ATNF part of research into anonymising infrastructure applications

The Office of the Women in STEM Ambassador Initiative has released their findings into the effectiveness of anonymising applications for gender equality and the promotion of early career researchers. Our Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) was one of four national facilities to be the focus of this study.

We are committed to increasing diversity and building inclusive environments, as we support science for everyone. This includes applications for time on our world-class infrastructure. Over 1000 applications to use the ATNF were analysed: reviewing the type of project, the demographics of lead researchers, and the outcome of the application.

It was discovered that for ATNF proposals, there was gender parity in successful applicants both before and after partially anonymising the applicants’ details.

Results show what we’re doing within the ATNF to promote diversity and inclusion is working. To ensure we're minimising potential unconscious bias, we have already implemented full anonymisation for our facility applications and plan to continue in this way.

We celebrate the work that the Women in STEM Ambassador initiative has done to review research processes for gender equity and biases around career seniority. We are heartened by the results and will continue to work proactively for more diverse and inclusive work practices.

We look forward to participating in or reading further research undertaken by the Women in STEM Ambassador Initiative in this field.

The results of the Anonymised Review Study have been captured in a Research Brief on the Women in STEM website: https://womeninstem.org.au/anonymised-review-study/

Added by Rachel Rayner on 2024-02-01