From the Editor

Volume 10 Number 3 March 10 - April 13 2014

 

Inspiring Change

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, ‘Inspiring Change’, mirrors the University’s research effort, policies and actions when it comes to equality for women. 

The University has been inspiring positive change for women since its early years: In 1883 Bella Guerin became the first woman to graduate from a university in Australia, when she graduated from the University of Melbourne. 

In 1887, while women were still denied the right to vote and had only just been given the right to own land (if they were married), seven women began their medical degrees at the then Melbourne Medical School (MMS), the first women to do so in Australia. 

These first female doctors became role models, who in turn inspired change – 1922 graduate Kate Campbell became one of the first female resident medical staff at the Children’s Hospital and the first honorary pediatrician at the Women’s Hospital. 

Today, the University is proud to continue this tradition of providing strong women role models, through leaders including Chancellor Elizabeth Alexander and former head of the Australian Research Council and current Provost Professor Margaret Sheil. 

Across the University, diverse research projects are being undertaken to better the place of women, dealing with many different problems women still face. 

These projects look at the issue through several lenses, depending on the researcher’s area of focus. From the impact of intimate partner violence on women’s health and wellbeing, to in-depth analysis of the knotty problems of equality in the workplace, representations of feminism in art and the place of feminist theory in contemporary society, the University’s body of research in this field is incredibly diverse and involves various research methods. 

The University is a teaching and learning institution as well as a research hub, and as such it strives to inspire change not just through its role models and research programs, but by shaping the next generation of global leaders.

Among its programs to inspire thought and action in equality and diversity are the Diversity and Inclusion Awards, which recognise and reward initiatives that demonstrate innovation and excellence in furthering diversity and social inclusion. These awards help encourage women in disciplines, professions or roles in which they are under-represented to continue to forge new paths for female graduates. 

The University is working hard towards the time when we no longer need an International Women’s Day. 

 

Zoe Nikakis, Acting Editor