Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Awards - Highly Commended Lifetime Achievement
Professor Emerita Marilys Guillemin from the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences was presented a Highly Commended award in the Lifetime Achievement category at the 2025 Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Awards, held in Sydney, this week.
She was commended for her extraordinary contributions to gender equity, diversity and inclusion in the higher education and research sector.
“I feel deeply honoured to be awarded the high commendation for the SAGE Lifetime Achievement Award”, Professor Guillemin said.
“I want to thank my colleagues at the University of Melbourne, not only for their nomination, but for their support, commitment, collegiality and friendship over many years. I have had the privilege of working with wonderful colleagues and students, and this award belongs equally to them. Working in this space is not an individual activity but remains a collective effort.”
Over three decades, Professor Guillemin has driven systemic change across policy, governance, leadership, and culture, leaving a profound and lasting legacy at the University of Melbourne.
A health sociologist of international standing, her research and leadership have focused on ethical research practice, inclusive methodologies and gender equity in academic careers.
She established staff mentoring programs, peer review of teaching programs, expanded interprofessional education, and initiated risk and optimisation portfolios, each reinforcing inclusion and equity.
She also co-led a legally grounded sector-leading affirmative action campaign to increase representation of women in STEM, directly influencing practices in science, engineering, and mathematics faculties in universities across Australia.
Her leadership in governance, especially as Staff Representative on University Council enabled her to champion gender equity, diversity and inclusion at the highest levels of institutional decision-making.
In recognition of her University-wide leadership, Professor Guillemin was asked to return to the University post-retirement to co-lead the Academic Careers Pathways Program. This included developing organisation-wide policies and performance expectations for all academic staff to ensure that there were clear development and promotion expectations across the domains of education, research and leadership and service, reinforcing equity and inclusion for all academic staff.
Since her retirement in 2024, Professor Guillemin has continued to advance gender equity in the higher education sector through volunteering with Australian Academic Volunteers Abroad. She has recently completed the first phase of a 12-month assignment at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Fiji, supporting USP’s goals of enhancing career progression, leadership capability and gender equity for their staff.
Further nominees:
Also acknowledged with nominations at the 2025 SAGE Awards for their work in progressing gender equality at the University were:
- Katie Mitchell, Gender Equity lead in the Diversity and Inclusion team, Office of the Provost, was nominated as an Outstanding Collaborator
- Professor Georgina Such, the Athena Swan Lead University of Melbourne and Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion at the Faculty of Science, was nominated as a Sector Disruptor