The University of the South Pacific (USP) has signed a grant agreement with the Pacific Women Lead program of the Pacific Community to promote female leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields within the region.
The initiative will examine the challenges faced by female staff at four Pacific Island universities in taking on leadership roles in STEM disciplines.
USP Vice-Chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, emphasizing the university’s dedication to cultural competence and gender equality.
“Given that our institution has consistently produced more female graduates—averaging 60% of graduates over the past six years—we are committed to seeing more women in leadership roles within these fields. We also have other initiatives like the VCP Strategic Fund for Female Academics at USP, which aims to increase the number of women in academia across various disciplines,” Professor Ahluwalia stated.
“Having specific data will enable us to better support our staff in their career progression within the institution. Any advancement of women at USP translates to an advancement of women across the region.”
The project includes collaboration with USP, Fiji National University, National University of Samoa, Solomon Islands National University, Western Sydney University, and Science in Australia Gender Equity Ltd.
The focus will be on collecting and analyzing data to develop solutions and foster transformative change for women in STEM within the Pacific context. This will include gathering insights from USP students on STEM leadership role models, conducting baseline audits, and providing recommendations for interventions such as policy changes and training programs.
The project is funded by Pacific Women Lead at SPC and supported by the Australian Government.