The University of Canberra has been recognised for its work to encourage intersectional gender equity by addressing barriers to diverse talent acquisition in recruitment processes.
The Cygnet Award highlights UC’s progress in encouraging intersectional gender equity by addressing barriers to diverse talent acquisition in recruitment processes.
A welcoming experience
Through targeted initiatives, UC worked on its inclusive recruitment from the period 2018 to 2022, addressing gender imbalance in hiring, increasing Indigenous representation of the workforce, and improving candidate experiences.
Celebrating this important milestone in UC’s pathway to inclusive recruitment, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michelle Lincoln said, “Inclusivity is at the heart of what we do at the University of Canberra. We actively embrace it in our workplace and reflect it through our values and purpose statement, Galambany.
“This first Cygnet award recognises our conscious efforts to establish a diverse and inclusive workforce. Our hiring processes have improved significantly and our focus on creating a welcoming experience for our new employees as part of a cohesive onboarding process has been well received.”
Creating belonging
SAGE CEO Dr Janin Bredehoeft congratulated the team who led this work.
“This recognition highlights the incredible strides made by The University of Canberra in fostering a truly inclusive workplace. Their dedication to improving recruitment practices and championing diversity demonstrates meaningful progress that other organisations can learn from.”
“I’d particularly like to highlight UC’s efforts to improve onboarding techniques, which are creating a sense of belonging for diverse candidates.”
Recognising the challenges
In response to key challenges in recruitment, including low application rates from women in senior academic roles, limited success in employing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates, and minimal efforts to attract non-binary or gender-diverse applicants, The University of Canberra implemented a series of impactful initiatives.
Key actions taken included:
- The introduction of gender-balanced recruitment panels and inclusive advertising strategies.
- Transitioning talent acquisition in-house, providing greater control over inclusive advertising, candidate tracking, and recruitment processes.
- A redesigned selection process, focusing on candidate care, structured feedback, and influencing hiring manager behaviours.
- The development of an Indigenous employment strategy, including the launch of the Deadly Opportunities campaign to attract Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants.
These initiatives yielded significant outcomes, including:
- A remarkable increase in the percentage of women applicants at senior career levels, with Level D applications rising from 20% in 2017 to 80% in 2022, and Level E from 10% to 65%.
- A substantial increase in Indigenous representation in 2020, reaching 3.24% (up from 0.77% in 2018), though declining to 1.01% in 2022.
- Positive qualitative feedback from staff surveys, highlighting the success of inclusive recruitment practices.
More sense of belonging
The impact of these efforts has been transformative, fostering a greater sense of belonging for diverse candidates.
The transition to in-house talent acquisition has enabled a more personalised approach to recruitment, ensuring a positive experience for new hires.
“I was impressed by the individual nature of my onboarding at UC,” said one staff member. “Having worked at other Unis, this is unique.”
Find out more
This is the University of Canberra’s first SAGE Cygnet Award, which builds on the work they did to achieve Athena Swan Bronze accreditation.
Access this downloadable 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 for all the details on what they did.
About the Award
Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) is Australasia’s leading advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion in the education and research sector. Through the world-respected Athena Swan accreditation program, we support participating institutions’ pathways to EDI, creating vibrant workplaces where everyone can thrive.
SAGE Cygnet Awards mark an institution’s progress on this accreditation pathway, recognising improved outcomes and impact in a specific area of equity, diversity and inclusion.
