NSERC/Nortel Joint Chair for
Women in Science and Engineering
in Ontario
How To Choose A Woman-Friendly Engineering Faculty/School
This list was prepared by WEAC(PEO) / Nortel/NSERC
Women in Engineering Chair (UNB) June 1, 1996
Described below are INDICATORS OF CLIMATE for
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING (Schools/Faculties)
1. Initiation process
and welcoming practises
a) Quality and appropriateness of handbook or
other material for students;
b) gender and racial sensitivity training for
new students;
c) position statement by authority figures on
initiation practises and general behaviour issues.
d) existence of special events for women who
are high school students and engineering undergraduates (examples: welcoming
reception, social evenings, job shadowing, high school special days and
events, school presentations, summer camp, etc..)
2. General student
behaviour toward women
a) Code of Conduct and Policy for inappropriate
student behaviour; whether it is enforced and explained to all students
or not; the policy should cover non-academic infractions; (it is assumed
that academic infractions are covered in the University Calendar;
b) publication guidelines for student newspapers;
c) a regular method for collecting data to monitor
student attitudes and behaviour;
d) documentation on other endeavours to increase
the positive experiences of women students.
e) application of attitude tests before admission
to the program.
3. Staff and
faculty attitudes and treatment of women
a) Code of Conduct for staff, faculty
and teaching assistants;
b) gender and racial sensitivity education for
staff, faculty, and teaching assistants;
c) record keeping for complaints against staff,
faculty or teaching assistants;
d) evaluation process to assess the climate for
women (as in 2c).
4. Existence
of support services for women on campus and security measures
a) A Counselling Centre with adequate
access to women counsellors;
b) a Health Centre with particular focus on women's
health;
c) a Woman Advisor or Committee to advise the
dean/director on issues of concern to women; document the role and activities
carried-out with respect to women students;
d) daycare services for staff, faculty and students;
e) an anti-violence campaign; with a proportion
of male engineering students who participate, from the entire male student
enrolment in the faculty;
f) security measures on campus (illumination,
escort services, emergency telephones, etc.;
g) documentation of the actual number of incidents.
5. Leadership of the
administration and their response to women's issues
a) Existence (and enforcement) of an Employment
Equity Policy;
b) equity coordinator reporting at high executive
level (VP or Pres.);
c) resources allocated to Equity activities (as
a percentage of all resources allocated to personnel services);
d) percentage of women faculty in the School/Faculty
and recent rate of change (at each level); proportion of women tenured
versus men and versus non-tenured and term positions.
e) assessment of Equity activities and their
effectiveness (reports on hiring goals and on actual proportion of women
hired in the past three years);
f) equity, harassment and gender issues taught
as a component of courses on Professionalism and Ethics;
g) existence ( and enforcement) of sexual harassment
policy and procedure;
h) assessment of effectiveness of harassment
policy;
6. Enrolment (data
for the past five years)
a) Percentage of women students in each
of the undergraduate programs offered and percentage obtaining degrees
in each;
b) overall percentage of women students in the
School/Faculty (undergraduate level) and obtaining a degree;
c) percentage of women enroled in Master's programs
(engineering) and obtaining a degree;
d) percentage of women enroled in doctoral programs
(engineering) and obtaining a degree;
e) monitoring the drop out rate of all students
and identifying particularly the reasons for women leaving the program;
f) existence of special financial assistance
to women (scholarships, bursaries, grants, etc.);
Compare with national statistics and explain where
the School/Faculty stands, the future plans and current successes.
NOTE: Schools and Faculties should not rely only
on their point of view to assess where they are in the scale of progress;
third party representatives should be involved in obtaining qualitative
information about the climate (ex. from women who have graduated from the
program in the past five years). This would add credence and strength to
any submission for an award.
|
