The University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) has earned a SAGE Cygnet Award for its significant progress in gender equity, diversity, and inclusion, particularly in its parental leave policies.
This recognition underscores the university’s efforts to break down barriers and create a more inclusive environment for its employees.
Notable Outcomes in Parental Leave Equity
UniSQ has seen positive shifts in its parental leave uptake, signalling a growing understanding of staff entitlements. Most notably, 20% of women took partner leave in 2022–2024, compared to 0% in the previous period, signaling progress in more equitable leave distribution. Keeping in Touch (KIT) days also saw increased usage, with 10 employees utilizing the benefit from 2022–2024, up from just two in 2019–2021.
The change in policies has led to staff reporting more opportunities to tailor their parental leave. One staff member explained, “Knowing that I had the option to take paid parental leave has really put my wife at ease. … The support from UniSQ made our decision to have me stay home with the baby much easier and allowed us to plan with confidence.” Another shared, “By taking parental leave, I hope to set an example that choices should be made based on what’s best for your family, not just tradition.”
Key Actions and Initiatives
UniSQ’s success is largely due to targeted actions such as increasing paid parental leave for primary caregivers from 12 to 26 weeks in its 2023–2026 Enterprise Agreement. This change aims to encourage more male employees to take leave. The university also launched an online parental leave hub, offering resources such as calculators, templates, and explainer videos to clarify entitlements.
Lactation breaks were also introduced as paid work time, addressing previous requirements to “make up” time for breastfeeding. The university developed Backfilling Communication Guidelines to improve transparency and role continuity during leave, though full implementation has been delayed due to resourcing challenges.
Positive Impact and Continued Progress
The outcomes of these initiatives have been promising. While overall parental leave uptake remained stable, the increase in partner leave and KIT day usage reflects a shift toward a more equitable approach to caregiving. Satisfaction with parental leave support has also improved, with scores rising from 3.4 to 3.9 out of 5. Return-to-work satisfaction remained steady at 4/5.
Despite these successes, feedback has highlighted areas for improvement, particularly with role backfilling and communication during organizational changes. UniSQ is committed to addressing these gaps and further promoting gender equity in parental leave uptake, especially for men.
Looking Ahead
UniSQ plans to continue refining its resources, enhance supervisor engagement with parental leave guidelines, and improve tools for leave planning. This SAGE Cygnet Award serves as an important milestone in the university’s ongoing efforts to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace.
Find out more
This is the University of Southern Queensland‘s fourth SAGE Cygnet Award, which builds on the work they did to achieve Athena Swan Bronze accreditation.
Download this PDF summary of their progress and impact to find out all about the barrier they were tackling, their actions, outcomes, impacts and next steps.
You can also read their full Cygnet Award application to get all the details about how they did it.
