Previous Blogs

Previous Blogs


 4 October 2016  Why aren't there more women in senior roles in higher education? Mark recently spoke at the 2016 Higher Equity Summit in Sydney organised by Campus Review.  His topic was “Why Aren’t There More Women In Senior Roles in Higher Education?” and his talk can be found here. 
 3 August 2016  Mark's comment on 'Vicious Circle' in advertising industry Dr Mark Toner comments on 'Vicious circle' in advertising industry, following shock statements by Chairman of Saatchi and Saatchi. Read full article here. 
22 July 2016 Marks address at the 2016 SAGE Symposium

Dr Mark Toner was a panelist for the session Not Just a “Women’s Problem”: Working With Men on Equity and Diversity. The video is available on YouTube at this link:   https://youtu.be/PuNWs8CWkcg
1 March 2016 Australasian Science Magazine Our article on bias in Australasian Science, March 2016, can be found here. 
19 February 2016  Men have 'learnt to mask sexism in workplace'  Gender Matters' director Dr Mark Toner was quoted in an article by John Ross in The Australian on 19 February 2016 with the byline:  'Unconscious bias training is a “tick-the-box exercise” that will not solve gender imbalances in the workplace, a former construction boss has warned'. 
Read more here.
17 February 2016 We need to come to terms with unconscious bias  

We need to come to terms with unconscious bias, Focus Magazine ATSE, February 2016

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22 December 2015           Unconscious Bias Training is not Enough - Part 2  Women's AGENDA's top story 22 December 2015 by Mark Toner. Part 2 following on from yesterday's part 1.

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21 December 2015 Unconscious Bias Training is not Enough - Part 1

Women's AGENDA's top story 21st December 2015 by Dr Mark Toner.

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2 November 2015
 Diverse Teams Perform Better, but .....    

Research has clearly shown that teams comprising members with diverse backgrounds, experiences, skills, gender, etc. perform better than homogenous teams or those with low diversity.  If you doubt this, imagine a team made up of clones of yourself.  How well would that team cope with complex business or personal issues, compared with a more diverse team?

The problem is that in-group bias causes us to naturally prefer to work with and mix with people similar to ourselves.  We are more comfortable with, and relate better to, people of similar background, skills, gender, personality type, etc. and those with whom we share common experiences in our past lives.  For example, we usually relate well to, and will favour, those with whom we have played team sports, or those who have been in class with us at school or university, or those we have worked with in a project team.  In-group bias is hardwired into our unconscious mind, so it is hard to consciously overcome it.

So although we know that working in a diverse team will generally produce better results and a more effective team overall, it will not be as comfortable for us as individuals as working in a more homogenous team with people like ourselves.  And research has shown that many people prefer to be more comfortable and have more fun at work rather than be more efficient, if they have to choose.  So how can organisations overcome the inclination of many of their staff members to choose not to join more diverse teams so they can be more comfortable and enjoy their work more?
3 September 2015
 Female Engineers Still Discriminated Against   

Fifty one per cent of female engineers attending a series of presentations and workshops for female engineers around the country believe that their career to date has suffered due to the simple fact that they are women.

To view complete article click here to download.