Abstract
The first recorded Aboriginal person to graduate with an undergraduate qualification from any Australian university was Aboriginal woman Margaret Williams-Weir in 1959 (Melbourne University, 2018). Williams-Weir graduated with a Diploma in Education. There have now been six decades of graduating Indigenous Australian women in the discipline of education, and many other disciplines. In this article, we explore Indigenous women’s presence in higher education through the narratives of our lives as Aboriginal women within education and the lives of other Indigenous women, noting their achievements and challenges. We acknowledge that while the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women participating in university study and becoming engaged in education as a discipline at undergraduate and postgraduate levels has increased, we are still significantly underrepresented. Similarly, while we have seen increases in Indigenous university staff within the education discipline, the employment of Indigenous academics has not reached parity with non-Indigenous academics levels and too few are employed in the professoriate and in senior management positions. We will show how we would not have been able to develop our education careers within higher education without the bridges built by those like Dr Williams-Weir and others who went before us. We will share how we have worked to establish the footings for those Indigenous women who will follow us and others. In this way, we work within the context that is for the now and the future.
Indigenous women in the academy
The recorded first Aboriginal person to graduate from any Australian university was Aboriginal woman Dr Margaret Williams-Weir in 1959 (Melbourne University, 2018). Dr Williams-Weir graduated with a Diploma of Physical Education and went on to undertake further studies. Since Margaret’s graduation there has been a steady growth of Indigenous women participating in Australian universities. Some of these graduates have undertaken further study and many continue to work in the field of education. In this article, we seek to explore Indigenous women’s presence in higher education noting their experiences. We do this through narratives of our own lives as Aboriginal women within education and through the lives of other Indigenous women. We acknowledge that while more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are participating in university study, and becoming engaged in education as a discipline at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, we are still significantly underrepresented (Page, Trudgett, & Sullivan, 2017).
While there has been changes to our participation rates, our attrition and completion rates do not compare favourably with other Australian students. For example, in 2010, we did not enter university with the same prior attainment compared to non-Indigenous students, we were more likely to be mature age students, to study in external mode and to undertake a bridging or enabling course and complete our degrees over an extended period (Behrendt, Larkin, Griew, & Kelly, 2012; Fredericks, Kinnear, Daniels, Croft-Warcon, & Mann, 2017). This despite the fact that most universities have developed and implemented Indigenous Education Strategies, Indigenous Employment Strategies and Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs) following recommendations from the Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People (2012) and the development of the Universities Australia Indigenous Strategy 2017–2020 (Universities Australia, 2017). Being successful at university has historically been fraught with challenges for Indigenous Australians.
Prior to the late 1960s, educational outcomes were not generally successful and university qualifications were virtually out of reach for many Indigenous people. This was mainly due to a heavily western-based school curriculum, which prevented Indigenous people from achieving the prerequisites needed for gainful employment and further study. Additionally, racism towards Indigenous people, and the lack of respect for Indigenous knowledges and ways of learning led to many Indigenous people suffering badly. Consequently, education was not seen as being of great benefit for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Nevertheless, Indigenous women have always been at the forefront of our push to gain an education and standing within the academy. Our women very early on, as the backbones of our communities, recognised the importance of being educated and gaining university qualifications to bring about the dramatic changes needed to participate in the broader economy and to improve our standing in Australian society. This meant being visible, being active and being in a position to initiate and influence change. A good education and professional qualifications, though no guarantee, were seen as a way to empower individuals and to contribute to Indigenous self-determination and self-management.
As with many of those who came before us, Indigenous women still frequently come to study later in life and are the first in their families to undertake a university education. Many already had/have their own families and struggled to meet the demands of study as well as family, work and community obligations. Those that progressed to postgraduate studies, particularly research degrees, found that they did not have many strong role models or culturally supportive supervisors, and that Indigenous research methodologies were not recognised or valued. As Indigenous women joined the university academic staff, they were more often located in Indigenous support units (ISUs) where they were further isolated and marginalised. Their roles were and still are uniquely complex. It was very difficult for them to progress their careers not just because of the multiple demands in their lives, but significantly because they lacked support within the institution. In many ways, although there has been some improvement of our positioning within the university sector, cracking the ‘black glass ceiling’ is still deeply challenging. Despite these obstacles, it is important to recognise how far Indigenous women have progressed in their journeys in traversing these challenges within the academy.
