Dear participant,

You are invited to participate in this study examining women’s experiences and workplace outcomes in STEMM. There are no mandatory questions in this survey besides some initial screening questions to ensure you meet the eligibility criteria (women aged 18 years or over, working in STEMM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine], and living in Australia). Participation in this study will involve completing an online survey that will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

Please do not spend too long thinking about each question – you can answer according to your initial impression or “gut feeling” in response to the questions. You will be asked a range of demographic questions such as your age and employment status, and questions about your experiences and attitudes, such as “Have you been taken less seriously than men are?” and “During the past 30 days, about how often did you feel depressed?”.

Risks and Potential Benefits to Participants
We do not anticipate any risks from participating in this research beyond possible mild discomfort. If participating in this research raises any concerns for you, please contact Lifeline Australia (http://www.lifeline.org.au or 13 11 14) or go to https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/mental-health-helplines for information on where to seek help for your mental health. Potential benefits from participating in this survey are contributing to research that will inform the scientific community. Should you wish to receive information about the study’s findings, you are welcome to contact the principal researcher, Dr Beatrice Alba (beatrice.alba@deakin.edu.au). You can also provide your email address at the end of the survey if you wish to receive this information. Your email address will be collected via a separate survey that will not be linked to your responses. If you know anyone who may be interested in participating in this survey and is eligible, please feel free to share these contact details (beatrice.alba@deakin.edu.au) or the study advertisement.

Privacy and Confidentiality
This study is entirely anonymous, and you will not be asked for any identifying information. All responses will remain private and confidential, and only the researchers listed above will have access to the responses. The study is being conducted as part of a Masters thesis project for the student researcher. Findings from this research may also be published in peer-reviewed academic journals or presented at academic conferences. Data will only be presented in aggregated form, with no individual responses disclosed. Data will be saved to a password-protected program and storage drive. Only the researchers named above will have access to the data. The anonymous data will be retained for a minimum of five years after publication on the Deakin Research Data Store and in an Open Science Framework (https://osf.io) repository. The Open Science Framework repository is a website that allows researchers to share their data to maintain the integrity of their research. Once data are published in a scientific journal or when five years have passed after the completion of data collection, the data may be publicly shared on the Open Science Framework repository.

Complaints
The research will be monitored by the principal researcher, and any concerns will be raised with The Human Research Ethics Office at Deakin University. If you have any questions about this research, you are welcome to contact Dr Beatrice Alba via email (beatrice.alba@deakin.edu.au) or phone (+613 9244 3009). If you have any complaints about any aspect of the project, the way it is being conducted or any questions about your rights as a research participant, then you may contact: The Human Research Ethics Office, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood Victoria 3125, Telephone: 9251 7129, research-ethics@deakin.edu.au. Please quote project number HEAG-H 04_2024.

Consent and Withdrawal
Participation in this research is entirely voluntary and you have the right to withdraw from participation at any stage with no consequences. Your data will not be used unless you complete the survey and indicate that you wish to have your data included in the study at the end. If you begin the survey and wish to withdraw, you can simply close the browser window before submission. However, once the survey has been completed and submitted, participation cannot be withdrawn due to the lack of identifying information collected.