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ShareBangalore: Academics on Monday urged women to break the glass ceiling and strive towards occupying key posts in higher education.
“Women are invisible in many fields,”Armaity S Desai, former chairperson, University Grants Commission (UGC), said. “There are few women in key positions, like registrars and VCs (vice-chancellors), in educational institutions. We should empower women to achieve the goal of equity. This would help them break the glass ceiling,” she said.
Desai was speaking at the inauguration of the ‘Training of trainers workshop on capacity building of women managers in higher education’ at National Law School of India University on Monday.
“In many Indian universities, men occupy key positions.A marginal number of women VCs are found only in women’s universities,” she noted. “The UGC might also start a new study on the number of women on top. Many institutes were unwilling to share that information when we conducted the study earlier,” she said.
Experts from the field of administration also shared their views.
“There are only two women principal secretaries in Karnataka,” pointed out Anita Prasad, director-general, Administrative Training Institute, Mysore. “Key sectors like finance and energy are never given to women,” she said.
“Super-woman and super-mom syndromes also make their lives difficult,” Prasad said. She also suggested that the UGC conduct workshops for men to sensitise them to gender issues.
“Women should be conscious, concerned and committed to bring
about desired change in the field of education,” said Jaya Indiresan, member of the UGC National Consultative Committee.
Academics from numerous colleges in Mysore, Shimoga and Kerala attended the inaugural function. The five-day workshop will cover issues like women and governance, special problems faced by women in governance and how to overcome these, and women’s studies perspective.
The workshop was organised by Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College. Members of the UGC’s regional centres also participated in the function.