Indigenous women participating in the academy
Australian women are underrepresented in the professoriate and in senior executive level positions and hold far fewer senior faculty positions than men (Australian Government, 2016). Of those that are employed in faculty positions, over half of all women are employed at lecturer and below lecturer level positions, 44.7% of Senior Lecturer faculty positions and just 31.7% of above senior Lecturer positions (Australian Government, 2016). At the same time, there were just 850 fractional and full-time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women employed within Australian universities in both faculty and professional roles. In 2017, this number was 835 (Australian Government, 2017). This is in contrast to the 68,625 women employed in Australian universities (Australian Government, 2016). Very few of the 835 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are in what would be seen as senior positions, which is also in contrast to non-Indigenous women (Australian Government, 2016, 2017). Moving through the academic ranks and securing positions within the professoriate and within management is difficult and there is not a clear pipeline for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. We also note that Indigenous women who have moved the academy do not receive the same amount of recognition for their individual and academic performance as their non-Indigenous colleagues (Frawley, Nolan, & White, 2009; Fredericks & White, 2011; White, 2007).
Despite the challenges Indigenous women have faced and continue to face, we now have more Indigenous women in senior roles in the university sector. There are certainly greater numbers in the professoriate which include women in Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous specific) roles. While there has been some flow through of Indigenous women to senior levels, there is without doubt a pooling of academics within Indigenous studies or within Indigenous education support, access or Indigenous project or program initiatives (Australian Government, 2016). There has not been the same flow through in other areas of employment across the higher education sector. While it is easy to say and dismiss it under the premise that ‘Indigenous people want to work with their own people’, this over simplifies the reality, minimises Indigenous opportunities and also denies the inherent racism and biases embedded within the higher education system that blocks Indigenous progression and maintains the ‘black glass ceiling’.
The questions that need to be asked are: What if Indigenous people want to progress through a faculty, school or through the senior ranks to management within higher education? What skills, experiences and qualifications do Indigenous people have that are aligned and transferrable across our universities? These questions are relevant considering we have not seen a significant shift from Indigenous people working in Indigenous specific areas to broader academic employment across the Australian higher education sector. Nor have we witnessed Indigenous academics’ progression into senior academic roles or executive management positions, such as disciplinary professor, Dean, Pro Vice-Chancellor (other than Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Education/Leadership roles), Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC), Vice-President, Vice-Chancellor or President. This stratified Indigenous workforce within Indigenous specific areas has resulted in minimal opportunities for progression and witnessed people leaving the sector, changing institutions and increasingly becoming disillusioned with the espoused notions of diversity, inclusion and valuing Indigenous peoples. This silo and stratified approach to Indigenous employment remains despite reviews being undertaken and alternative strategies being written (e.g. Behrendt et al., 2012; IHEAC, 2008, 2011; Moreton-Robinson, Walter, Singh, & Kimber, 2011; Universities Australia, 2011).
It is problematic that within the discipline of education itself and despite thousands of Indigenous graduates, including Indigenous women graduates, with education undergraduate degrees, and increasing numbers with masters and PhD degrees we see few Indigenous people move through the ranks of the education schools or faculties outside of the narrow field of Indigenous education. We assert very clearly here that our degrees cover the whole breadth of the field of education, just like our non-Indigenous colleagues. More often than not, Indigenous graduates with education degrees have worked in mainstream primary and secondary schools and have taught all children in our classrooms, and not just Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. But somehow when we come back into universities as staff, these experiences are negated and we tend to be sidelined or asked to teach within the field of Indigenous education based on our Indigeneity. This is also regardless of whether or not we have undertaken specialised studies in teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students while undertaking our qualifications or professional development opportunities. This in and of itself is also problematic considering the diversity of Indigenous experiences and knowledges.
What happens, with regards to the stratified Indigenous workforce, is in direct contrast to non-Indigenous men and women who progress in significant numbers through the academic ranks all the way through to senior roles (Fredericks & White, 2011). Indigenous women do not move through the ranks like their non-Indigenous women colleagues, who in some cases have similar qualifications, experiences and skills. Moreover, we witness non-Indigenous women promoted or recruited through processes which deems their knowledge, skills and experiences as transferable to other areas, including at times to other areas in which they have minimal or no qualifications, experiences and skills. Non-Indigenous women benefit from gender policies in ways that Indigenous women do not. In addition, when Aboriginal women do benefit from such policies they are revered for ‘making it’ and for ‘achieving’ and pushing through the ‘glass ceiling’. In essence, it is a case of women from the dominant culture taking up positions alongside men from the dominant culture, including in senior roles. Few non-Indigenous women provide promotion or recruitment opportunities for Indigenous women in ways that enable Indigenous women to move through the ranks of the academy to senior roles and in this way they are complicit in the system that biases Indigenous women and maintains the stratified Indigenous workforce. It also further embeds women from the dominant culture as privileged over and above Indigenous women and participants in the ongoing subjugation of Indigenous women.
