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Bridging the gap Queen’s alumnus speaks about women in science By Labiba Haque Assistant News Editor Though women have come a long way, statistics indicate that men still dominate in many scientific and technological disciplines. This includes full-time and parttime doctoral candidates in the following disciplines at Queen’s: 78 per cent of computer science students are male, 81 per cent of students in engineering, 88 per cent in mathematics and 72 per cent in the physical sciences, President of Princeton University Shirley Tilghman said during a public lecture last Friday. Tilghman, a Queen’s BScH ’68, DSc ’02 graduate, came to Queen’s to present a public lecture on the need to increase women’s participation in science and technology. As a scientist, the first female president at Princeton University and the third female president in Ivy League history, she has been an advocate of women in science and technology. She said although there have been many significant increases in women’s participation in post-graduate studies there is still a long way to go. “In a highly symbolic development, women have for the first time earned a majority of doctorates awarded in the United States,” she said. “[Despite these changes] women still remain underrepresented in the sciences and engineering. “The humanities have traditionally been more successful in their pursuit of greater gender parity.” “I think my generation got too caught up in numerating in all the challenging and we didn’t spend
photo by katie pearce
Meredith Raddysh, steals the ball from an RMC forward. Queen’s Gaels won 6-0 moving them up to fifth in the nation.
Crafting an equitable future at Queen’s Diversity and Equity Task Force Action Plan aims to create an inclusive climate By Clare Clancy News Editor
This Friday, senior University administrators will spend a few hours learning about equity and diversity issues present on campus. Principal Daniel Woolf, the Provost, the vice-principals and others will be taking part in a workshop to discuss integrating a diversity framework into large-scale decisions, like hiring. Please see Equalizing on Page 5 This workshop is only the first step in a series of measures to be implemented by the Diversity and Equity Task Force (DET) Action Volume 138, Issue 11 Plan. Director of Educational www.queensjournal.ca Equity and Diversity Projects and News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 A&E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Chair of DET Adnan Husain said the action plan is partly based on Features . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 past reports about diversity and Editorials . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Postscript . . . . . . . . . . 16 equity at Queen’s. Op-Ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 “We have a wealth of material
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going back two decades that has systematically suggested that Queen’s can make improvements to recruit and retain the best and diverse faculty, students and staff,” he said, adding that the Barry Report and the Henry Report are just two examples of past investigations into Queen’s ability to ensure an inclusive climate. The Barry Report, also called the Final Report by the Principal’s Advisory Committee on Race Relations (PAC Report), was released in 1991 and highlighted systemic discrimination present at Queen’s. Its findings resulted in the creation of a Human Rights Office. The Henry Report, released in 2006, addressed many of the same issues raised in the Barry Report and made general recommendations, such as recruiting a diverse
faculty, to prevent and quell the systemic discrimination reported at Queen’s. Husain said that despite this wealth of knowledge, Queen’s has not done as much as it could to improve inclusivity. “Queen’s underperforms for providing an educational experience for diverse Canadians. I think the history of concentrating on this issue shows that it has been a relevant issue,” he said, adding that the difference with the DET Action Plan is its focus on implementing measures instead of simply making general recommendations. “The point of the [DET action] Plan is to put into action some of the recommendations and other measures that might make a difference in improving the climate of inclusivity on campus,” he said. “There is a history of attention
to this issue because there have been problems. “We’ve come up with very specific and in some cases small and limited actions. Part of the problem is that some of the previous reports have made general recommendations,” he said. “This is a more actionable set of commitments that the University can commit to. The difference is the actions we’ve outlined are things that can actually be accomplished.” He said given the University’s financial state, what is actually possible with limited dollars was a major focus. “In this climate of budget cuts, there have been severe constraints on what we’ve been able to do,” he said, adding that initiatives including the creation of an inventory and sponsoring research on student Please see There on page 5