The achievement of gender parity in a large astrophysics research centre

In Australian astronomy, women’s representation remains at historic lows, despite a decade of initiatives aimed at improving the representation and support of women in astronomy and academia more generally. Drawing from research in the fields of sociology and psychology, we designed a new evidence-based programme to increase the percentage of women recruited and retained in astronomy. We applied identical recruitment methods to 47 fixed-term postdoctoral positions across nine universities from 2017 to 2022 within the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D). Through this method, ASTRO 3D achieved 50% women personnel in five years, including 56% women postdocs and 52% women students recruited. A tipping point was reached at 40% women overall, after which women students enrolled in the centre in accelerating numbers. Evidence-based retention initiatives were highly successful, yielding greater retention of women than men. The percentage of women in teams correlated strongly with the team lead gender, highlighting the importance of diverse team leadership. This work presents a clear pathway for organizations to achieve and retain gender diversity within postdoctoral and student cohorts without quotas. The ASTRO 3D Centre of Excellence achieved 50% women personnel over a 5 yr time-frame by implementing a suite of evidence-based recruitment and retention initiatives. These initiatives changed how postdoctoral researchers were recruited and helped to develop a supportive and positive culture.