WOMEESA news
Womeesa AGM and election
The WOMEESA AGM will be held on 31 October at 12pm (Sydney time). Please join us to hear about the massive year we’ve had and our plans for the future. You can register to attend at this link or find out more at the event page (at this link).
We also hold the election for the new committee at our AGM. This year all positions in our committee are up for re-nomination, including our executive (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer). The WOMEESA committee is a mix of established gender equity advocates with experience working towards equality, as well as those who are passionate about creating gender equity in Australasia but haven’t had the chance to contribute in this space before. Together we take WOMEESA from strength to strength, and the next year is sure to be another big one for WOMEESA. Committee members attend our meetings once every two months and contribute about an hour per month to their WOMEESA role, whether that be organising events, posting to our social media, or creating new sponsorships or partnerships.
You can read more about the opportunities that are available here.
Local meet-ups
WOMEESA organizes bi-monthly local meetups, which are a great opportunity to network with members in your local area and build a stronger community. The next meetups will be held in October, we have some details below and we’ll email members directly once more meet up locations are confirmed. If you have moved cities recently please email us to update your address as we use this to find and email WOMEESA members directly about meetups in their local area (womeesa.network@gmail.com).
You don’t need to be in a capital city to organise a local meetup, WOMEESA members are everywhere! If you would like to organise a meetup in your local area, contact our events coordinator Fernanda.AlvaradoNeves@monash.edu to get help or to let WOMEESA know your plans so we can help you with publicity.
ACT meetup:
Location: Black Mountain Peninsula, Garryowen Dr, Acton ACT 2601
Date and Time: Sunday, 22nd October at 12 pm
Event Details: Join us for a fantastic afternoon of fun and relaxation at Black Mountain Peninsula. Bring your favourite snacks and drinks for a delightful picnic by the lake. If you're in the mood for a classic sausage sizzle, there are BBQs available too! There picnic tables onsite, though we recommend bringing your own chairs or a cozy picnic blanket to make your experience even more comfortable. There is also a playground suitable for toddlers and young children.
Meeting Point: Look for us at the BBQ area near the end of Garryowen Dr.
Hobart meetup:
Date and time: Tuesday 24th October, 10am AEDT
Location: Ciano’s Espresso Bar on UTas campus
Details: "Come for a morning coffee and chat with fellow WOMEESA members - look out for our sign!"
Melbourne Dinner meetup:
Date and time: October 25th October, 6:30 pm
Location: Big Esso by Mabu Mabu (Fed Square, 25/2 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000)
Details: Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/manage/events/727510181537/tickets
South Australia meetups:
October meetup – Cuppa and a chat at The Library Cafe at The State Library of SA
When: Wed 26th October, 10 am to 11 am
Where: State Library, North Terrace, Adelaide
Everyone welcome!
December meetup – Christmas celebrations at The Garden Kiosk, State Botanic Gardens of SA
When: Thurs, 14th December, 1 pm to 2 pm
Where: The Garden Kiosk, State Botanic Gardens of SA, North Terrace (see website for map and access: https://www.thegardensadelaide.com.au/contact-us/)
Please come to celebrate the year, meet up with WOMEESA and friends. All welcome.
WOMEESA seminar: Eleanor Beidatsch
We are thrilled to announce that Eleanor Beidatsch will be presenting a WOMEESA seminar later this year. We will email members with the details once they are confirmed. Eleanor is a journalist for the ABC as well as a research student at the University of New England, studying paleontology. Eleanor uses her platform at the ABC to give a voice to people from minority groups, with a particular focus on the effects of disability and wheelchair use on people’s lived experience. As a geoscientist who does field work and a wheelchair user herself, Eleanor has unique insight into what needs to be done to make our discipline more inclusive.
You can read Eleanor’s articles here at the ABC News website. Watch your email for more details about the seminar next week.
Other WOMEESA news
Superstars of stem wiki edit a thon
The STA Superstars of STEM program is organising a wikipedia edit a thon. You can join online or in person (Sydney and Melbourne). They’ll give an introduction to editing Wikipedia, then you can stay on to edit, improve and add articles about Women in STEM! All the details are below and you can register at this link
Date: 7 October
Time: 10:00am - 2pm (AEST)
Locations: Sydney Knowledge Hub (USYD, Darlington), Bio 21 Incubator (Melb Uni, Parkville) or online
Requirements: Just BYO Charged Laptop
No prior experience in editing Wikipedia is required. We will provide guidance and resources to help you get started. Whether you are a student, professional, or simply passionate about promoting gender equality in STEM, this event welcomes everyone.
ANZIC marine geoscience masterclass
Applications for the ANZIC marine geoscience masterclass are open now for students. The masterclass is 15-25 January, 2024 and consists of lectures, workshops and a field experience. You can find out more here.
New Homeward Bound documentary
Anna Cabre was part of the Homeward Bound Leadership program and trip to Antarctica in 2019. She filmed her experience and turned it into a documentary called ‘Begin Again’ about motherhood, Antarctica, climate, science, and the leadership program. You can check it out at this link for the English version, and there are links to the Spanish and Catalan versions in the comments on the video.
Calls to recognise forgotten scientists
As a WOMEESA member, you are already probably aware of the way that history has failed to acknowledge the contributions of women scientists. There is probably no better known example than Rosalind Franklin, who made significant contributions to the discovery of DNA, but was denied a Nobel Prize. There are increasing calls to posthumously recognise the contributions of Rosalind Franklin and many other forgotten women, despite the award rules requiring that awardees be alive at the time of the award. You can read more about this movement at this article in the Scientific American.
Jobs and opportunities
If you have an opportunity available and want to get word out to WOMEESA members send us an email womeesa.network@gmail.com.
JCU in Townsville has a continuing position for a level C, D, or E sedimentary geologist. You can find out more about the position on the JCU jobs website, here. This is the academic department of WOMEESA committee members Melanie Finch and Alanis Olesch-Byrne. If you want to know more about this group or the position, you can contact Melanie directly melanie.finch@jcu.edu.au
The University of Sydney has a continuing position for a level C academic in geology.
Monash University in Melbourne has two continuing positions at the moment, one education focused and the other in physical geography.
CSIRO Perth has a hydrogeology job available as well as a basin analyst sedimentologist job
Applications are now open for the Theo Murphy Initiative administered by the Australian Academy of Science. The grant provides funding to support career development opportunities for Australia’s early- and mid-career researchers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Applicants will need to demonstrate how the proposed activity will support EMCRs knowledge development in the relevant STEM related field(s) of research. More details available here.