Career support for women in FLEET works towards both of these goals, providing an environment in which early-career women can thrive, progress and grow into capable and confident leaders.

Efforts to boost the number of women scientists in leadership positions will also have long-term benefits as future generations are inspired by the increasing number of role models.

FLEET has been seeking new training opportunities that complement existing research and professional development programs. To date, FLEET has successfully secured 11 partial scholarships from Women and Leadership Australia (WLA), with a total value of $19,000, to enable 11 FLEET women to participate in the WLA Leading Edge program. These scholarships are highly competitive, and each organisation can only submit a limited number of applicants. The residual program fee is supported by FLEET’s equity and diversity initiatives fund.

“The Leading Edge program provides practical management and leadership training, with a holistic approach to building skills and mindset for successful leadership,” says Centre Chief Operating Officer Dr Tich-Lam Nguyen. “Seven FLEET women have participated in the 2020 program, and it has truly enabled our members to transition into confident and motivated leaders.”

Two of the seven, Dr Dianne Ruka and Dr Charlotte Hurry, have recently taken on leadership roles as managers for two newly-funded ARC industry transformation research training centres. While FLEET has ended up losing two exceptional staff from the Centre business team, the industry has gained two highly capable STEM leaders.

In addition, FLEET has also acquired two new activities that will enhance the Centre’s current training and outreach programs:

• Leading Edge alum Vivasha Govinden, a FLEET final-year PhD student from UNSW, developed and implemented a virtual outreach program designed for primary school students (See case study).
• Charlotte Hurry has developed a ‘future leaders workshop’ to guide ECRs and students to proactively manage their future careers through action planning and goal setting, which will be implemented in 2021.

Additionally, participants have also transferred what they have learnt from the Leading Edge to the FLEET community by coordinating a training workshop on general leadership skills, sharing their personal experiences on the program.

“The WLA program is really amazing! Throughout the four-month program, I stayed connected till the last minute and was always looking forward to the next module each fortnight,” says Vivasha Govinden. “I learnt something new in each session. The workshop not only made me aware of my shortcomings but it also showed me how to embrace weaknesses and work on them. It has definitely made me a more confident person and I now look forward to challenges that help me improve myself.”

Following notable outcomes from the 2020 Leading Edge cohort, FLEET has invested additional support for four more Centre women to participate in the 2021 program.

“As a new postdoctoral researcher, I want to develop skills in effective student supervision and lab management,” says Dr Peggy Schoenherr. “I see interpersonal communication skills as a cornerstone to a successful working culture and my career, particularly working in a male-dominated environment where it’s sometimes hard to be heard and to convey confidence. I think the Leading Edge program would provide me with the tools and training I need to advance and do well in these work conditions.”

WLA scholarships

Cecilia Bloise

Charlotte Hurry

Chi Xuan Trang

Dianne Ruka

Hareem Khan

Iolanda Di Bernardo

Maria Javaid

Maryam Boozarjmehr

Peggy Qi Zhang

Peggy Schoenherr

Vivasha Govinden