staff better in their progression at the institution. Any advancement of women at USP is an advancement of women in the region.”

The grant was developed within the Pacific Island Universities Regional Network (PIURN) and involves a consortium partnership from USP, Fiji National University, The National University of Samoa, the Solomon Islands National University and the Western Sydney University in collaboration with Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Ltd, a private company dedicated to reducing systemic barriers to gender equity, diversity and inclusion in higher education and research institutions.

Adjunct Associate Professor at USP’s Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PaCE-SD), and FNU, Dr Gilianne Brodie said the aim was for PIURN to work collaboratively to collect and analyse disaggregated data from several PIURN member countries that would lead to joint creation of solutions and transformational change in a Pacific context.

“Pacific women have a high-level ability to lead and contribute effectively to policy and skill development, learning, and research, and possess perspectives and experience that are unique, aligned with Pacific values and diversity, and therefore may advance the economic empowerment of women in STEM fields,” Dr Brodie said.

The project will also gather data on USP student perspectives of STEM leadership role models via intergenerational exchange, in partnership with the USP Student Association.

Through the agreement, baseline audits will be conducted, and recommendations provided for interventions that may be required, such as policy changes, action plans and training.

At USP, these initiatives will be undertaken in partnership with the University’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEIC).

The ‘Barriers to Female Leadership for Staff at Selected Pacific Island Universities, with an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)’ project is led by USP with funding and technical assistance from the Pacific Women Lead at SPC, supported by the Australian Government.

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