The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has received a Science in Australia Gender Equity Cygnet Award for substantial progress in delivering flexibility and inclusion, not simply a policy on paper, but a lived reality for a diverse workforce.

This is UTS’ fifth SAGE Cygnet Award, demonstrating a sustained commitment to delivering comprehensive action in removing barriers to gender equity, diversity and inclusion.

SAGE CEO, Dr Janin Bredehoeft praised UTS’ latest achievement.

“What stands out about UTS’s fifth Cygnet is the breadth of what they’ve taken on. This isn’t just about flexible hours, it’s about asking who actually gets to access flexibility, and what needs to be true of a workplace culture for that access to be realised,” she said.

“The work UTS has done across parental leave, cultural inclusion, LGBTQIA+ visibility and support for staff with disability reflects exactly the kind of intersectional thinking that drives lasting change.”

Cultural barriers holding back flexible work access

In 2016, fewer STEM academic women agreed they could use flexible compared to their male colleagues and consultations revealed inconsistent implementation of flexibility policies, particularly in male-dominated areas, and a general lack of awareness of what was available.

Culturally diverse and First Nations women, surveyed through a dedicated study in 2020, reported that it was their ethnicity, not their gender, that was the primary barrier to career progression, with lack of access to working from home provisions among the factors they named.

LGBTQIA+ staff faced their own set of barriers in accessing entitlements like gender affirmation leave, in workplaces where visibility and safety were not yet consistently assured. UTS did not shy away from these findings. Instead, they shaped the entire program of action that followed.

Communicating what flexible work looks like in practice

Central to UTS’s approach was a commitment to normalising flexibility as something for everyone, not a special accommodation, but part of how a modern university works.

The university used digital platforms, intranet pages, and campus screens to raise awareness of flexible work options, including publishing staff profiles on their intranet that highlighted the breadth of circumstances in which flexibility is used.

One of these profiles focused on a professor who is the first complete quadriplegic to hold that title in an Australian university. After working at UTS for 32 years, he described the shift he has witnessed:

“Flexible working practices have come a long way in the past few years, especially since the pandemic. My experience at UTS has always been very positive in this space. When I first got the job, there weren’t any formal policies or practices in place like there are today.”

He also noted the importance of the university’s REACH grant scheme, which provides up to $10,000 to support researchers re-establishing their careers after disruptions caused by disability, caring responsibilities, domestic violence, or other significant life events, in enabling him to progress on equal footing with peers.

A senior lecturer in economics at UTS credits the scheme with helping her secure a prestigious DECRA Grant from the Australian Research Council.

“The first REACH grant I received helped ensure my children were cared for while I travelled to Africa, both for a conference and to meet with project partners. It enabled me to fly my youngest over to Europe to be looked after by their grandparents, while also covering the childcare for my elder two while their dad was at work back in Australia.

“It was a gamechanger for me and absolutely helped me to get the ball rolling on my research, and subsequently, secure a DECRA grant,” she said.

Structural changes to support cultural shifts

In 2017, the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology introduced Core Meeting Hours between 10am and 4pm, with the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Health following, a policy that supported employees with family commitments. Audits showed compliance rates of 84–93% across STEM faculties in 2022–2024.

One associate professor said flexible working had allowed him to achieve his career ambitions.

“I was promoted to Associate Professor in January 2023. Without the flexibility I don’t think I would have been able to get to where I am now, especially with a young family and as immigrants working full on like we do,” he said.

Alongside these structural changes, UTS updated its enterprise agreement to introduce gender-neutral parental leave and developed a dedicated intranet site to guide staff through the process.

What the numbers show

Between 2022 and 2025, awareness of flexible work options among STEM academics rose from 42% to 76% for women and from 41% to 75% for men. The proportion of women actually using flexible work options increased from 39% to 51% over the same period, and with a small increase seen for men from 38% to 39%.

Crucially, the proportion of STEM academics who agreed that using flexible work had a negative impact on their career fell substantially (20% in 2022 compared to 13% in 2025), an important indicator that the cultural change is taking hold.

And an analysis of promotion outcomes showed no gendered difference in promotion success between staff who use flexible work arrangements and those who do not.

A broader theme of inclusion and acceptance

UTS’s work extended well beyond flexibility in the traditional sense. Recognising that inclusive workplace culture is itself an enabler of access, the university invested in a suite of initiatives targeting under-represented staff cohorts.

The How I Celebrate project, co-designed with the Multicultural Women’s Network, produced 11 digital booklets bringing together 44 stories from staff and students across 14 cultural celebrations — from Eid and Diwali to Nowruz and Raksha Bandhan.

Contributors spoke of what the experience meant to them. “I loved putting my memories together for this booklet — it was very special to me,” said one professional staff woman.

For LGBTQIA+ staff, UTS developed and sustained a substantial body of work. The university has delivered Breaking the Binary and Ally training continuously since 2016, and its Ally network has grown to 208 members across 32 faculties and units.

In 2025, UTS returned to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade after a five-year hiatus, with 117 volunteers from 24 units marching and staffing a stall at Fair Day. A post-march survey found that 100% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their participation increased their sense of belonging.

One participant described: “Whenever we’d encounter or march by groups with a connection to UTS, they’d always start cheering and getting excited. It means a lot to me, and I think it meant a lot to those staff, students and alumni watching, to know that UTS embraces our community.”

A demonstrated commitment to systemic and cultural transformation

UTS’s latest award and the previous four SAGE Cygnet Awards reflect not a claim to have solved everything, but a demonstrated commitment to systemic and cultural transformation.

“Like all institutions, we constantly strive to improve what we do. This includes evolving our systems and policies for the benefit of our community. I am incredibly proud of how our university strives to support everyone to achieve their full potential, regardless of their circumstances,” said Professor Andrew Parfitt, UTS Vice-Chancellor and President.

Flexibility is not yet experienced equally across all staff groups, though these gaps have been identified along with a clear set of further actions to address them.

About the SAGE Cygnet Award

SAGE Cygnet Awards celebrate organisations that have demonstrated progress in making their workplaces more equitable by removing or reducing a barrier to inclusion. They must be able to show that these changes have had a real impact on staff and/or students.  

This builds on UTS’s previous Cygnet Awards on academic recruitment and promotions, attracting girls and women to engineering and supporting career pathways in academia for women in engineering and IT.   

You can read all about UTS’s actions, outcomes, and impact in the full Cygnet Award Application, or read an overview in the Progress and Impact Summary. 

About SAGE

Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) is Australia’s leading advocate and accrediting body driving systemic change in gender equity, diversity and inclusion across tertiary education and STEMM research sectors.

SAGE delivers Australia’s only evidence-based, internationally recognised, tailored gender equity, diversity and inclusion program for the tertiary education and STEMM research sectors. It supports, advises and guides member institutions to build their capabilities and deliver meaningful and sustained action that moves the dial on gender equity, diversity and inclusion.