The Transforming Women's Leadership Pathways (TWLP) is an international initiative of the PLuS Alliance (Arizona State University, King’s College London and UNSW Sydney) to dramatically shift the dial on women’s equity, and to broaden pathways to leadership for women by 2030.
The inaugural Transforming Women’s Leadership Pathways event (TWLP) in 2020 brought higher education, industry and government partners from across continents together to develop action plans to close the gender leadership gap across 10 sectors by 2030. This was the first time a group of top international universities collaborated with Industry and Government to tackle this global challenge.
The outcome was 10 action plans that articulate the practical actions Government, Universities and Industry must take to close the leadership gender gap.
This pioneering international event was a joint initiative of UNSW Sydney and the PLuS Alliance (Arizona State University, Kings College London and UNSW Sydney) and is a foundational step in our joint work towards gender equity in leadership. It brought together opinion shaping women and men to examine the evidence on the critical factors that limit women’s pathways to senior leadership in their fields, and to develop action plans that articulate the practical actions Government, Universities and Industry must take to close the leadership gender gap.
From the 2nd Oct 2020, over 100 experts from around the world came together digitally over 4 weeks to develop ten action plans, which will be produced into a single resource titled What will it take: equality in leadership by 2030.
Our goal is to establish gender parity, equity and diversity as the norm by 2030. A genuine step change in women’s representation in industry, government and academia. This event was the first step to identify what it will take to accelerate the change and to demand practical action to fast track women’s leadership pathways by 2030 towards gender parity.
The MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements have shone a spotlight on the social, reputational and economic costs of ignoring injustice. If we were ever in doubt of the importance of diversity and inclusion, not just to economic prosperity but also to the very fabric of our society, that has been dispelled by these global movements. Countries cannot thrive without the inclusion of all women. We must expand the pathway to see more gender diverse women, more women of colour, more women with disability, and more LGBTIQ women reach senior leadership. It is crucial that they are in the room.
The gendered impact of COVID-19 has wiped out much of the progress that had been made. COVID-19 has changed the way we work globally. We must overcome the barriers and leverage the opportunities that will accelerate the pathways for women getting to the top.
The time is now. We must step up and strengthen the current pathways and forge new ones where needed, to ensure future generations benefit from women in leadership.
This was the first time a group of top international universities came together to work with Industry and Government to tackle this global challenge. Together we identified what it will take to dramatically increase the representation of women in leadership in ten key areas of our economies by 2030.
Each working group will test their recommendations against the guiding principles of intersectionality, sustainability and changing work and work patterns to ensure that the solutions are inclusive and adaptive for future ways of working.
The event was hosted by Professor Eileen Baldry, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Equity Diversity and Inclusion, UNSW.
During the opening event we heard from former Prime Minister Julia Gillard who was interviewed by Professor Rosie Campbell, Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
Our presenters at the Final Plenary (which you can watch above) include:
The Arts
Sonia Maddock, Head of Cultural Networks and Communities, UNSW Sydney
Elena Taylor, Senior Curator, UNSW Sydney
Corporate
Dr Toni Farmer-Thompson, Deputy Vice President, Educational Outreach & Student Services, Arizona State University and co-author of Constitutional Grit: Using Grit as the Catalyst for Female Equity in the C Suite
Christine Gannon, Founder and CEO of Brightworks Consulting and co-author of Constitutional Grit: Using Grit as the Catalyst for Female Equity in the C Suite
Engineering
Professor Judy Raper, Dean & CEO at TEDI-London
Professor Eliathamby Ambikairajah, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Enterprise and Professor, UNSW Sydney
Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Dr Raji Ambikairajah, UNSW Council Member and Director of UNSW Foundation
Higher Education
Dr Erin Carr-Jordan, Senior Director and Head of Social Impact, Arizona State University
Professor Miki Kittilson, Professor, School of Politics and Global Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University
Media & Communications
Susan Lisovicz, Donald W. Reynolds Visiting Professor of Business Journalism, Arizona State University
Jacquee Petchel, Executive Editor, Carnegie-Knight News21, Professor of Practice, Arizona State University
Medicine & Life Sciences
Professor Claire Sharpe, Professor of Renal Medicine, Kings College London
Policy & Politics
Professor Diana Bowman, Associate Dean for International Engagement & Professor, Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, Arizona State University
Kristin Irwin, Associate Vice President of Community & Municipal Relations & Economic Development, Arizona State University
Science
Professor Veena Sahajwalla, Director, ARC Green Manufacturing Research Hub & Director for the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology, UNSW Sydney
Technology
Professor Lemuria Carter, Head of School and Professor of the School of Information Systems and Technology Management, UNSW Sydney
The program is focused on progressing the action plans and advocating for change, working with universities, Industry and Government globally to take practical steps to advance women’s leadership.
To get involved in the program, contact Program Manager Jo Watkins at jo.watkins@unsw.edu.au
