PWIA Consultancy
Stopping sexism in academia
Only the coaching service for women remains available. Information about the other services has been archived for reading purposes only.
Universities
Universities can get independent reviews of womens’ application for promotion to increase the transparency of their decision-making and boost institutional reputation.
Women
Women can get non-gender blind support and editing for their application for promotion to help fully convey their worth and boost their chances of success.
Funders
Funders can get independent reviews of research grant proposals to increase womens’ equitable representation as thought leaders.
All this and more!
See you when you’re ready
Recommendation 10
That all universities include in promotions policies and/or guidelines a requirement that an EEO representative or person with an equity brief be involved to monitor the process and the results to ensure that cultural and equity issues are addressed.
Recommendation 12
That all universities implement special initiatives to encourage and assist women applicants.
Recommendation 8
That all universities include in promotions policies and/or guidelines a requirement that committee chairs and members complete training on gender equity prior to the first meeting of the committee.
Need independent advice?
Are you a university looking for independent advice on how to promote women to Full Professor at the same rate as men? Do you want to move beyond the ample evidence of gender inequity and well-intentioned strategic plans, and really implement the equitable upward mobility of women? This service can help you. It meets 3 of 12 recommendations made to the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee (AVCC).
I understand how academic progression works.
I will ensure you feel safe to speak as you navigate confronting information.
I am unafraid of the size of this challenge.
I am using my experiences to help future women scholars receive timely recognition, and universities meet/exceed the gender targets they have set for themselves.
When universities attain an independent review:
You show your women scholars you are doing the most you can to redress gender inequity and not resting on laurels.
You provide your women scholars a confidential outlet to disclose all the barriers to career progression they have experienced.
You make more informed and confident decisions by engaging with someone knowledgeable and trustworthy to speak the truth, while simultaneously being safe and professional.
You increase trust and transparency of the process of academic progression.
You acknowledge and address the real problem - not individual women, but structural differences in power and privilege.
In addition to assisting universities, this service also offers:
1:1 coaching for women scholars on draft applications for promotion.
Safe facilitated workshops for university decision-makers on setting gender equity goals.
Seminar presentations and keynote addresses on gender inequity in academia.
Independent review of journal articles for editors preliminarily considered unsuitable for full peer review.
Independent review of grant applications for funders for proper appraisal of performance relative to opportunity
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I provide universities independent review of applications for promotion increasing the transparency of their process, and my recommendation is more informed of how to adjust for unequal access to opportunity for each woman scholar that is reviewed.
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Using your current draft application, we will talk through your specific professional experiences to date and your plans for the future, so that how you finally tell your story about why you are such an asset to your university and worth recognising and investing in is as clear for them as possible. Your academic level should always be commensurate with your qualifications, knowledge, and experience - not below it.
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I provide opportunity to decision-makers from all faculties to come together and deeply and safely reflect on their current gender equity strategies, quotas, policies, practices, and plans. You may be stuck in a conversation not progressing well, and an independent informed consultant is a good circuit-breaker for getting things moving again at the pace required.
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It’s a complex conversation, no doubt. A less confronting way to engage with that complexity is to just listen and learn. Humans are quick to defensive reactivity, and researchers are quick to critique. Dadirri is an Aboriginal word that means to actively and deeply listen. If you will be so kind as to do this for me, I will be so kind to oblige.
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If you recognise that you have immense power to gate-keep knowledge, have been trained to value quantitative data and western empiricism above all else, receive angry emails from women who can write articulately, and/or feel a tussle with wanting to protect your journal’s reputation, I have ears that are willing to listen and see you through to a final decision about whether a paper should be sent out for review and how to treat her respectfully throughout the peer-review process.
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If you have shortlisted a woman scholar with a project proposal that reviewers unanimously agree is exceptional, but they differ in opinion about the size of her track record because some are falling more than others for ‘the numbers game’ that neoliberal academia reduces intellect and impact to, then I can conduct a more sensitive, precise, and accurate independent review of her gendered performance relative to opportunity to assist in your final decision-making.
‘Capitalism is sexist’ - Nancy Fraser.
It depends on separating productive from reproductive labour, treating the latter as a naturally occurring resource to be exploited, with no means made for replenishment. She creates and cares for the workforce for free. Currently, there are no independent review bodies governing how universities conduct their business. They are an unregulated ‘marketplace’. When universities make their own choice to engage in independent processes that increase the transparency of their systems, the invisible organisational trust that is bought is without bounds. A small investment goes very far. Find out the fee structure for independent reviews so we can get started on making your university seen as trustworthy.
Coaching
Understandably, the most popular ancillary service is coaching. But women don’t need to engage this if they know they don’t really need it or can’t afford it. The historic and systemic devaluing of women is not their problem to fix.
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Are you a woman scholar who wants a fairer, more transparent, non-metricised assessment of your application for promotion? Do you want an independent ‘foot-up’ to help your worth be more accurately seen by your university?
