While universities strive to bring gender equity in their workforce, especially in research, there are universities that are honing in on the needs of fathers
Three universities managed to make it in the top 20 workplaces for new dads in Australia, according to Direct Advice for Dads (DAD) – a resource site developed by WA-based health insurer HBF.
The service analysed the policies of the country’s 500 largest companies as well as worked with parenting and workplace experts for the ranking system.
Leading the three is Macquarie University, which ranked 7th place overall.
The University offers 14 weeks of paid parental leave for full-time employees, but another 12 weeks can be added if the employee has been in service for more than one year. The University also provides carers with 4 weeks’ worth of paid leave.
Macquarie also offers flexible work arrangements, school holiday vacation programs, as well as on-campus childcare options.
The second university to make into the list is the Australian National University (ANU), which placed 14th overall.
ANU offers annual or long service leave entitlements alongside 26 weeks’ worth of paid primary carer’s leave for fathers as well as flexible work arrangements and re-entry after a lengthy leave. Secondary carers can get three weeks’ worth of paid leave.
The third higher education institution to make it to the top 20, Curtin University of Technology, ranks 16th overall in Australia. In WA alone, the University placed second.
Professor Deborah Terry, who serves as Curtin’s vice-chancellor, said that their aim is to “ensure flexible work is encouraged, accessible, accomodated and embedded so that it simply becoems a narmal part of how we support staff”.
“We see parental leave and flexibility in the workplace as a fundamental approach that produces far-reaching benefits, both to our staff, and to our broader community as well,” Professor Terry said.
Aside from offering new fathers 14 weeks’-worth of paid primary care and three weeks’-worth of paid leave for secondary carers, Curtin has an on-site Early Childhood Centre for their employees, students and even nearby community with children who are five years old and younger.
In a bid to better suport their staff, Curtin is also developing a parenting guide which can serve as a “one-stop-shop” for the policies, procedures and opportunities available for staff before, during nd after their return to work.