The Great Barrier myth: An investigation of promotions policy and practice in Australian universities

This research was conducted in response to the commitment of the Australian Vice- Chancellors Committee (AVCC) to promote gender equity in Australian universities by developing strategies that are based on research. The undertaking was expressed in the Action Plan for Women Employed in Australian Universities 1999 - 2003 endorsed in July 1999 and in the AVCC Policy Statement on Gender Equity in Australian Universities issued in July 2002. The later document recognised that while women were already well represented in Australian universities as students − at all levels and across all fields except in engineering and some areas of science − they still had not achieved equity as members of staff ‘to the extent or at the rate expected’. The investigation of promotion policies and practices within Australian universities that is the subject of this report was sponsored by the AVCC in accordance with its continued commitment to gender equity.