Purdue News
Purdue News
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April 3, 1997
Task force concludes work on status of womenWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- In 1875 -- just one year after classes first began at Purdue -- trustees voted to allow women to attend the university.Since then, the numbers -- and influence -- of women on campus have grown. For example:
Those are some of the findings of the University Task Force on Women's Issues in its recently released report, "The Status of Women at Purdue University." The 86-page report documents the status of women as students, faculty, executive and senior management, administrative and professional staff, and clerical and service staff. It cites progress and makes recommendations for increasing the likelihood for full inclusion of women at all levels of the university. The report, released by President Steven C. Beering, is the product of two years of work by the task force. Beering appointed the task force in 1995 to explore how Purdue could provide a more supportive work and educational environment for women, and to assess women's needs and recommend a long-range plan for addressing them. In preparing the report, the task force found that there is much to be pleased about when it comes to women's issues at Purdue. It also found that work remains in gaining spots for women in the upper realms of the university structure and in achieving salary equity for women and men at all levels. To that end, Beering has accepted the recommendation to appoint a standing advisory committee to continue the work of the task force and to broaden the scope to include other professional development issues as they arise. Becky Herrnstein, director of the Women's Resource Office and a member of the task force, says the report is not just about women, but about the entire campus. "Looking at issues like work-life balance and career development helps both men and women," she says. "We all can benefit from looking at the report and moving forward to address its recommendations." The 15 members of the task force came from all areas of the university and spent many hours searching for and compiling statistics, says Judith Gappa, vice president for human relations and chairwoman of the task force. "It is a great tribute to these women and to President Beering that Purdue committed the resources necessary to complete this report," she says. "I'm very proud and pleased with the results. "This report shows that Purdue indeed has made great strides, and it gives the university valuable suggestions for areas needing attention." Key recommendations addressed in the report:
The task force found that there were areas that could not be adequately evaluated because the data weren't available. For instance, while the university has paid careful attention to gender equity in faculty salaries, in the case of administrative and professional staff, there is little comprehensive information on employment history and job descriptions to perform studies of salary equity and career progression. Charlene Hayes, director of personnel services, says hiring a consultant to help with a classification study will be the first step to help define salary equity for administrative and professional staff. "Without a classification study, there is no basis for comparing like positions," Hayes says. "Once we have that study, we can begin to look at salary equity."
According to the report, the number of newly hired women faculty has increased over the past 10 years, but women still are not well-represented at the rank of full professor. As of October 1995, 55 females had the rank of full professor compared with 660 males. That means that all-male or nearly all-male primary committees exist in many academic departments, resulting in the absence of female role models for male and female students. Also, more women are being hired in career tracks potentially leading to high-level leadership positions, but currently just four of the 26 administrators holding positions at the top executive level are women. The report also shows that the clerical staff is predominantly female; the skilled crafts staff is predominantly male; and women are concentrated in the food service, cleaning and housekeeping, and service and maintenance job categories for service workers. The report recommends hiring more women faculty with tenure at the associate and full professor ranks, expanding professional development opportunities and promoting women through the ranks to leadership positions, continuing special training programs aimed at moving more women into skilled crafts and trades and supervisory positions, and providing orientation programs for all new faculty to ensure that junior faculty receive support and assistance.
By increasing the availability of mentoring, networking and professional development activities for women, the university will be sending a message that Purdue is a place where women can succeed, the report states. Expanding work-family initiatives and ensuring the fair implementation of policies such as the "stop-the-tenure-clock" policy for faculty and leave policies for staff will enhance the climate for all faculty and staff. "The Task Force on Women's Issues," the report states, "intends for the report to be an educational tool and a starting point for campuswide reflection and action leading to the full participation and inclusion of women as students, staff and faculty at Purdue." The report will be available by mid-April on the Office of Human Relations Web site: http://www.purdue.edu/humanrel/. Other members of the University Task Force on Women's Issues are:
Source: Becky Herrnstein, (765) 494-9879
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