Equity. Diversity. Inclusion.
Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences in Australasia (WOMEESA)
Heather is Co-Founder and Inaugural President of the Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences in Australasia (WOMEESA) network which launched on International Women’s Day in March 2018. In just over 4 years the network has attracted almost 1000 members from more than 17 countries.
The network is member-driven and volunteer-run and WOMEESA has led a number of initiatives to date including:
Frequent formal workshops and informal social events
Monthly Shut Up And Write #SUAW online sessions
Monthly WOMEESA Seminar Series and YouTube Channel
Built a database of women working in Earth and Environmental Sciences in Australasia to increase the visibility of women and assist potential employers, conference and workshop organisers, seminar program chairs, the media etc. to find suitable women looking for particular opportunities. There are currently 276 women listed in the database
Ran a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon to increase the visibility of women in earth and environmental sciences in Australia and New Zealand.
Written a peer-reviewed, international journal publication on gender equity in geosciences in Australasia
Online blog and Member Spotlight features to help to create role models, share experiences and provide useful resources
Produced do-it-yourself business cards to facilitate networking of WOMEESA members
Raised awareness of the need for onsite childcare at conferences
Provided a joint written submission (with ASEG) to the Australian Government’s Women in STEM decadal plan in October 2018
Sponsored and hosted the screening of ‘Picture a Scientist’
Celebrating Women Professors in Earth and Environmental Sciences initiative
International peer-reviewed publication on gender equity in geosciences in Australasia
Heather led an invited paper on diversity and equity in geosciences in Australia for an EGU Advances in Geosciences special volume.
The study provides an analysis of the current status of gender equity in geosciences in Australasia, expressed through a compilation of publicly available information on gender in academic institutions and success in Australian (Australian Research Council, ARC) and New Zealand (Royal Society of NZ, Marsden Fund) funding schemes.
It also presents available information on gender balance in professional society membership (Geological Society of Australia, GSA, and Australian Institute of Geoscientists, AIG), committee structure (GSA) and award recipients (GSA and the Geoscience Society of New Zealand, GSNZ).
The Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences Australasia (WOMEESA) network is used as a case study to explore the value and role of women-focused networks in driving and supporting gender equity in geoscience.
The study also recommends additional steps forward towards achieving gender equity in geosciences.
Talks and presentations on gender equity
2021: Poster on ‘In Australasia, gender is still on the agenda in geosciences’, AESC online. Received People’s Choice Best Poster Award
2020: Poster on the WOMEESA network at Australian Academy of Science and SAGE Catalysing Gender Equity Symposium, Adelaide
2019: Invited Speaker and Panellist within the Town Hall session ‘Power of Science Lies in its Diverse Voices’, American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco
2019: Invited Talk ‘Gender is Still on the Agenda in Geosciences: Paths to Equity and Equality Start With Leadership’s Commitment to Change’, Union Session, American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco
2019: Invited Guest, Women in STEM ‘Meet and Greet’, Sydney University
2018: Talk on ‘The WOMEESA Network’ at AGCC, Adelaide
2018: Invited Keynote Speaker ‘Diversity and inclusion in geosciences in Australia’ and Panellist, GSA GESSS NSW, Sydney
2018: Invited Panellist, Diversity in Geosciences Lunch, AGCC, Adelaide
2018: Invited speaker Faculty of Science and Engineering International Women’s Day event, Sydney
Equity, diversity and inclusion committee roles and contributions
2024: Co-organiser University of Twente International Women’s Day exposition
2024: Panel Chair: FFNT Conference on gender equity in higher education
2024: Ran a workshop on Power and Privilege for PGM Department staff and students at the University of Twente
2024-Present: Board Member Female Faculty Network Twente (FFNT)
2023: Wrote and delivered workshop on Power and Privilege for AES Department Staff at the University of Twente
2022: Co-organiser of the WOMEESA-GSA International Women’s Day 2022 panel event on women’s contributions to geoscience for society.
2021: Co-organiser of the WOMEESA workshop and panel discussion on resilience.
2021: Delivered a seminar at Geoscience Australia on ‘Inclusive Geoscience: Benefits to society and the scientific understanding of Australian volcanism’
2021: Co-organiser of the WOMEESA Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Celebrating women Professors in Earth and Environmental Sciences.
2021: Invited Chair and Panellist, ‘Aboriginal History and its Influence on Science’ at the Australian Earth Science Convention
2020: Member of the MQ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Working Group to increase Indigenous Knowledge in the undergraduate Earth and Environmental Science curricula
2020: Featured in an AGU Eos article ‘Raising Our Voices for Diversity in the Geosciences’
2020: Wrote and invited article on WOMEESA for the Geological Society of Australia TAG magazine
2020-2021: Member of the MQ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
2020: Mentor in the MQ Faculty of Science and Engineering Early Career Researcher Program
2019: Co-orgainiser of the WOMEESA Writing Workshop, Brisbane
2019: Academic lead with Widening Participation at MQ to design and acquire a mobile classroom that can deliver geoscience (The EarthLab) and STEM outreach to rural and remote regions of New South Wales ($30,000 funding).
2019: Mentor in the Waranara Mentoring Program for high achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander undergraduate students
2019: Committee Co-Chair, MQ Faculty of Science and Engineering Women in STEM Committee
2018-2019: Committee Member, MQ Faculty of Science and Engineering Women in STEM Committee
2018: Lead Organiser of the WOMEESA Careers and Networking NSW Event
2018 - 2021: Co-Founder and President of the Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences Australasia (WOMEESA) network
2018 - 2021: Created and manage the @STEMwomenMQ twitter account
2018 - present: Co-manage the @WOMEESA twitter account
2018: Wrote a blog piece on WOMEESA activities at AGCC 2018
2018: Co-Organiser of the Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences Australasia (WOMEESA) Mentoring Workshop, AGCC 2018
2018: Lead organiser of the WOMEESA NSW Networking event, Navigating Careers in Earth and Environmental Sciences
2014: Organising Committee for the 1st Workshop for Early- to Mid-Career Geoscientists, Australia