Women in Research Webinar #37: Ask UQ’s Women ARC Laureate Fellows Anything!
- Feb 13
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 18
Ever wondered how women ARC Laureate Fellows navigate their careers to achieve what they do?
The Women in Research initiative brought the webinar series to life in person, hosting a special panel discussion and workshop to engage with some of The University of Queensland's most accomplished women ARC Laureate Fellows and gain firsthand insights into their academic journeys:
Professor Jolanda Jetten, Head of the School of Psychology
Professor Janeen Baxter, Director, Centre of Excellence for Children & Families
Professor Gabrielle Belz, Innate Immunology Group, Frazer Institute
Professor Karen Thorpe, Group Leader, Queensland Brain Institute
Research Professor Sara Dolnicar, Tourism Department, UQ Business School
We were honoured to be joined by Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Queensland, Professor Deborah Terry AC who provided a welcome speech and shared a personal story as a reminder that gender barriers still persist today in the research workforce.
In a moderated discussion led by Lead of the Women in Research initiative, ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Sharon Parker, the panel was asked to provide their 'six-word memoir', a challenge inspired by Hemingway's legendary six-word story: "For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn."
"Farm girl rejects housework, supportive mentors" – Professor Janeen Baxter's trajectory from rural NSW, where career counselors pushed "domestic careers like nursing," to leading an ARC Centre of Excellence over two periods of funding. Being told she couldn't do something became the real inspiration to prove them wrong.
"Went with the flow, passion found purpose" – Professor Jolanda Jetten, whose family's highest aspiration was for her to work as a pharmacy assistant. The best achievement? Waking up thinking "I want to do this, I'm looking forward to the day"—getting paid for passion.
"Resilience, boldness, intentionally reaching beyond discomfort" – Professor Gabrielle Belz, rural Queensland kid from five generations of teachers but first to attend university. School administrators announced they "generated teachers, nurses and checkout chicks"—three students banded together: "just watch us."
"I do what I want to do" – Research Professor Sara Dolnicar's memoir that forces good choices because you do what you love and do it well. When told "ARC is not for you," that anger became fuel: "She did me such a favor because I didn't know what it was, but I wanted it."
"Mother, teacher, researcher, determined, passionate, difficult" – Professor Karen Thorpe, born on an Essex housing estate to teenage parents whose mother actively tried to stop her university attendance. The passion driving her work in early childhood development comes from being mother to three children, two with disabilities.
"Anything to stay out of the kitchen" – Professor Sharon Parker's memoir that drew laughs from the audience, including her daughter who was in the room.
Following the panel discussion, attendees participated in interactive breakout sessions offering direct engagement with each laureate on key career topics:
How to be productive and sane at the same time (Professor Sharon Parker)
Professor Sharon Parker emphasised that sustainable productivity means doing what you think is important, valuable and interesting, not what others expect. The discussion covered practical time management strategies and the importance of habit formation, connecting to the spirit of Women in Research 'Small Wins' series.
Staying curious and creative in a metrics-driven academic world (Professor Jolanda Jetten)
Professor Jolanda Jetten spoke candidly about the anxiety ECRs face with precarious contracts and lack of future certainty, acknowledging "go with the flow" is easy advice when someone is already established in their career. She emphasised adopting team norms that focus on ideas rather than outcomes, and reminded attendees that on selection panels, it's about your story: metrics need to be solid, but curiosity and creativity get you places.
Working with and for men (Professor Karen Thorpe)
Professor Karen Thorpe's session delivered the workshop's strongest call to action: we want action, not more talk. The group identified concrete demands, including establishing a direct line to the VC, adding Women in Research to the UQ Commitment agenda, and fixing structural things that have been done but aren't working.
Managing a Successful Team (Professor Gabrielle Belz)
Professor Gabrielle Belz addressed the skill nobody teaches, emphasising that success comes through listening, not once yearly at performance reviews but through regular checkpoints. She called for UQ to embrace EMBO-style structural training courses for late PhD students and ECRs, and reminded ECRs to be proactive in making regular supervisor appointments.
How to Make Sure Your University Always Needs You More Than You Need Your University (Professor Sara Dolnicar)
Professor Sara Dolnicar's seven strategies are as follows:
Maintain your CV until retirement—they'll assess your worth until the bitter end
Do pre-emptive strikes on service roles you enjoy so you can decline unwanted committees
You cannot change the system for your lifetime—understand it, operate in it today, but work to change it for tomorrow
Quarantine learning time throughout your career
Have clarity and communicate clearly when saying no
Don't worry what people think—people gossip, know you're doing the right thing and do it
If academia won't make you happy over forty years, leave and find something that will.
We particularly thank the Management Discipline, UQ Business School, for sponsoring Professor Sharon Parker's visit. We extend our sincere thanks to the EDI committees from AIBN, UQ Business School, QAAFI, SMI, QBI, School of Psychology, School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, IMB, and the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology for organising this event. We also thank Talia Parker-Griffin for her invaluable support throughout.
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