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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-13 Daily Xml
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:07): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about professional development research scholarships for women in science.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: As members would be aware, during the last election campaign the state government committed to the development of a promotional campaign to encourage women to access training and employment in high-demand, non-traditional industries such as mining, defence and construction. Can the minister inform the chamber of recent initiatives to encourage women in another male-dominated field—the sciences?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for her important question. The member is quite right, I have indeed spoken before in this place about the women at work initiative which sees the Office for Women working with the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology, and the Department of Education and Children's Services on this important campaign.

A working group comprising members of these agencies meets on a regular basis to progress the women at work initiative. I am delighted that the Office for Women has also been liaising with various organisations that work in these industries. To date, productive discussions have occurred with all three Adelaide universities, the Resources and Engineering Skills Alliance, Defence Teaming Centre, the Royal Institute of Australia, Engineers Australia and Young Scientists of Australia, just to name a few.

The Office for Women recently supported the Science and Information Economy Directorate in the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology (DFEEST) to develop and host a women in science symposium. This symposium was held at the Royal Institute of Australia (on their premises) on 22 August, and was opened by the Minister for Science and Information Economy (Hon. Jay Weatherill).

I am advised that a panel of four extraordinary women discussed their experiences of working in this field, barriers to women's participation and engaging young women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The panel members included professors from all three South Australian universities, as well as female scientists working in the industry. The symposium also included an audience discussion on the broader economic workforce issues for the state, with a strong emphasis on women's participation being part of the solution.

Another highlight of the symposium was the acknowledgment of six of our best women scientists, each of whom was awarded a South Australian government professional development research scholarship. The $15,000 scholarships were open to outstanding early to mid-career female science, technology, engineering and mathematics researchers and are aimed at building women's research reputations through exposure to the international research community.

The winners were: Dr Ying Zhang from the University of Adelaide for research into reducing the adverse effects of heatwaves; Dr Claire Jessup from the University of Adelaide for research into improving the outcomes of islet cell transplantation in diabetes; Dr Rachel Gibson from the University of Adelaide for research into mitigating chemotherapy side effects in the gut; Associate Professor Linda Davis from the University of South Australia for defence radar and communications research; Associate Professor Catherine Abbott from Flinders University for research into the molecular basis of chronic disease; and Professor Bronwyn Gillanders from the University of Adelaide for marine ecology and sustainable fisheries research.

I congratulate all these really outstanding women, and I know everyone here today in this chamber will join me in doing so. I am sure these women will make a significant contribution to the community through their research and act as an inspiration to young women, in particular, who may be contemplating a career in non-traditional industries.

I would also like to briefly mention the government's Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Skills strategy, referred to as the STEM strategy, which is the responsibility of minister Weatherill as minister for science. A task force of key government staff has been established to progress STEM work and I believe that there should be many future opportunities to allow women to take up training and work in these important areas.

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