Marian Baird

Professor
The University of Sydney


Profile

Marian Baird AO became Professor of Gender and Employment Relations in 2009, distinguishing her as the first female professor in industrial relations at the University of Sydney. Marian is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia (ASSA), a Presiding Pro-Chancellor of the University of Sydney and Director of the Women, Work and Policy Research Group in the University of Sydney Business School. In 2016 Marian was awarded an AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) for outstanding services to improving the quality of women’s working lives and for contributions to tertiary education.

Marian is a leading researcher in the fields of industrial relations, women, work and care. Her research focuses on policy responses at all levels, including unions, business and governments. Her current research projects are on gender and inclusion in Australian Universities, the female body@work project and the ageing workforce. She is a Chief Investigator on the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) and leader of the mature workers and care stream. Marian has contributed to the development of government and company policies on maternity and parental leaves, flexibility, discrimination and the ageing workforce. Marian is a Coordinator of the International Network of Leave Policies and Research and the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) Gender and Employment Study Group. She has been a visiting scholar at MIT, Michigan State University, University of Nottingham, Leeds University Business School and Queen Mary University of London Business School. Her work is widely published and she is co-author of ‘Human Resource Management’ (published by Cengage), Australia’s leading text book in the field.

Marian is an engaged researcher, working with many government departments, organisations, unions and not-for-profits to improve the position for women in the workforce and society. Her other awards include receiving the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association Award in2021, the AIRAANZ Lifetime Service Award in 2020, and in 2019 and 2018, being named in Apolitical‘s Top 100 Most Influential People in Gender Equality list. In 2014 she received the Edna Ryan Award for making positive change for women in the workforce, in 2013 she received the AFR/Westpac Women of Influence Award in Public Policy, and in 2015 and 2003 she won the University of Sydney’s Business Schools most engaged researcher awards.

Professor Baird is also a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

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