So far, what we have shared in this article is a small glimpse of the challenges, frustrations and experiences of Indigenous women in the academy that we talk about when sharing with each other. We are acutely aware how gender, class and race intersect to work against us in ways that continue to marginalise and oppress us and maintain the status quo within the higher education sector (Fredericks, 2009, 2008, 2007; Moreton-Robinson, 2000; Smith, 1999; White 2010, 2011). When we as Indigenous women question the status quo we can be faced with looks of surprise, white fragility, hostility, and responses that align more along with us being ungrateful as ‘things are changing, albeit slowly’ and when ‘so much has been tried’. In all of this, it is us who are being problematicised and not the people and the system that maintains, protects and insulates itself. We know that it is not just Indigenous women in higher education today that face these issues, and that there were many that went before us that faced not only these but also other issues (Fredericks, 2011a, 2011b; White 2010). Indigenous women are trailblazers who carved out new tracks for other Indigenous women to follow. It is to some of these women we now turn.
The trailblazers
The historical involvement of Indigenous women in education in higher education has taken place over five decades against a backdrop of Indigenous struggle in the fight for rights to land, social justice and equity in areas such as health, housing and employment. As part of this endeavour, a number of notable Indigenous women emerged whose forays into the white, non-Indigenous male dominated world of universities, laid the groundwork for generations of Indigenous women to follow. These strong Indigenous women include the indomitable Margaret Williams-Weir, a Malera Bandjalang woman, who became the first Aboriginal person in 1959 to graduate from an Australian University. Shortly before she passed away in 2015, Dr Williams-Weir was recognised for her contribution to the development of Indigenous education by the University of Melbourne.
Similarly, while we have seen increases in Indigenous university staff within the education discipline, the employment of Indigenous academics has not reached parity levels with non-Indigenous academics and too few are employed in the professoriate and in senior management positions. Moreover, the complexity of their roles, together with the demands of higher education requirements to teach, research and publish are challenging particularly to Indigenous women academics who may have come to study late in life and are still in the process of developing careers within the demands of family and work commitments. We will show how we would not have been able to develop our education careers within higher education without the bridges built by those like Dr Williams-Weir and others who went before us. We will share how we have worked to establish the footings for those Indigenous women who will follow us and others. In this way, we work within the context that is for the now and the future.
Like Williams-Weir, there have been a number of Indigenous women of influence who have helped to build the foundations for the Indigenous female presence in universities across Australia. Among those are women such as Margaret Valadian (AO), Marcia Langton, Maryann Bin Sallik, Pat O’Shane, Linda Burney, Aileen Moreton-Robinson, Tracey Bunda, Eleanor Bourke, Larissa Behrendt, Lowitja O'Donoghue, Patricia Dudgeon, Helen Milroy, and many others. We make special mention here of,
Maryann Bin Sallik who in 1975 was the first Indigenous person to be employed as a Lecturer in an Australian university. She was additionally the first Indigenous person to gain a doctorate from Harvard University in 1989 and later edited and published her book, Aboriginal Women by Degrees: Their Stories of the Journey Towards Academic Achievement (2000) documenting the lives and achievements of 13 Indigenous women in gaining university qualifications. Pat O’Shane who in 1994 was the first Indigenous Australian to be appointed a university Chancellor: Pat O'Shane (University of New England). Misty Jenkins became the first Indigenous person in 2007 to study at Oxford University and then Cambridge University, after completing a PhD in immunology at Melbourne University. Rebecca Richards became Australia’s first Indigenous Rhodes Scholar in 2010. Bronwyn Fredericks became the first Indigenous person to Chair an Academic Board/Senate of an Australian university in 2012, a position she held until 2018. Marcia Langton was the Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies and in 2017 was appointed as the first Associate Provost at the University of Melbourne. Both Marcia Langton and Aileen Moreton-Robinson were the first Indigenous people to be awarded the title of Distinguished Professor in 2016 and 2017.
This is only a small list of amazing Indigenous women. There are many others and we apologise if we have left any woman of note from this group.
