The Commission on the Status of Women welcomed feedback on the results of its faculty survey during forums Tuesday and Wednesday.
The main purpose of the commission, created by former provost Dan Fogel, is to evaluate the status and identify the needs of University women.
The forums did not attract large crowds, but those who attended were intrigued by the information presented in the report.
CSW made the 67-page faculty survey report and a 14-page executive summary available to the general public on its Web site prior to the forums.
Kelly Rusch, commission chairwoman, recommended those interested read the detailed report before the forum in order to be informed about the survey’s findings.
The report from the faculty survey showed there were three main issues of concern to female faculty members.
“The three global categories are salary, safety and climate,” Rusch said.
Climate, the environment in which women are working, probably is the biggest problem, Rusch said.
Salary is an expected concern among most faculty members, and safety is a predominantly greater concern for women than men.
The commission anticipated main concerns when it originally was created.
Fogel formed the commission in 1999 after faculty members Michelle Mass, Jill Suitor and Dominique Homberger presented a resolution to the Faculty Senate stating the need for the commission in 1997.
CSW’s charge included recommending policy changes to the administration through relevant campus bodies, monitoring women’s status changes on campus and generating an annual report to keep the campus community informed on the commission’s findings.
CSW conducted the faculty survey, as well as staff and student surveys in April 2000.
CSW most likely will present its recommendations to the Faculty Senate in the spring as a resolution to the administration.
From there, the administration will make a decision on how to respond to the recommendations, but the chairwomen are confident their suggestions will be taken seriously.
The full analysis from the staff survey probably will be presented in the same type of report and discussed in forums in the spring 2003.
The analysis of the student survey probably will not be presented until fall 2003.
Faculty members said they think CSW will be around for a long time after these reports are issued, though.
“CSW is a standing commission,” said human ecology professor and former CSW chairwoman, Teresa Summers. “One of the charges of the commission is to be a fact-finding body and to make an annual report to the campus and the provost. We aren’t going anywhere.”