The ASP supports multiculturalism and anti-discrimination including non-discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or disability.
The ASP recognises the importance of participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and welcomes all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and all indigenous researchers from all countries. See our principles and by-laws for more information.
Policy on Gender Equality at the 2022 Australian Society for Parasitology Annual Conference
The Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. recognises and values the wealth of talent, creativity and discoveries achieved by women in the fields of tropical medicine and parasitology. We acknowledge that women continue to be underrepresented in the fields, particularly at senior levels, and in the diverse countries that constitute attendance at the congress. See our principles and by-laws for more information.
This goal of gender equality in our discipline is vitally important for two reasons. The first reason relates to the science we conduct. We recognise that women are under-represented at congresses, both in invitations to speak and in participation. Thus, the important contributions and discoveries made by a significant portion of our community remain under-recognised. Secondly, it is understood that career development in the sciences is driven, not only by publication output, but also by prestige measures, such as active and invited participation in scientific conferences. Equal representation at conferences is thus important for women to thrive and develop in their careers.
2022 ASP Annual Conference seeks to be a meeting that is committed to gender equality. We will seek to achieve the following:
- As a congress held in the Australian State of Queensland, ASP 2022 will adhere to the Queensland Women’s Strategy as it applies to the activities of the conference. The policy can be found online https://www.csyw.qld.gov.au/campaign/womens-strategy/queensland-womens-strategy
- ASP 2022 will be a scientific venue that actively seeks equality for all participants. The congress will strive to achieve gender balance at all levels of the congress. We will aim to achieve gender balance among plenary and invited presentations, contributed papers and session chairs. In all aspects, the principle we adopt will be that all participants to have equal opportunity for representation, regardless of gender.
- We aim to present ASP 2022 as a safe place for scientific engagement and discussion. We thus strive to promote responsible participation in congress business and social events by all delegates and committee members, so that all participants can experience full benefit from the congress.
- To promote ASP 2022 as the model for future ASP conferences so that gender equality is achieved in all conferences and events. This goal will be achieved by:
- Working with ASP to adopt a strong Gender Equality policy
- Working with conference partners, sponsors and co-hosts to ensure that they adopt and enact gender equality policies at the outset of their conference organisation.
- Audit the ASP 2022 Conference to gauge how we have performed in gender equality and to use this information to guide development of future conferences.