Chief Scientist on ‘glacial’ STEM diversity progress

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Chief Scientist on ‘glacial’ STEM diversity progress

Achieving gender parity in senior STEM leadership positions in Australia will take more than 150 years at the current pace, according to Australia’s chief scientist Dr Cathy Foley, who has challenged sector leaders to accelerate the pace of progress.

Dr Foley led a virtual roundtable of leaders in Australia’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sectors on Monday, to kick off an impact accelerator hosted by Paddl, Western Sydney University and InnovationAus.

Australia’s Chief Scientist began with sobering data on women in STEM being underrepresented in workforce participation and compensation while facing a range of cultural and social biases.

“This is something I’ve been considering for the last 40 years or so. And the progress has been glacial,” Dr Foley said.

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