QUT Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Symposium

From Awareness to Action: Implementing Effective Practices to Gender Equity and Inclusion

Monday 28 October 10am-3:00pm

Gardens Theatre, QUT Gardens Point campus

QUT strives to create an environment that is fully inclusive of all people and respects the individuality of all staff and students to ensure an equal, equitable and diverse teaching and research environment.

The Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Symposium aims to advance gender equity, diversity and inclusion in the university setting.

The symposium will bring together voices of local and national university leaders and experts in gender equity and diversity, and people with different lived experiences through a series of presentations, plenary and panel discussions.

The symposium is a unique opportunity for:

gender equity champions to connect and collectively identify the challenges and the positives of diversity within the community,
students, academic and professional staff to share their inputs, engage in dialogue, provide, and receive feedback on diversity, equity and inclusion, and build interdisciplinary networks, and
conversations about gender equity across QUT and in their daily lives and create a pathway for staff and students to be champions of change for healthy relationships, allyship to other communities, wellness, and cultural competency.

Keynote speaker

Dr Elise Stephenson Fixing systems, not women: avoiding missteps and accelerating action

Dr Elsie Stephenson — Dr Elise Stephenson

Keynote Synopsis
In our rapidly evolving world, where everything from artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly shapes our decisions, emerging conflicts throw existing plans out the window, and climate change threatens our planet, achieving true gender equality remains an urgent but sometimes overlooked challenge. This talk delves into the intersection of gender equality and policy to explore both the progress we’ve made and the pitfalls we must avoid. Drawing on insights from recent world-leading research from the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, founded and chaired by Julia Gillard, and real-world examples, we’ll focus in on tangible and actionable steps that navigate backlash and uncertainty and promote equity across diverse fields. Join us as we chart a course toward a more just and sustainable future.

Biography

Dr Elise Stephenson is the Deputy Director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership, founded and chaired by former prime minister Julia Gillard. She is a multi award-winning political scientist, entrepreneur and gender researcher whose work focuses gender equality at the frontiers – from international affairs, to AI, climate, national security and beyond.

Her new book, The Face of the Nation: Gendered Institutions in International Affairs (Oxford University Press) was recently launched by the first female foreign minister, Julie Bishop, and is awarded the 2024 International Studies Association Bertha Lutz Prize for best public writing on women in diplomacy. She is awarded by Google as one of Australia's Top 50 Outstanding LGBTIQ+ Leaders, the United Nations Australia Association as a Community Awardee, and is a 3x university medalist. She was awarded the 2022/23 Fulbright Fellowship to study diversity in the space sector in the US last year, at the University of Washington, and is a 2014 New Colombo Plan Alumni of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Since joining the ANU in 2021, she has led over $3m in research projects with partners like the Office for Women (federal and Victoria), DFAT, E-Safety Commissioner, Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australian Federal Police, National Intelligence Community and more. Prior to joining the ANU, Elise was a researcher in the Policy Innovation Hub and $5 million Climate Action Beacon at Griffith University, working around climate justice and policy innovation, particularly focusing on women, youth, rural communities and the Asia Pacific. She is the board director of design and strategy studio, Social Good Outpost Pty Ltd.

2024 Program

Time	Activity	Presenter/Facilitator
10:00-10:10am	Welcome by the Chair	Distinguished Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik
10:10-10:20am	Vice-Chancellor and President’s message on Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion	Professor Margaret Sheil AO
10:20-11:10am	Keynote Speaker Fixing systems, not women: avoiding missteps and accelerating action	Dr Elise Stephenson
11:10-12:00pm	Panel Discussion: Leadership team, researchers, and staff with Q&A Professor Chelsea Watego, Executive Director of the Carumba Institute and Professor in Indigenous Health at School of Public Health and Social Work, QUT. Professor John Scott, Head of School of Justice, QUT. Dr Rachael Murray, Senior Lecturer, School of Biomedical Sciences, QUT Dr Shastra Deo, Higher Degree Research (HDR) Partnerships Officer, QUT Shangary Sriskkantharajah, Director of Operations Faculty of Business and Law, QUT	Panel Moderator: Associate Professor Christina Malatzsky
12:00 – 12:50pm	Lunch Break and interactive displays QUT Gender Equity Programs QUT You: Living and Working Collaboratively, Ethically and Inclusively	QUT Equity QUT You
12:50 - 1:30pm	Initiatives from other Queensland Universities: James Cook University Gender initiative in the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University Initiatives from other Queensland Universities: Griffith University Griffith University Achievements in Gender Inclusivity: Diverse Genders, Bodies and Sexualities and Women in STEMM/Sciences Group	Professor Bouchra Senadji Professor Kate Hutchings
1:30 - 1:38pm	QUT Health Initiative: Optimising nursing students’ opportunities to practice clinical skills using Virtual Environment (VE) and audio resources	Dr Sandra Johnston
1:39 - 1:47pm	QUT Business & Law Initiative: QUT Clothes for Careers student wardrobe project	Ingrid Larkin Leigh Burgess
1:48 – 1:56pm	QUT Engineering Initiative Bridging the Gender Gap in Engineering: Insights from High School Visits	Associate Professor Ajay Pandey Dr Maryam Haghighat
1:57 – 2:05pm	QUT Science Initiative Faculty of Science Female Early Career Research Fellowship Scheme	Professor Troy Farrell
2:06 - 2:14pm	QUT Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice Initiative Balancing Books and Bluey: Unpaid Female Carers' Higher Education Aspirations	Dr Deborah Munro
2:15 - 2:23pm	QUT Library Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Library Collection Development	Stephen Booth
2:24 – 2:50pm	Q&A	MC Dr Leah South
2:50 – 2:55pm	Lucky Door Prize	MC Dr Leah South
2:55 - 3:00pm	Conclusion and plans for 2025	Professor Firuz Zare