Clare Burton Memorial Lectures 2000
In the latter half of 2000, a second series of Clare Burton Memorial Lectures were held around Australia. The lectures commemorate Dr Clare Burton, a leading researcher, public sector administrator, academic, consultant and writer on employment equity, who passed away suddenly in August 1998.
The lectures are hosted by ATN WEXDEV, at the five universities of the Australian Technology Network. These universities were joined as partners by University of Canberra, ANU and University of Tasmania. The lectures took place with the assistance of a number of significant public and private sector partners: McDonald's Australia Limited; ACT Chief Minister's Office; Centre for Research for Women, Western Australia; Department for Women, New South Wales; Office for the Status of Women, South Australia; Office of Women's Policy, Department of Equity & Fair Trading, Queensland; Office of Women's Policy, Department of Premier & Cabinet, Victoria; Public Service & Merit Protection Commission; Women's Policy Office, Western Australia.
The 2000 Lecture was given by Dr Jocelynne Scutt, Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner and was entitled Getting to First-Base When You've Struck a Home Run: Merit, Equality and the 'No Change' Principle in Workplace Culture, and focused attention on the continuing problem of equal pay for work of equal value.
The 2000 lectures were also an opportunity to raise funds for the Clare Burton Scholarship which will commemorate Clare Burton's life and continue her work by providing a scholarship for postgraduate study in gender equity at any of the universities of the ATN. The first scholarship will be awarded in 2001, a most appropriate tribute to Clare Burton's life and work.
Dr Colleen Chesterman, ATN WEXDEV,
and Dr Jocelynne Scutt at NSW Parliament House
RMIT University
19 September, 2000
RMIT University hosted a dinner and lecture in RMIT's Storey Hall. Nine tables (approximating 80 people) attended for a fund-raising dinner and another 40 came for the lecture alone.
Dr Jocelynne Scutt was introduced by Professor Helen Praetz, Pro Vice-Chancellor Teaching and Learning and was thanked after her challenging paper by professor Belinda Probert. The event was reported on ABC's AM program and also written up in The Australian. I also received a lot of inquiries and so did our corporate affairs from others in the media.
Curtin University of Technology
3 October, 2000
A very successful lunch was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Perth, attended by some 190 people from both the private and public sector. The lecture was supported by the Women's Policy Office, Centre for Research for Women, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and the Public Sector Management group in Western Australia.
Professor Mike Wood, Executive Dean of Curtin Business School, introduced Dr Jocelynne Scutt and spoke about Clare who was a personal friend of his. He encouraged the ATN to continue to celebrate her work with this annual series of lectures.
Professor Lesley Parker, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Curtin, responded to the speech. She used the analogy of hitting to first base and said that women could always try and hit the ball right out of the stadium or could use our knowledge of the game to play it the way we wanted.
In its coverage of the lecture, the West Australian of 5/10/00 noted that 'the glass ceiling has been overtaken by the concrete canopy, which paints a much grimmer picture for working women than its predecessor.'
University of South Australia
4 October 2000
Around 120 people attended the annual Clare Burton Memorial Lecture hosted by the University of South Australia in Brookman Hall. Professor Eleanor Ramsay, Pro Vice Chancellor (Equity and Development) chaired the evening.
Ms Josie Agius welcomed the audience on behalf of the Kaurna people. Dr Jocelynne Scutt delivered the memorial lecture. Ms Lindy Powell, first female president of the SA Law Society, and Associate Professor MaryAnn Bin-Sallik, Dean, College of Indigenous Education and Research, provided thought provoking responses to the lecture, and this was followed by a performance of the University of South Australia women's choir, who sang four songs, finishing with audience participation for 'Don't Be Too Polite, Girls'.
University of Canberra
5 October 2000
The ACT Lecture was presented with the support of University of Canberra and the Australian National University, as part of its Women of Influence series. One hundred and twenty people listened to the speech by Jocelynne Scutt, with additional contributions from Dr Meredith Edwards, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of University of Canberra and Professor Marion Sawer of ANU.
University of Tasmania
30 October 2000
Sixty people attended the lecture in Launceston, which was presented as part of the monthly University Forum series.
Queensland University of Technology
6 November 2000
The Clare Burton Memorial Lecture at QUT was attended by over 100 people from university, public/government and corporate sectors, who were welcomed by Glenys Fisher, of QUT Council. Mary Kelly, Director of Equity at QUT, showed a three-minute segment of a video of Clare Burton's talk at QUT's Carseldine campus in May 1998. This footage was appreciated by many who knew Clare personally and by those who had not had that privilege.
Karen Walters, Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, ably introduced Jocelynne. Professor Malcolm Cope, Dean of the Faculty of Law, thanked Jocelynne for an inspiring and provoking received and Mary Kelly closed encouraging support for the Clare Burton Memorial Scholarship fund.
University of Technology, Sydney
8 November 2000
UTS held a Clare Burton Dinner and Lecture at Parliament House, hosted by the Honourable Dr Meredith Burgmann, President of the Legislative Council of NSW, who also chaired the evening and welcomed over 400 guests from academia, business and the pulic sector. Ms Robyn Kemmis, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, UTS, paid tribute to Clare, who had been an academic at Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education, which amalgamated with UTS.
Following Jocelynne's lecture, Suzanne Hammond, of the National Pay Equity Coalition, thanked her and then brought the audience on up to date on current activity in pay equity. She urged groups and individuals to use the fact that the NSW had endorsed the equal remuneration principle. She argued for case by case study of undervaluation of women's work in particular work situations, as Rosemary Hunter had outlined in the 1999 Clare Burton lectures.
Two of Clare Burton's children, Kate Burton and Stephen Krinks, then recalled their mother's activism. They encouraged audience members to support the scholarship through donations.