Applying for Promotion? - Some helpful hints from the EEO Officer

When applying for promotion, the merit of your application will be assessed on all relevant criteria, irrespective of unrelated personal factors. This is consistent with EEO principles.

What are the grounds which constitute unlawful discrimination?

Under State and Federal anti-discrimination law, unlawful discrimination occurs if an employee is treated unfairly or harassed, in any aspect of employment, including promotion, because of sex, age, marital status, pregnancy, racial or ethno-cultural background, physical or intellectual impairment, homosexuality or trans-sexuality, or HIV/AIDS status.

Direct Discrimination occurs when a person is denied a benefit or an opportunity on the grounds of a personal characteristic irrelevant to the job such as race, sex, disability or any of the grounds covered by the legislation.
Indirect Discrimination. Unlawful discrimination can be indirect. It occurs when a seemingly neutral policy, rule or practice has a detrimental impact on a particular group of people. For example, if the University were to make promotion to senior academic levels dependent on a specified number of years continuous service, this would discriminate against those staff members, most likely to be women, who take a break in their careers for family reasons. (It also assumes that competence increases directly in proportion to the number of years in a position.)
Systemic Discrimination may result from either direct or indirect discrimination. It is usually not easy to detect as it occurs through the established practices and culture of an institution, practices which have been accepted without question over a long period of time. Patterns of systemic discrimination may be detected when statistics relating to staff participation in selection, promotion and other benefits offered by an organisation are analysed.

How might I be affected by discrimination in my application for promotion?

You should not be, as promotions Committee members are informed and will usually take care to avoid unlawful discrimination in making decisions. However, you need to be aware that Promotions Committees often have a large number of applications to consider. Therefore an application which is relevant and to the point assists the decision making process. If important material is missing, in most cases the Committee will request that it be submitted, but you cannot rely on this. Where there is a lack of clarity there is a potential for speculation which may be coloured by personal preconceived ideas of the committee members.

Clarity is assisted by brevity. Achievements described in a rambling, long winded style can be time consuming and possibly confusing for the reader. Ambiguities may lead to poor decisions and possible unintended discrimination. You should aim for a well organised, comprehensive but succinctly written application which includes all relevant information. Relevant sub-headings and dot points, where appropriate, assist in providing a comprehensive account.

This will assist the Committee to make a fair and thorough assessment of your achievements and capabilities and minimises the potential for aspects of your work being overlooked or undervalued.

Research and Scholarly Activities

Describe the major thrust of your work, to what extent it has been innovative in its field. Where your research is part of a team effort, outline your role, especially if it is that of leadership.
Include a brief account of the significance of your research, and where it might lead you or other researchers. If other researchers have already been inspired to follow the direction you have initiated, this should be noted.
Include a brief account of the impact of your work. Have you been invited to present keynote addresses, guest lectures, contribute chapters to books, present papers at conferences? All should be listed with a brief comment as to their significance.
Has your research made an impact outside the University? How can you demonstrate this?
If some of your work is in a language other than English, include an English translation of a synopsis. If reviewed overseas by non-English speaking reviewers, a translation of such reviews assists the Committee.
When listing publications indicate whether or not the journals are refereed. You may wish to briefly indicate the readership and circulation of journals where your most important work appears.

Teaching

To what extent does your research inform your teaching?
How do you provide a stimulating learning environment? Have you introduced new material, or revised teaching methods?
What measures do you take to ensure that students (not forgetting those whose first language is not English) are benefiting from your endeavours?
Where feedback has indicated problems with teaching, briefly describe measures you have taken to improve the quality of your teaching.
If you have developed new teaching methods, are you aware of your teaching methods having been adopted elsewhere?

Community Service

Briefly outline the role you play in the Committees of which you are a member
Outline organisational responsibilities in your Division, Department or academic unit. It is important to give evidence of your commitment to collegial activities.
Describe the contribution of your academic expertise to community activities outside the University.

Referee Reports

It is wise to inform those persons who you are citing as referees in advance and asking them to confirm they are familiar with your work. When requesting a referee report, as a guide, you might provide the referee with a copy of the criteria whereby your work will be considered.

It is useful to have an independent person glance over your application for feedback regarding presentation, ease of accessing material, and comprehensive, concise coverage.

Finally, be prepared to seek and take note of advice from your supervisor, Head of Department, or whoever is the appropriate person in your area.