UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 19, Page CSW-1
February 11, 1993
Report of the Commission on the Status of Women
Report of the Commission on the Status of Women
Last year's report of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
noted the University's sustained efforts to address gender inequities in
hiring, promotion, retention and campus climate. This year, the
University's commitment to improving the status of women received outside
recognition when the Middle States evaluation team singled it out for
commendation.
In 1990-91, a total of five women became upper-level administrators:
two were outside hires and three were internal promotions.
This trend has continued in 1991-92 with the promotion of Margaret
Andersen from associate provost for instruction to vice provost for
academic affairs, bringing the number of women cabinet-level administrators
from four out of 22 to five out of 24; the confirmation of Carol Hoffecker
as associate provost for graduate studies; the hiring of Barbara Kreppel,
assistant vice president for administration and the first woman
professional to be classified at Level 19; and the appointment of Betty
Paulanka to succeed Edith Anderson as dean of the College of Nursing. On
the other hand, the proportion of women among the University's 45 academic
department chairs is still disturbingly low. In 1991-92, three women held
acting or interim positions and two women (down from three last year)
served as regular department chairs. Only one additional woman department
chair will begin her term in 1992-93.
Similarly disproportionate numbers of women are grouped at the lower
professional levels, despite the fact that women professionals are being
promoted at a slightly faster rate than men.
It appears that, in faculty administrative positions and in
professional appointments, the advancement of women is more likely to occur
in situations handled by the central administration than in searches that
are strongly influenced by the members of individual units. Because efforts
to improve the status of women depend heavily on the willingness of all
University personnel to support women candidates and accept women leaders,
efforts in this area are most likely to succeed if they are directed toward
education and attitude change as well as toward administrative responses.
The commission is pleased to note the University's movement toward the
advancement of women and looks forward to working with the administration
to sustain and accelerate it.
The role of the commission
Commission members represent four constituent groups: faculty,
professionals, salaried staff and students. The commission also includes
liaisons with the Professional Advisory Council (PAC), the Salaried Staff
Advisory Council (SSAC), and the Graduate Student Association (GSA).
The Commission on the Status of Women plays two roles in continuing to
improve opportunities for University women: action and advocacy. In other
words, we do what we can about issues affecting women and then formulate
proposals seeking support from administrators, the Faculty Senate, PAC,
SSAC and the University community at large.
Summary of the commission's recommendations
The following three general recommendations apply to all constituent
groups:
1. Continue to improve campus lighting and to encourage more
frequent "walk-throughs" by campus police. Continue dialogue
between campus women and the Department of Public Safety,
including more frequent use of safety surveys and increased
public awareness of "security hotlines" for immediate
troubleshooting.
2. Continue and increase educational efforts geared toward attitude
change regarding gender bias, sexual harassment, diversity and
the difficulties faced by women working and studying in
male-dominated environments. Such efforts are more likely to be
effective if they are endorsed by the president, cabinet-level
officials and administrators at all levels.
3. Make University employment more attractive by implementing
alternative work arrangements, such as working at home,
telecommuting and flexible and part-time work schedules.
Faculty
The recommendations of the faculty constituent group are based
primarily on data showing rank, hiring rates and attrition rates among
women faculty.
1. Track the use by faculty members of the parental leave and
stop-the-clock tenure policies. Now that faculty members are
entitled to both, we would like to see long-term data collected
on their utilization.
2. Continue sponsorship by the commission and the Office of Women's
Affairs of workshops on promotion and tenure and of a yearly
workshop on publishing.
3. Continue to examine the causes of both the promotion gap between
men and women faculty and the higher rate of attrition among
women faculty through
a. a study of years to promotion to full professor and years in
rank for associate professors; and
b. administration of the exit survey for at least five consecutive
years, and collection and compilation of the data revealed by
the survey.
4. Continue the University's commitment to the hiring of women
faculty members at all ranks. The concentration of women faculty
members at the lowest and least-well-paid ranks of faculty
members must be reversed.
