Equity and Diversity

A great deal of work by the University and in particular, by our Faculty's Equity and Access Committee has gone into producing our Equity Plan for the next three years. As set out in the University's Excellence and Diversity Strategic Framework, equity issues are central to this University. Ensuring that we are operating in an environment where everyone is treated fairly and equally; where we are fully compliant and indeed lead the way with regard to implementation of the University's policies in relation to staff disabilities; where we support our staff by developing flexible employment opportunities and we ensure that we have gender equity with equal opportunity for women in all aspects of the Faculty's operations; and where indigenous Australians can both develop successful careers within our Faculty and have appropriate access to all our courses is of paramount importance for us as a Faculty. We have a particular opportunity as a Faculty with students from so many nations and cultural backgrounds to cherish this cultural diversity and ensure that it is respected in the way we operate in all of our activities. The current plan sets out a series of objectives with performance indicators and timelines and ensures that we have a very robust process for ensuring that our Faculty is a credit to Monash University in terms of ensuring an atmosphere of fairness and equality for all our staff and students. This detailed plan encompasses a series of actions, which must be embedded in the Faculty at all levels to ensure that we are successful in this aim. I commend it to you and congratulate Margot Story and her committee members for the work they have done in developing this document.