Gender equity action plan

The 2023 RANZCP Gender Equity Action Plan provides a 5 year plan of action with specific and measurable goals for increasing gender equity in psychiatry, across the domains of: 

• leadership and accountability
• advocacy
• College data gathering
• research.

The plan was developed by the RANZCP Gender Equity Working Group lead by Professor Megan Galbally, in consultation with members from across the College.

Actions update

As of July 2026, twenty of the 36 actions set out in the Action Plan have either been completed or are completed and ongoing. These include:

• Establishing a new Gender Equity Subcommittee, to guide and advise on implementing the Action Plan and advocate in areas of need identified.
• Completing a review of College training fees and implementing a new, fairer training fee structure.
• Making changes to existing College awards to address structural barriers for women, as well as including standard information in all new grants or awards Terms of Reference, encouraging nominations from applicants who are part-time, have had periods of interruption, are returning from leave, or who have carer responsibilities.
• Supporting the Committee for Examinations to review the Special Consideration policy to include requests relating to reproductive health, pre and post-natal care needs.
• Publishing gender equity member data in the College Annual Review.
• Developing new resources for members on taking action on bullying, discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment.
• Publishing a new College position statement on sexual safety in mental health services in Australia and New Zealand.
• Hosting a symposium on gender equity and a dedicated women’s networking breakfast at the Perth, Canberra and Gold Coast Congress events.
• Updating the College Congress guidelines regarding achieving gender balance in in keynote speakers.
• Raising the profile of women in psychiatry and their career journeys.
• Demonstrating and promoting gender equity within psychiatry through College spokespeople.
• Achieving gender balance in RANZCP nominations to representative roles on bodies external to the College.
• Reviewing gender inequity data and trends in the RANZCP Fellowship Attainment Survey, and identifying data gaps to inform recommendations for future gender equity questions.

As of July 2026, the status of the Action Plan’s 36 actions is as follows:

Completed: 12

Completed and ongoing: 8

In progress: 16

Not started: 0