Farley geologist Marianne Harvey has been chosen to go on a scientific expedition to Antarctica in December.
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The voyage, which will involve 76 women from across Australia, is part of the Homeward Bound project, to enhance the impact and influence of women in science.
The project sprang from an ongoing lack of women in leadership roles, globally.
It aims to build a network of 1000 women over the next decade.
Ms Harvey was the only Hunter resident chosen for the the trip to Antarctica.
Australians like to think we live in a modern, forward-thinking society.
And in many cases, that’s true. But the data shows that when it comes to the number of women in leadership roles – particularly in the nation’s top positions – men still dominate.
There is no reason that such a trend should exist.
An Australian Bureau of Statistics report published late last year found that men still held most senior positions of non-public sector employees, the judiciary, federal and state parliamentarians and public service managers.
According to the ABS, women make up 42 per cent of professional, scientific and technical services industries, 70 per cent in education and training, 78 per cent of health care and social assistance workers and 49 per cent of public administration and safety sector employees.
At the time the report was released, ABS spokesperson Lisa Conolly said 24 per cent of company board directors and 17 per cent of CEOs were women in 2013-14.
"Latest data also shows 35 per cent of Commonwealth justices and judges and 23 per cent of all State Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges were women,” she said.
"The health care and social assistance (37 per cent), education and training (36 per cent) and administrative and support services industries (21 per cent) recorded the highest proportions of women CEOs, while there were very few in the mining (3 per cent) and financial and insurance services (4 per cent)."
Clearly there needs to be an increased representation of women in influential and leadership roles in all fields of industry – not just science.
Hopefully projects like Homeward Bound will help change the tide of gender inequity in employment and leadership
