International Women’s Day at ARMI

As we mark International Women’s Day in 2025, the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) reaffirms its commitment to accelerating progress for women and all underrepresented groups in regenerative medicine.

Since the launch of our Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan in 2023, ARMI has made significant strides in fostering a more inclusive and equitable research environment. This plan was developed based on feedback from staff and students and continues to guide our efforts to empower individuals from diverse backgrounds to achieve research excellence.

Building on this foundation, we are refining our strategy to address evolving needs. We remain focused on removing barriers that hinder innovation, particularly for women, but also for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTQIA+ individuals, persons with disabilities, and those from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds. Recognising the importance of intersectionality, we understand that overlapping identities often create unique challenges—and opportunities—that must be addressed holistically.

Some key initiatives already underway include:

• The ARMI internal Parental Leave Grant scheme, which provides monetary support to assist staff members, inclusive of all sexual and gender orientations, in navigating the period of parental leave.
• A provision for parents/carers in ARMI’s internal Travel Grant Scheme.
• Revised ARMI’s onboarding process to provide early and appropriate support for people with diverse perspectives and ideas.
• Shifting power dynamics through implementing strategies to ensure all voices are heard during meetings and are considered in the creation of meeting agendas.

We also recognise the need for gender equity at all levels of leadership. Career disruptions due to parental leave and caregiving responsibilities, and unconscious bias disproportionately affect women’s career advancement in research. To address this, ARMI is committed to equal gender representation of candidates invited to recruitment interviews, and for their careers to be assessed relative to opportunity.

Importantly, our work is far from over. An additional survey will soon be conducted to assess the implementation of strategies within our priority areas and allow the ARMI community to guide how we address these issues and accelerate progress. 

“When researchers from different genders, backgrounds, cultures and disciplines come together, they bring unique insights that can lead to new questions, solutions, and discoveries,” says A/Professor Jennifer Zenker, Head of ARMI’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. “Diverse research teams, like our staff and students at ARMI, are more likely to challenge conventional thinking, stimulating creative thinking outside the box.”

As we look ahead, we reaffirm that diversity is not just beneficial but essential for tackling the complex challenges in regenerative medicine. By fostering an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive, we enhance our collective capacity for innovation and discovery.