Women are seldom seen playing managerial roles in higher education sector

Updated on: Friday, March 22, 2013

Despite their high numbers, women are seldom seen playing managerial roles in higher education sector. To change this, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been conducting workshops for female college teachers that aim to motivate the participants and raise their aspiration levels.

A five-day UGC sponsored workshop called Sensitivity, Awareness and Motivation (SAM) is underway at city's LAD College. This capacity building workshop has participants from Nagpur, Chandrapur, Amravati, Kamptee, Gondia, Yavatmal, Akola, Dariyapur and other nearby places.

Local coordinator Hema Gedam said, "When it comes to policy framing and decision making, women in the education field are scared of taking up the responsibility. These are still male dominant fields and women end up getting small or trivial roles."

Former UGC chairperson Armaity Desai has started these workshops after noticing that the number of women attending the meetings of the commission was very less. The members now like to call it a movement, which has been taking place since 2004. For women who have undergone the training an active and interactive forum exists in the form of the website www.ugcwomenmanagers.org.

Former director of SNDT University and the regional coordinator Ravikala Kamat said, "Many women work in the higher education system but most of them are at the bottom of the hierarchy. They tend to avoid top positions thinking that it may be too much responsibility and involve politics. At times, their reasons to be unsure of their capabilities are social or institutional." She believes that though some women in the country are on powerful posts, they do not signify the empowerment of a majority.

Through a decade of training, the group has been able to change the scenario to a large extent, believes Hellen Joseph, a core group resource person and an associate professor at College of Social Work Nirmala Niketan. "A large number of women have understood the oppression to their growth brought about because of being submerged in a culture of silence. In places which are more strongly patriarchal, including big cities, it is more difficult to convey this idea," she said.

The participant seemed to have similar feelings. Head of the home economics department at Morris College Neelima Sinha said, "The workshop has given me a realistic insight in evaluating my own capacity. Women avoid positions of power due to reasons like fear of the powers that be, remaining silent or offering no resistance or opting to remain in a comfort zone."

Associate professor at Wardha's JB College of Science Suhas Khandare said, "Even qualified women who are doing well are often overlooked when it comes to promotions or giving an opinion. The scenario is changing with support of family and society. However, at workplaces, the gender bias still remains."

Women are seldom seen playing managerial roles in higher education sector

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