In Australasia, gender is still on the agenda in geosciences

Abstract

Abstract. Diversity and inclusion in the workplace optimise performance through the input of a range of perspectives and approaches that drive innovation and invention. However, gender inequity is prevalent throughout society and females remain underrepresented in geoscience careers. This study provides the current status of gender equity in geosciences throughout Australasia within the context of broader gender equity policy, frameworks and initiatives and suggests additional solutions and opportunities to improve gender equity and the retention of women in the geoscience workforce. At an individual institutional level in academia, females make up between 23 %–52 % of the total geoscience departmental or school staff in Australia, 26 %–39 % of the total staff in New Zealand, 29 % of total staff at the University of Papua New Guinea and 18 % at the University of the South Pacific. Significant gender imbalance exists at more senior levels, with disproportionately more males than females, a pattern typical of many Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) disciplines. Gender inequity is prevalent within the general membership, committee roles and in award recipients of Australasian geoscience professional associations. Within the Geological Society of Australia and Geoscience Society of New Zealand, only 4 % (n=47) and 18 % (n=161), respectively of past award recipients for national and general awards were female. All past awards considered in this study that are named in honour of a person were named in honour of a man (n=9). In recent years, women-focused networks have begun to play an invaluable role to support the retention and promotion of women in geosciences and provide a supportive mentoring environment to discuss challenges and share advice. The improved visibility of women in the geoscientific community is an ongoing issue that can in part be addressed through the development of public databases of women geoscientists. These provide a list of women geoscientists that encourages and supports the achievement of gender balance of invited talks, job shortlisting and on panels, as well as in the media. This work highlights that more must be done to actively reduce and eliminate sexual harassment and assault in university and field environments. We emphasise that particular efforts are required to make geoscience careers more inclusive and safer, through the establishment of specific codes of conduct for field trips. Shared learning of best practices from evidence-based approaches and innovative solutions will also be of value in creating positive change. Greater engagement from the wider geoscientific community, and society in general, is required for the success of gender equity initiatives. Identified solutions and opportunities must target all levels of education and career development. Additional data in future should be collected to look beyond gender to monitor and assess intersectionality. Improved efforts to understand why women leave STEM careers will help to address the “leaky pipeline” and determine the initiatives that will be most effective in creating long term sustainable change.

Research Priorities for Coastal Geoscience and Engineering: A Collaborative Exercise in Priority Setting From Australia

“…Participant diversity amongst CGE researchers and stakeholders has traditionally lacked broader gender and cultural representation. Gender inequality in geoscience has been recently documented in Australia (Vila-Concejo et al, 2018;Handley et al, 2020) and globally (Bernard and Cooperdock, 2018;Tooth and Viles, 2020) confirming that CGE remains a male-dominated discipline. The demographics presented in this study highlight similar biases toward under-representation of non-male identifying members of the community.…”

Invited perspective: “Natural hazard management, professional development and gender equity: let’s get down to business.”

“…To achieve that, quotas are one of the actions commonly proposed. Quotas have been since long introduced in many institutes and funding organisations and resulted in an effective reduction of the gender gap in leading roles in certain areas (Handley et al, 2020;Pellegrino et al, 2020). However, as also some respondents noted, quotas rules may appear only on paper at times.…”

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Take stock of the situationWomen constitute a minority in the geoscience professional environment (around 30%, e.g., UNESCO, 2015;Gonzales, 2019;Handley et al, 2020), and as a consequence, they are underrepresented in disaster risk reduction (DRR) planning. Zaidi and Fordham (2021) pointed out that the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR) has failed to effectively promote women and girls' inclusion in disaster policy.

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Equality, diversity, inclusion: ensuring a resilient future for geomorphology

“…As a university subject, geomorphology tends to be taught as part of broader physical geography, geology or earth science curricula. In the UK and many other parts of Europe, North America and the Antipodes, the profiles of undergraduate student cohorts studying such curricula are becoming more gender balanced (Holmes, 2015; Thomas et al ., 2017; Sexton et al ., 2018; American Geosciences Institute, 2019; Fisher and Boulton, 2019; Handley et al ., 2020) but remain dominantly White. For example, in the UK, relatively few physical geography students are drawn from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities in the four countries of the union (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales) or overseas (Thomas et al ., 2017).…”

“…conferences, meetings) to make sure that we generate positive rather than negative experiences for any geomorphologists from marginalized, underrepresented communities (cf. Clancy et al ., 2014; King et al ., 2018; Handley et al ., 2020). Like other organizations, the BSG has developed a Meetings Code of Conduct and a Professional Ethics Policy to deter any harassment, bullying and discrimination, but there may be other actions that can be taken to further engender a welcoming, inclusive culture in geomorphology (cf.…”