New Report on Status of Women on Campus released

The University of Houston Commission on Women is pleased to release a new report entitled, The Status of Women at the University of Houston: Students, Staff, and Faculty.  The Commission on Women is charged with the responsibility of informing and advising the president of the university on issues and concerns that have an impact of women on campus.  Commission Co-Chairs, Rebecca Szwarc and Elizabeth Gregory, presented the report to interim president Dr. John Rudley with who approved it for broader release to the university community. 

The report gathers secondary data on the status of women on campus across six areas:  Leadership, education, salaries, athletics, violence against women, and child care.  The findings of the report show some areas in which female students, staff, and faculty are demonstrating progress and success while revealing other areas in which opportunities for women seem to be lacking. A PDF file of the report is available for download here.

The executive summary reads:

• Women are largely absent at the highest levels of leadership in the University, comprising only 10% of the Board of Regents, 11% of the highest level of University administration, 7% of Deans, 25% of Faculty Senators, and 26% of Student Government Senators.  The only area of leadership that has a majority of women is the Staff Council.

• In 2006 female students comprised 52% of the student body and were awarded 55% of degrees.  Female students have greater annual retention and graduation rates than their male counterparts. In some colleges a gender balance is achieved, such as in the schools of law and business, while in other schools a gender imbalance is apparent with women being underrepresented, such as in the schools of technology and engineering.

• Men outnumber women six to one at the rank of full professor and two to one at the associate professor level.  The higher the faculty rank the more likely the professor is to be male.  Differences in faculty composition by gender vary by college.  The most disproportionate numbers are in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics where the ranked faculty is 90% male and 10% female

• Although only an exploratory analysis of aggregate faculty and staff salary data was available and, in the case of faculty, was not controlled for important variables such as number of publications or seniority, a clear pattern emerged. In almost every category men were paid more than their female counterparts.  Although monthly differences could be relatively small, an accumulation of disadvantage was noted when salaries were totaled over twelve months. 

• Two-thirds of student athletes are male.  Coaches for the men’s athletic teams make almost twice the salary of coaches for the women’s teams. Athletically related student aid for male student athletes is almost twice that of female student athletes. Six out of seven head coaches for the women’s teams are male.  Despite adding additional women’s sports, such as softball, the number of female athletes has decreased rather than increased in the past three years. Finally, 48% of female athletes believe men’s sports are given greater support than women’s sports while 95% of male athletes believe men and women receive equal support.

• Six sexual offenses were reported on the campus in 2005 while a state study reveal that only 20% of sexual assaults are reported to law enforcement agencies.  The Daily Crime Bulletin reveals numerous other crimes against women on campus such as harassing emails, phone calls, and visits (often by former boyfriends);  terroristic threats; and intimate partner violence.

• The designated childcare facility on campus is housed in 30-year old “temporary” buildings and no drop-in, evening, or weekend hours are available. There is a waiting list of over 50 people for nine infant care slots. 

The report ends with a series of recommendations.

We welcome comments, suggestions, critiicisms on the report. We hope the report can spark a dialogue as well as action for the future.  Please click here to leave comments on the report.  Thank you very much for your interest.