Hi Deborah --
It's terrific that your students are asking for their learning environment to become more gender inclusive, as well as more inclusive of members of any marginalized groups.
One resource that I'd recommend for setting a context around efforts towards gender equity would be my own just-published book, Feminism: A Key Idea in Business.
Not enough folks who take the lead in initiating gender equity strategies start with a big-picture understanding of what years of organizational scholarship and feminist scholarship have exposed as obstacles to gender and all forms of equity. Feminism: A Key Idea has a large section on gender equity initiatives at the organizational and individual levels. It explains some of the macro-contextual, culture-based framings that often make gender equity initiatives too partial and superficial to work well. It identifies different strategies and explains which ones work, where they work, for how long, and also where they generally fall down. With this analysis, you can choose more wisely among the 'change initiatives' suggested to you (e.g., training programs for women students, departmental targets for 'diversity hiring', doing away with student teaching evaluations as a determinant of faculty promotions).
And if you or your colleagues would be wondering why a 'gender diversity' initiative needs to be understood from a feminist perspective, this book could provide some substantial fodder for conversation.
If you'd like a copy of the book, I 'd be happy to send you one -- or you can request an inspection copy from the Routledge website.
------Original Message------
Dear colleagues,
I am chair of the Gender Diversity committee within my department, and our committee is tasked with creating a more gender inclusive environment for students and faculty.
While our mission is quite broad, we are seeking any resources, or general information on successful programs or initiatives that would support our students and faculty. Our young women in particular have expressed a strong desire to have our department demonstrate a more gender inclusive environment.
Ours is a liberal arts institution with a population of just under 4,000 students. We seeking to learn what has or has not worked at other universities to determine what we may implement on our campus.
Thank you in advance for any advice or experience you might share, via either e-mail or phone. If you prefer to talk on the phone, please e-mail me and we can set up a time.
Best regards,
Deborah Pembleton
Associate Professor
Global Business Leadership
College of St. Benedict/St. John's University
djpembleton@gmail.com
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Deborah Pembleton
College of St. Benedict/ St. John's University
St. Joseph, MN
djpembleton@gmail.com------------------------------