About us
Members of the HRM Collective at the HRM Launch event in 2019.
Her Research Matters (HRM) was launched in October 2019 with the mission to promote, sponsor and foster the talents and research of women research leaders in Monash Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS).
HRM is a grass-roots initiative driven to challenge and change the status quo with respect to women research leaders in the biomedical sciences.
We are unique in that we are outcome-focused, seeking to leverage collective networks, skills and voices to raise the international profile of leading women in our faculty and celebrate their successes.
HRM has actively engaged the next generation of scientists, coordinated promotion review for MIPS researchers to address gender inequity at senior levels, and worked together with PharmAlliance to effect change at a global level.
We support and promote diversity and inclusion at Monash to ensure we are valuing different minds to solve complex problems.
HRM aims to amplify, support and enhance the existing research achievements and excellence of its members and provide a clear conduit for early career researchers to identify role models within the field.
Instead of training or ‘fixing women’, this initiative will achieve these aims by setting the following goals:
- Shine a light on systemic issues and advocate for preferred solutions
- Celebrate and communicate research excellence led by women
- Enrich research outputs by promoting cross-disciplinary exchange of knowledge and ideas, and by engaging with external networks
- Provide role models of inclusive leaders and support for the next generation of researchers
We aim for diverse representation (e.g. cultural, age, Themes, seniority) on the HRM Board. All HRM Board members are responsible for one of the two HRM Pillars (see figure below):
- Networking and Mentoring (including focussed Clusters: Emerging Leaders, Established Leaders, Education Leaders, Allies & Sponsors, and Platform & Commercial Leaders), and
- Policy and Advocacy
A communications and outreach pillar was in operation until 2023, when a new HRM Marketing Assistant position was created to take over these responsibilities.
Representatives of each of the Pillars and Clusters report to and liaise with the HRM Executive.
The HRM Executive (Chair, co-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer) reports to both the HRM Board (quarterly HRM Board meetings) and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (“the Faculty”) Executive (Faculty Executive meetings).
HRM Executive positions are held for a term of two years, while Pillar Representative and Cluster Lead positions are elected annually. The Chair and Co-chair two year positions are staggered to ensure a one year overlap and smooth transition. To transition into executive positions, HRM Collective members must apply for HRM Board membership and serve as a Pillar or Cluster Representative for a year.