To date, we have not seen any Indigenous women achieve roles such as Vice-Chancellor, DVC of International, Development, Student Services, Governance, Research, Academic or Engagement or a Pro Vice-Chancellor of Learning and Teaching, Vocational Education, Research, International Relations, Development, Advancement and so forth. This is despite the many areas that Indigenous women in senior roles work across and are involved in within higher education and the skills, experience and qualifications we hold. Nor have we witnessed Indigenous women having been offered acting roles in these other roles as development opportunities which enable them to transcend from their specialised Indigenous Pro Vice-Chancellor or Dean roles into broader university management. This is in direct contrast to non-Indigenous colleagues who are not only offered acting opportunities in areas in which they work, but have the privilege afforded to them of translating their skills to new areas. Moreover, many non-Indigenous colleagues have Indigenous centres and programs under their portfolio areas of operational responsibility, with or without any knowledge, experience and qualifications in Indigenous education or research.
In the early days, it was sheer hard work chipping away at the walls of institutional resistance. With little resources and often poor accommodation located on the fringes of campuses, ISUs, where many of our women worked, became valuable learning spaces and cultural refuges for Indigenous students and staff. In looking across the Australian higher education sector, there are still ISUs located in overcrowded, poorer quality buildings on the fringes of campuses. In these situations, the spaces needed for and by Indigenous staff and students are not given the same consideration as the spaces needed by staff and students in engineering, allied health, chancellery, agriculture, medicine, and so on. A quick look around some campuses very clearly demonstrates that this differential resourcing is the case and has been the case for years despite the valuable work by the ISUs in support of Indigenous students.
Through perseverance, determination and tireless work, our sisters helped many others realise their dreams and gain professional qualifications. They worked hard to try to make some of their non-Indigenous peers in universities realise that we were capable university students and then graduates and we were not going away – that we were here to stay. From those humble beginnings, the Indigenous presence has grown to a place where: ‘Australia’s universities have begun to reflect the vast contribution to Australia – both foundational and continuing – of its first peoples and cultures, and foster deeper public understanding of that contribution’ (Universities Australia, 2017, foreword).
Undoubtedly, without the women who walked the road before us, we would not be in the position in which we are today. Their leadership and remarkable journeys have inspired and will continue to motivate and encourage the current and future generations of Indigenous women to greater achievements within the academy, as well as in the larger Australian society. They were the early warriors in a university environment that had not previously embraced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. They were trailblazers – they paved the way for other Indigenous women, now we are obligated to honour these women and to build on their hard work.
Where we are now – Current positioning of Indigenous women in universities
A greater number of Indigenous women is studying, working, teaching and researching in Australian universities than ever before. While the figures are certainly heartening there is still much to be done and a long way to go before we reach parity with other Australians in terms of university enrolments, completions, staffing and senior appointments. To this end, the Universities Australia Indigenous Strategy 2017–2020 calls for universities to be committed to better Indigenous outcomes for Indigenous students and staff. Specifically, to:
increase the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participating in higher education as students, as graduates and as academic and research staff; increase the engagement of non-Indigenous people with Indigenous knowledge, culture and educational approaches; and improve the university environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
(Universities Australia, 2017, Executive Summary)
There have been some gains made with a slowly increasing number of Indigenous undergraduates and with an increasing number moving through to postgraduate studies, including PhD degrees. In 2014, Bock wrote that: Just 55 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were awarded PhDs in Australia from 1990 to 2000, but 219 students earned PhDs in the 11 years to 2011, a fourfold increase, according to the Department of Education. A remarkable 143 PhDs were awarded in the five years to 2012, according to the last available data. Moreover, 324 indigenous students were enrolled in PhDs in Australia in 2012. According to the last census data, 362 indigenous Australians had PhDs in 2011, including honorary or overseas doctorates; 28 doctorates were awarded in 2012 in Australia and data for 2013 is still to be added, so it's likely the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with PhDs in Australia has topped 400. (p. 1)
Indigenous women’s current leadership in the academy
In recent decades, increasing numbers of Indigenous women have been employed as professional and academic staff. However, as previously discussed, Indigenous women tend to be employed at lower levels than their male counterparts (Australian Government, 2016) as illustrated by more Indigenous men being employed at professorial and senior lecturer levels than Indigenous women (DEEWR, 2011a, 2011b). This tends to reflect the dominant male hierarchy that has been an historical feature of university governance.