If you have a good idea about how to write a promotions application, but are still concerned about possible gender-insensitive decision-making, then contact me. I can let your university know that you want an independent review of your application.
Some of us already hurtfully know that good hard work is not enough, nor is it equally rewarded. If you know you have done your best effort with your application, the cost of correcting for injustice does not belong to you.
If universities can’t see how much money you’ve made them, you’ve got a slog on your hands. Neoliberal academia treats human capital as a financial liability (not an investment) until that person can prove they are a financial asset. I’m here to help you safely explain why that money was not easy to come by, and why you are still equally valuable to the core business of teaching and research to someone for whom it was easier. The university is its staff and students, not its management. You are not inferior to them, and they do not have special knowledge over you.
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whose professional experiences have been so unjust that having an empathic ear to talk it through would be helpful
who have not been through the promotions process before, or at the higher levels, and so have no real idea about expectations
who want to learn about the game of ‘self promotion’ and then make empowered self determined choices about how to speak like the woman and person they are
who do not have access to free independent review of their draft application from colleagues
who want a careful double-checking that each criteria for promotion has been fully written to
who want to talk about how and why academic progression became so difficult and unfair to better understand their own experiences, and/or
who would just feel better having knowledgeable independent eyes check their application before submission.
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What is deemed good depends on who is judging it, why they are judging it, and what they are looking for. If it sounds like what they would write - it feels familiar - it gets a higher rating. If they have nothing to part with like more salary to budget for or potential threat to reputation then it also gets a higher rating. Ask for a testimonial and watch the generous positive comments fly in. Ask for a review and you’ll scratch your head at how the same piece of work could attract such scathing or unpredictable feedback. Make sure the right people are on the panel deciding the worth of your labour and ideas. I’m here to be one of those voices. I’ll be looking for reasons to rule you in.
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Find out the fee structure for coaching so we can get started on working together if this is what you really want.
Where you can jump to
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Unconscious sexist bias is not exempt from trying to be held to account. Women want to be seen for the women they are, not the men they are not. White privilege and patriarchy preserve the same decision-making structures and biases. Good intentions are a good start, but they are not enough. Big and kind disruption is required to turn it into good action.
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In the independent review, I act as a confidential broker. I hear the full true story of applicants’ barriers to career progression they may not feel safe to share with their employer, and based on adjustments of these make informed recommendations to commissioning universities about whether they be promoted in the current round. Universities can then trust that their final decision is more holistic, while protecting the applicant’s privacy. Also check out Why do more and How the process works for more information on the primary service offered here.
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This website is packed with hard-hitting truth. The bold style will either put people off or jolt them out of complacency. Those leaning toward the first can still use this website as a resource to inspire deep honest conversations and better grapple with implementing gender equity internally, and those leaning toward the second can expect to receive a safe respectful service that sees your bravery and thanks you for it. Check out Tips for women academics and Not fun facts | Reading too, to help wrap your head around the bigger picture.
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Are you a woman in tears about your professional setbacks and stuck on how to convey your worth? Are you a university wondering why your gender equity goals were not met and want to design some new ones? Are you a journal editor or research grant board member on the other end of an angry letter but recognise she has a point? Do you want to just listen to some of the things talked about on this website? For any of these reasons, your contact is welcome. Maybe also check out The story behind the service, Language, Bio, and Allyship to learn a bit more about me, and Fees and Store to get started.
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Accuracy of the world’s knowledge depends on looking at data that both confirms and challenges patterns. Failing to do so also hypocritically perpetrates the same social injustice of exclusion. I therefore welcome emails from men with stories to tell about their sexist discrimination. If you can relate to the things that women scholars have persistently reported and experienced in academia for decades, I am all ears.
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Humour is an important coping mechanism when coming to terms with the unfathomable size and nature of social injustice. But some of us think we’re funny when we’re not. Bad humour perpetrates injustice further. Good humour reduces it. It fundamentally requires non-defensive non-competing self-awareness and humility to learn. Bring it with you, we need it!
If you’re ready to explore more deeply, let’s slowly dive in…
“Dr. Pooja Sawrikar understands the problem of gender inequity and has developed strategies that will increase the profile of women in academic settings. Her knowledge of the field is broad, her research is clear and compelling, and her devotion to her clients shows the passion with which she approaches her work.”
— Dr. Paula Stone Williams, TED Speaker on Issues of Gender Equity, CEO RLT Pathways Inc.
What people are saying
Special Issue on Gender Equity and Academic Progression
When does a ‘shadow CV’ - the typically unseen list of rejections and failures - move from being something that grows grit and resilience to something that reveals structural sexism?
Quick links
For universities
What the assessment offers - Independent review of applications for promotion
Other services - Seminars and facilitated workshops
Store - Universities
For women
Other services - Coaching
Store - Self-help
Store - Discussion-based coaching (single or small group)
Store - Editing services included
For funders and editors
Other services - Independent review of track record on grant proposals
Other services - Pro bono independent checks on manuscript readability and merit
Store - Grant reviews
