Leadership Program for Senior Academic Women (LPSAW) received the accolade at the Australian Institute of Training and Development’s 2018 National Training Excellence Awards.

UOW received the award because it demonstrated best practices in developing and delivering an effective leadership development program targeted to women aspiring to be leaders or who are in executive level positions.

Established in 2016 as a key initiative under the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Pilot, LPSAW was designed to address an identified gap in the ongoing support UOW provided to female academics aspiring to move into leadership roles.

Program coordinator and UOW’s professional and organisational development services manager Lorraine Denny said the 10-month program has already achieved results, with 74 per cent of participants assuming a leadership role since starting the program and 21 per cent successful in applying for senior leadership positions.

Across the institution, the program has contributed to a nine per cent increase in female representation in senior academic leadership roles, such as Associate Deans or Deputy Directors.

Ms Denny said the team was very pleased to win the award over entries from Cbus with Mercer Consulting and the Royal Australian Navy.

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“The judges were impressed by the program’s impact considering the limited resources and tight time constraints for delivery, and because it was developed entirely in-house,” she said.

“Establishing and developing this program has been a remarkable team effort. I want to acknowledge the good work of all the academic and professional development staff involved.”

The program is continuing in 2018 and into 2019, with at least 40 women putting themselves forward as new participants.