CSIRO’s Space and Astronomy research unit, which manages the ATNF, has received a Gold Pleiades award – the highest level of recognition – from the Astronomical Society of Australia’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Astronomy chapter.

The award recognises sustained positive progress and leadership in promoting positive actions to other organisations in the astronomy community.

Over the past two years we made considerable progress towards our diversity, inclusion and reconciliation goals through a range of actions including:

• Using targeted affirmative measures for recruitment, such as identified roles and conscious inclusion, to increase the number of women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People joining our team.
• Implementing mandatory gender diversity on recruitment panels, ensuring panel members undertake diversity, inclusion and belonging (DIB) training, and offering part-time roles as a default.
• Increasing DIB learning and Mental Health First Aid training completion rates.
• Improving oversight of our actions through regular monitoring and reporting.
• Celebrating key events across our sites to create opportunities for active and visible allyship and meaningful conversations.
• Continuing to support bringing local Indigenous languages into regular use by renaming three meeting rooms at our Marsfield site with words of local significance in the Dharug language.

CSIRO Space & Astronomy’s Director Dr Douglas Bock said the Gold Pleaides award is the culmination of six years of focused effort, although there is more to do.

“Over the past two years we have taken focused steps towards meeting our diversity and inclusion goals, building on the progress we made as we achieved earlier Bronze and Silver Pleaides awards,” said Dr Bock.

“Priority actions we intend to progress over the next two years include expanding the success of our SKA-Low collaboration to increase our Indigenous team member numbers, continuing to build workplaces where everyone feels they are welcomed and belong, and increasing active and visible allyship.

“We’re doing this because we value our people and want to deliver positive impact for the communities with whom we work, including the ATNF community.”

The Gold Pleiades award is valid for two years, to 1 July 2027.

The artwork above, Colliding Galaxies (detail) by Wajarri and Badimaya Yamaji artist Zeke George, depicts spinning and colliding galaxies. Zeke was inspired by a discussion with researchers using our ASKAP telescope to understand how galaxies move and interact through the Universe. ASKAP is located at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, on Wajarri Yamaji Country in Western Australia.