IT'S ALL too common at this University -- on these pages, especially -- that the administration's actions are greeted with the question, "What's in it for me?" We all want to know what the administration has done for us lately. And the answer? Probably more than we think.
Case in point: On Feb. 18, University President John T. Casteen III announced that he would form a Women's Leadership Council, based on a report from the 1999 Task Force on the Status of Women. The Council, according to Marcia Childress, co-director of Humanities in Medicine and Task Force member, will address the issues raised in the report, and advise Pres. Casteen and his Cabinet on how to implement the report's recommendations.
"What's at the heart of all this is an effort to improve the environment in which we all live and work at the University -- not just women, but women and men," Childress said in a personal interview. Similarly, while the report and the committee stress the gender climate in terms of faculty, administration and staff at the University, students should realize that this process will have a surprising number of direct benefits for all.
The major focus of the task force's report is increasing the number of women in senior administrative positions at the University. According to the report, this number is disturbingly low. As of April 1999, only 27 percent of senior administrators are women. They make up only 22 percent of the vice-president/provost positions, 10 percent of the associate vice-president positions, 20 percent of the academic dean positions, and 11.4 percent of the academic department chair positions.
It is hardly surprising, then, that the task force has chosen to emphasize this facet of gender equity at the University. These statistics reflect the most glaring example of the gender gap that still exists in higher education.
What statistics often don't show are more subtle gender inequities at the University, thanks in part to the fact it remained an all-male public institution until 1970. While female students now make up a slight majority of the student body, they still face the challenge of a less-than-perfect gender climate.
In a personal interview, Karen Holt, director of Equal Opportunity Programs, noted that some female students have complained that they have less opportunity to form close mentorships with faculty or administrators because there are less women to provide the support that female students need. "When you don't have as great a faculty representation, you don't have as many obvious role models," said Holt.
The Engineering School -- of which females make up only 26 percent of the student body -- provides an excellent example of this problem. Because of both the challenging nature and the distinctly male climate of the Engineering School -- and the field as a whole -- female engineering students in particular could benefit greatly from female mentorship within the department. As of fall 1999, however, there were 506 women enrolled in the program, and only 23 female full-time faculty members, compared to 135 full-time male faculty members. Of the 106 tenured faculty members, only 10 are women.(http://minerva.acc.virginia.edu/~iaas/data_digest/contents.htm).
If we are to encourage more women to enter this field -- and others, like physics and mathematics, which are traditionally male-dominated -- we need to provide them with positive role models. Increasing the number of women faculty and administrators throughout the University will set an example for young women at the University, and provide them with the necessary support.
Childress also noted that the few women who do fill higher positions at the University often are overloaded with work, because they are asked to sit on every committee, and are in high demand in terms of student mentorship. Thus, an attempt to fill more faculty and administrative positions with women also would reduce this burden, allowing current female staff members to focus more attention on all of their students.
In larger terms, increasing gender equity also may help the University recruit a more diverse student body. "The public face of the University today is still a white male face," said Childress. This is a disturbing assessment, given that prospective students are diligent in their search for a college. They want to attend a school where they will feel both comfortable and appreciated. Many have attributed the 25 percent drop in African-American applications this year to the very public debate about affirmative action that took place in the fall. Likewise, increasing public notice of the gender gap at the University could lead to a decline in the number of female applicants.
Ultimately, an improved gender climate at the University will benefit everyone -- male and female, student and staff. The gender inequity in senior administrative positions is not the only challenge facing women at the University. But it's an excellent place to start.
(Katie Dodd's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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