Page et al. (2017) write that in 2015, there were only 18 senior Indigenous positions across 17 universities and that – disappointingly – 22 institutions failed to include an Indigenous specific position within their executive structures. This caps the progression of Indigenous people, including Indigenous women, and is also reflect by Indigenous people not progressing through faculty and management roles as their non-Indigenous peers do. Unless this changes, very little will change within the Australian higher education sector. Gunstone (2013) argues the critical importance of Indigenous people participating in leadership and governance within Australian universities when he says: The involvement of Indigenous people in university leadership and governance is an essential factor in addressing both (the) disempowerment and the educational aspirations of Indigenous people in universities. (p. 1)
Universities Australia (2017) state that ‘It is the responsibility of universities, individually and collectively, to create an environment that enables successful higher education experiences and fruitful careers for all members of society’ (p. 17). Through their Indigenous Education Strategies, all universities are required to demonstrate ‘a commitment to effective Indigenous workforce strategies include measures for recruitment, retention, promotion and development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff’ and for the employment of at least one Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person in a senior executive role (Universities Australia, 2017, p. 32).
But there needs to be a major shift in the work culture of universities to build a strong Indigenous workforce. It is not just about numbers. It is about providing culturally safe workplaces where Indigenous staff members are free from racism and sexism, where Indigenous knowledges and cultural identity are respected and where staff are encouraged and supported to develop their capabilities and career paths (Fredericks & Bargallie, 2016; White et al., 2009). We are not yet in that place and we need to be working solidly towards those goals. We now turn to one example of a strategy in which we were both involved that did work and that formed a foundation for other work.
Tiddas Academic Leadership Workshops (2007–2009, 2010)
To assist Indigenous female academics develop their leadership skills, a series of Tiddas leadership workshops was funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) and later the Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) (Bunda & White, 2009). The first series from 2007 to 2009 was led by Professors Nereda White and Tracey Bunda and covered areas such as teaching, research and writing and developing academic careers. Guest speakers with tried university experience, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, encouraged and guided the women participants. Later, Professors Nereda White and Bronwyn Fredericks organised a Tiddas Writin’ Up Workshop (2010, 2011) to develop further Indigenous women’s academic writing. The Tidda Academic Leadership workshops were the first of their kind and greatly appreciated by the participants – many of whom were struggling to find their place within the academy. A successful outcome was the individual and collaborative publications that stemmed from the workshops. A special Tiddas Writin’ Up edition of the Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues was published, which contained Indigenous women’s creative and academic writings (Fredericks, White & Mills, 2014; Fredericks, White, Bunda, & Baker, 2011). The workshops also highlighted the needs of Indigenous women academics to encourage universities to provide greater support. These supports included allocation of time, space and support to write, recognition of Indigenous knowledges, opportunities to co-author and co-edit with established writers and researchers, mentoring programs as well as workshops on writing for publication and applying successfully for research grants (Fredericks, White, & Mills, 2014). This work assisted in providing a footing for all the women involved and has also resulted in continued engagement and work with each other over time. It is worthy of being built on for future work.
Establishing footings for those that follow
For our daughters and granddaughters – we ask ‘what is their future in the university sector’. Yes, we have come a long way, but there is still much to be done in terms of student numbers, staff numbers and levels of appointment. In 2015, 15,585 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were enrolled in universities equating to 1.6 per cent of all domestic enrolments (Universities Australia, 2017). With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people making up some 2.2% of the Australian population (Behrendt et al., 2012, p. 5), we should expect that Indigenous Australians would be participating proportionately to this level within higher education. We also lack representation as staff members and at senior levels in the university. We look forward to the appointment of more Indigenous professors, Deans, PVCs, DVCs and, hopefully, one day an Indigenous Vice Chancellor. And wouldn’t it be incredible if that person was an Indigenous woman!
If universities are serious about addressing outcomes for Indigenous people, they will need to lift their game. Increasing the numbers of students and staff is only part of the strategy needed. According to Universities Australia (2017), both retention and completion rates are far from satisfactory. Retention rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, while increasing (up from 69 per cent in 2009 to 71.2 per cent in 2014) remain well below all domestic students (79.9 per cent in 2014). Completion rates, too, remain relatively very low. Only 47.3 per cent of the 2006 cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander bachelor students had completed their degrees by 2014, compared with 73.9 per cent of non-Indigenous students from the same cohort. (p. 25)
Indigenous staff plays an important role not only by enabling universities to meet their targets for increased Indigenous participation and success but also by virtue of their knowledge, experience community and cultural strengths which enable them to enrich the university experience of all students. … universities can and must do more to improve Indigenous success in higher education and to better draw on the abilities, knowledge and leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff. (Universities Australia, 2017, p. 17)
Many Indigenous women have put in the hard yards but they alone cannot bring down the ‘black glass ceiling’. It will take a combined effort to make this happen. We acknowledge those women who have gone before us. Their legacy has been to inspire other Indigenous women to take up study, gain professional qualifications and – for some – to take their place as academics and researchers within the academy. Indigenous women, past, present and future….Tiddas in solidarity!
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.