The University of Sydney has been recognised for sustained efforts to advance intersectional gender equity, diversity and inclusion across its academic and professional staff, receiving the SAGE Athena Swan Silver Award, as part of the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) initiative.

SAGE promotes intersectional gender equity, diversity and inclusion by inviting member organisations to deeply reflect on and assess the impact of policies and practices in dismantling structural and cultural barriers at the workplace level.

Silver accreditation particularly acknowledges the strength, depth and maturity of an organisation’s evidence-based approach to understanding and addressing key barriers to equity and inclusion.

 Achievement of the Silver Award was supported by an extensive self-assessment process led by a cross-University team of academic and professional staff. Through analysing data, engaging with staff, and identifying priorities for action, the team co-developed a robust evidence base for ongoing equity and inclusion initiatives.  This built on the 2024 achievement of five SAGE Cygnet Awards demonstrating progress and impact the University made against its Bronze Action Plan 2019-2023. 

Professor Mark Scott, Vice-Chancellor and President, noted the significance of this achievement and the University’s progress.

‘One of our aspirations is that our community thrives through diversity. This recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to a university where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and the actions we have taken to effect real change. It speaks to the values that we share across the University and enables us to shape a positive future for all’.

According to SAGE, the University ‘has made real gains in improving women's representation at senior academic levels. Women now make up 45.4 per cent of Level D staff (Associate Professor), up from 38.6 per cent in 2017, and 36.1 per cent of Level E staff (Professor), up from 31.1 per cent’.

Following extensive consultation, the team identified five areas for our Silver application. Together, these focus areas formed a coordinated, intersectional SAGE Silver Action Plan grounded in both data and lived experience.

• Leadership and accountability: The self-assessment identified the importance of strengthening accountability for equity and inclusion outcomes at all levels of the University. Actions focus on embedding clear responsibilities, improving oversight, and building leadership capability to drive and sustain change.
• Career planning, progression and equity: Analysis highlighted disparities in career progression and development opportunities for some staff groups. Actions are designed to improve transparency, consistency and access to career development, recognition and advancement pathways.
• Parents and Carers: The self-assessment identified opportunities to better support staff managing a range of caring responsibilities and to reduce the impact of caregiving on career progression and workforce participation. Actions focus on creating a more supportive and flexible environment for parents and carers, including increasing awareness and uptake of support provisions among men and better understanding and supporting the needs of staff with multiple caring responsibilities, such as caring for both children and ageing parents.
• Racial Inclusion, Voice and Visibility: Staff feedback and data underscored the need to strengthen the inclusion, representation and visibility of culturally and ethno-racially diverse staff across the University. Actions aim to increase opportunities for participation, leadership and recognition while fostering a more inclusive culture.
• Inclusive leaders and managers: The self-assessment highlighted the significant influence managers have on staff experience, wellbeing and career outcomes. Actions focus on building inclusive leadership capability, strengthening expectations of managers, and ensuring consistent, respectful people management practices across the University.

Diversity, equity and inclusion in the Faculty of Engineering:
While it now encompasses the experiences of both professional and academic staff across all disciplines, the Silver submission includes a section focusing on DEI in the Faculty of Engineering. Professor Hesham El Gamal, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, said the faculty is proud to be driving initiatives that support gender equity, diversity and inclusion.

“One of the ways we’re doing this is through targeted gender equity recruitment campaigns. Our 2025 campaign was a huge success, attracting nearly 600 applications from over 40 countries. We were able to bring 16 outstanding women engineers and computer scientists onboard, increasing the number of women academics in the field by more than 45 percent. “Based on this success, we’re proud to be running the campaign again in 2026.”

This work was supported by a broad network of contributors across the University. In particular, HR teams played a pivotal role in enabling the scale and sophistication of the data analysis, providing and validating workforce, pay equity and survey data, and supporting interpretation throughout. The submission also benefited from input and review from the SAGE Advisory Council, senior leadership, subject matter experts, staff networks, governance and risk teams, legal and privacy experts, faculty stakeholders, and advisory groups, reflecting a truly coordinated, institution-wide effort.

Underpinning the submission were the staff who shared their experiences and insights to help the team move beyond the numbers to better understand the barriers and realities behind them and directly informed the development of the Silver Action Plan.

The University’s Silver accreditation was awarded based on a submission to SAGE developed by a Self-Assessment Team (SAT) comprising 45 academic and professional staff from across faculties, schools and portfolios, representing a wide range of disciplines, roles and lived experiences.

The team worked collaboratively to analyse data, engage with staff, and better understand some of the structural and cultural factors shaping gender and intersectional equity at the University.

Working in groups aligned to the five key focus areas of the Silver application, the SAT ensured the resulting SAGE Silver Action Plan (pdf, 1.6MB) is both robust and grounded in the realities of staff experience, while also building shared ownership of intersectional gender equity across the institution.

Dimitria Groutsis, Professor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the University of Sydney Business School and Academic Director of the Sydney SAGE program, said this work has been years in the making and represents a whole-of-institution effort to improve diversity.

“We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in supporting the SAGE program and championing diversity and inclusion at the University.

“Shared experiences and insights helped us move beyond the numbers to better understand the barriers and realities behind them and directly informed the development of the Silver Action Plan. We are deeply grateful for everyone’s time, openness and honesty. As we move into implementation, we will continue to create opportunities for staff to share their experiences and help shape this work.”

The SAGE team will continue to reach out to staff and students to monitor the outcomes and impacts of the Action Plan on the pathway to SAGE Gold. Keep an eye out for invitations to participate in focus groups and surveys or reach out to the SAGE team via email for more information.