Video Conference Call

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Gender Equity Council Meeting Agenda
Monday, October 29, 2020
1:50-2:50 p.m., Microsoft Teams

Charge: The Gender Equity Council advocates for the needs of all genders. In consultation with the Chancellor and in collaboration with other campus groups, the Council will identify, address, and end all forms of gender inequity at UW Oshkosh.

Agenda Items
-Introductions
-Caregiving and Gender Equity and COVID-19
–Review of meeting with Chancellor Leavitt
–Talking points for campus message on caregiving
–Review caregiving scenarios
-Approval of May 5, September 14, October 12 & 29 Meeting Minutes (If Quorum)
-GEC Roster 2020-2021 Updates
-Announcements
–Women’s and Gender Studies Brownbag Event: Closing the Gender Equity Gap in STEM: How COVID-19 Will Change the Conversation and Maybe the “Pipeline”
—Thursday, November 12, 1:00-2:00 p.m., Collaborate Ultra (https://tinyurl.com/wagsbbjchristus)
—Presenter: Dr. Jennifer Schuttlefield Christus
—While some progress has been made toward gender equity in STEM over the last couple of decades, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically disrupted the academic world and exposed the fragility of the systems on which the gains have been built. Systemic inequalities, in both professional and household work, have been amplified in ways that appear to have disproportionately impacted the productivity of women in academia. Evidence of declines in women’s preprint publications, women starting fewer new scholarly projects compared to their male counterparts, and time to devote to research appeared quickly after the impacts of the pandemic invaded our daily lives. The critical role that childcare access, social networks, school systems, and privilege (race, financial and food security, mental/physical/emotional health, etc.) play in the success of academic women has never been more apparent. Securing access, retention, well-being, and the advancement of women in STEM (and all fields) must become a deliberate priority. The pandemic provides an opportunity to rethink our definition of academic success and create a new, more equitable route forward. Failure to respond to these inequalities could diminish years of work toward increasing gender equity and undermine inclusive efforts for many years to come.

–Navigating Post-Pandemic Tenure & Renewal: A Panel Discussion
—Friday, November 13 from 10:15am-11:30am
—Registration link (https://forms.gle/rp9c47QKyK8RWUDD8)
—The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a serious toll on faculty productivity and career progress throughout higher education. Preliminary assessment has shown that adverse impacts have been especially distressing for untenured women and faculty of color (Flaherty, 2020; Kramer, 2020; Oleschuk, 2020). Women are experiencing disproportionate caring loads at home due to disruptions in childcare and remote schooling. Black, Indigenous and other people of color have been disparately affected in terms of public health. UWO has taken some measures to address these disparities by providing a tenure clock extension option, a caregivers statement, and guidance for moving to online instruction. This panel will continue the conversation for mitigating these challenges at UWO. It will begin with an overview of a rubric being developed by the WGSC Caregiving Task Force that guides department chairs and faculty through the review process given the vastly different circumstances they are operating under, such as moving to remote/online/hybrid learning, limited access to campus research spaces and resources, and restricted travel. Chairs from each COLS division will discuss their department’s approach to the tenure and renewal process given these challenges. Finally, representatives from tenure and renewal committees on each campus will be available to discuss considerations they are taking in the review process this year. This event is hosted in partnership by the Women’s & Gender Studies Consortium (WGSC) Caregiving Task Force and the COLS Equity, Diversity, & Inclusive Climate (EDIC) Committee.

Alicia Johnson

11/05/2020