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The Celebrating UNSW Women project: A strategic social impact project to drive gender equity, community and engagement
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
9
(4),
357-369
(2025)
Abstract
Universities have a unique role in advancing social justice and fostering inclusive environments. This responsibility extends to creating spaces where all community members feel seen, recognised and celebrated. The visibility of role models for the broad and diverse university community is important for building acceptance and belonging. The ‘Celebrating UNSW Women’ project set out to address the historical underrepresentation of women across campus spaces at UNSW. Traditionally, campus buildings were named after men, however with 46 per cent of students1 and a significant portion of staff identifying as women; this lack of representation was seen as a missed opportunity. Prior to this project, only one building at UNSW was named after a woman, highlighting the gender disparity. Launched in March 2022, the project aimed to rectify this imbalance by renaming buildings and creating a physical presence on campus. This paper describes the initiative, led by UNSW Chancellor David Gonski AC and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Eileen Baldry AO, involved multiple stakeholders and was executed in three phases: renaming buildings, creating a physical and virtual trail and developing an equitable naming policy. This project not only enhanced representation but also promoted a sense of belonging and inspiration among women, contributing to long-term equity and leadership in the sector.
Keywords: gender equity; inclusion; community; stakeholder engagement; social impact; higher education; partnership; collaboration; belonging; alumni; students
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Alison Avery is a senior external engagement and marketing communication specialist with extensive experience in developing and executing strategic communication, partnership and brand stewardship plans for major projects in universities, higher education and industry. As the Executive Director of Partnerships and Engagement at University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Alison is responsible for designing, implementing and managing innovative complex strategies that have a positive impact on creating a culture of collaboration across UNSW and promoting the university’s societal impact strategy with external partners. Alison’s current role follows her previous communication leadership positions at UNSW, including the Director of External Engagement and the UNSW3+ project — one of the most significant and high-profile changes in UNSW history, the move to a new three-term academic calendar. Throughout the 12-year career at UNSW, Alison has built a reputation for excellence in driving change through creative problem-solving and leading high-performing teams. She is passionate about creating more inclusive, accessible work environments and events. Alison’s passion for writing and higher education is supported by her own degrees in public relations from the University of Canberra and a master’s degree in international communication from Macquarie University. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Lily Halliday is an experienced strategic project and partnerships leader and is the Impact, Programs and Partnerships Lead at the Australian Human Rights Institute, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney. She was the Strategic Project Manager of the Celebrating UNSW Women project, where she led the project from conception to completion. At the Australian Human Rights Institute, she looks after the institute’s impact and partnerships portfolio and since joining the institute in 2020 has managed programmes and research projects across the areas of sex and gender, women’s and children’s rights, health, climate and business and human rights. Lily managed the multiyear collaborative Sex and Gender Policies in Health and Medical Research project and played a lead role in the development of the National Centre for Sex and Gender Equity in Health and Medicine in partnership with The George Institute for Global Health and Deakin University. Prior to joining the institute, Lily led numerous programmes and multilateral initiatives across higher education focussed on equity, diversity and inclusion, specifically women’s rights, women’s economic participation and women’s leadership. Lily has written on the topics of health and human rights and sex and gender equity. She holds a bachelor’s degree from The University of Sydney and an MBA degree from the University of Technology Sydney.