5. Continue efforts to provide opportunities for women to become
department chairpersons.
6. Continue efforts to recruit and provide supportive mentoring
programs for faculty women of color.
7. Examine reasons for the overrepresentation of women in the ranks
of non-tenurable and part-time faculty. A very high proportion of
full-time faculty not on tenure track and of part-time faculty
are women.
8. Continue efforts to provide good mentoring to women faculty and
to members of minority groups. Based on the information compiled
from comparable institutions, the University might want to
consider establishing a formal mentoring program.
Professionals
The recommendations of the professional constituent group are based
primarily on a forum for professional women held last year and on data
showing hiring, classification, promotion, and attrition of women
professionals.
1. Continue to offer career counseling and to facilitate career
enhancement and advancement opportunities for women
professionals.
2. Increase the amount and type of funding available for women
professionals to attend professional development meetings,
especially for the large numbers of women clustered at the lower
classification levels.
3. Develop mentoring programs for professional women, particularly
those who work in small units where there are fewer opportunities
to network.
4. Offer workshops and seminars for all employees on male/female
communication and on working together as colleagues. Forum
participants perceived that they were often ignored, interrupted
or misunderstood by male colleagues. A workshop such as the one
presented for staff in Southern Delaware this year, "Improving
Male/Female Communications," could be offered as a lecture for a
large group by a nationally recognized scholar, such as author
Dr. Deborah Tannen, or in small group workshops by unit.
5. Re-evaluate the current professional classification system.
6. Assess the reasons for attrition among female professional staff
by examining the results of exit interviews conducted by the
Office of Employee Services.
7. Meet the goals and timetable of the University's affirmative
action plan regarding women professionals above level 15.
8. Develop a vita bank to ensure that women professionals,
particularly internal candidates, are aware of and considered for
high-level positions.
9. Continue to examine all aspects of professional equity,
particularly salary and promotion.
10. Develop support groups for professional women at all levels
across campus.
Salaried staff
The recommendations of the salaried staff constituent group are based
primarily on the focus group meeting held this year.
1. Investigate the feasibility of non-credit educational programs
leading to career advancement.
2. Continue to track statistical data related to the movement of
salaried staff employees into professional levels.
3. Apart from promotions to professional levels, consider ways of
recognizing salaried staff accomplishments, such as the earning
of a bachelor's degree.
Graduate students
The recommendations of the graduate student constituent group are
based primarily on constituent group meetings and information provided by
the GSA liaison.
1. Continue the Student Travel Award program, which funds the
conference travel of women students and of men students doing
research on women's issues.
2. Continue to use the Graduate Student Association newsletter to
educate students about sexual harassment and other gender-related
issues.
Undergraduate students
The recommendations of the undergraduate student constituent group are
based primarily on the focus group meeting held last year.
Leadership
1. Work on improving the relationship between the Pan-Hellenic
Council, whose membership is female, and the Inter-Fraternity
Council, whose membership is male, so that each group has an
equal voice and leadership role in Greek affairs. Address areas
of mutual concern such as date rape and sexual harassment.
2. Implement a Women's Day on campus to promote unity, leadership
and empowerment among women students.
3. Continue funding for one or more students to attend the National
College Women's Leadership Conference.
Campus safety
1. Continue and increase programs offered in residence halls and
during New Student Orientation concerning sexual harassment,
sexual assault and date rape.
2. Continue to encourage local authorities and apartment managers to
examine lighting problems in off-campus areas that are frequented
by students (e.g., apartment complexes, bus stops).
Classroom climate
1. Continue research on sexism in the classroom at the University of
Delaware.
2. Continue to encourage departments to include questions about
gender equity on course evaluations.
3. Collect information on the impact of gender on Scholastic
Aptitude Test scores as they affect the Projected Grade Index.
Health
1. Implement a program geared toward AIDS education and the
implications of the disease for women students.
2. Continue to raise awareness and provide education about eating
disorders and the related topic of body image, perhaps by
publishing a brochure on the topic.