Introduction     General Recommendations      Approach      Findings     Recommendations

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On September 24, 1999, University of Houston President Arthur K. Smith appointed the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. The two-year mission of the Commission was to identify a wide spectrum of issues that affect women on this campus, to assess the overall climate of the University as it relates to its female members, and then to provide a set of recommendations to the President on how best to address these matters. During its initial meetings, Commission members identified a number of relevant issues; these included pay equity, respect in the workplace and job satisfaction, safety on campus, gender discrimination, support of a women’s resource center and the University’s attitude toward family friendliness.

In order to secure a more rigorous assessment of these and other issues, the services of a management consulting group, Jeanneret & Associates, were retained through a competitive bid process. Jeanneret & Associates instituted a three-phased examination of the climate for women at the University. Working closely with the Office of Affirmative Action and the Department of Human Resources, they collected and analyzed data. With Commission guidance, a formal survey for female and male faculty, staff and students was developed and distributed, and, in the third phase, these findings were clarified and interpreted through the use of focus groups. Subsequently, task forces, composed of Commission members, continued the factual investigations and the consultations with members of the University; they also provided the initial formulations of the recommendations, which have been reviewed and revised by the Commission as a whole.

The two-year examination of the status of women at the University revealed a workforce with remarkable loyalty and a strong desire to advance the University. At the same time, female staff and faculty have a wide range of negative perceptions that can be broadly attributed to the fact that women on campus do not regard themselves as fully equal participants in the University community. (Student input was too sparse to generalize.) Based on its findings, the Commission proposes six areas of action, in addition to special measures to continue the Commission and provide higher level advocacy for the issues facing women at the University. These are designed to address the issues of morale and the facts underlying the negative perceptions.

Commission members recognize there are very positive aspects to the University’s record, especially in recent years. However, at this time, when the University is undergoing a remarkable transition that will advance its national standing, it is particularly important to assure that all its members can be included in, and reap equal benefit from, the process. For this reason, we stress the need for permanent institutional measures to provide a campus on which women are equal members.

INTRODUCTION

On September 24, 1999, University of Houston President Arthur K. Smith appointed a Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. This Commission was initially composed of female faculty, staff and student representatives. On November 17, 1999, based upon recommendations by Commission members, the Commission was expanded to include male members as well as non-exempt staff.

The President’s charge to the Commission was to identify a wide spectrum of issues that affect females on this campus, to assess the overall climate of the University as it relates to women and then to provide a set of recommendations to the President on how best to address these matters by August 2001. These specific recommendations are intended to address problems affecting women on this campus and inequities that may exist between the treatment of male and female University constituents.

Following are the general recommendations to the President that have resulted from this work as well as an analysis of the report and the subsequent recommendations that are submitted to the President for action.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

• The Commission's term should be extended for one more year for the purpose of implementing and monitoring the recommendations made in this Report. In addition,further research should be conducted on how best to address other concerns raised here.
• The President should create a rotating two-year position that reports directly to him and sits on his Cabinet, with responsibility for handling Women's Issues on this campus and acting as a liaison for the President on women's issues.
• The Committee on the Status of Women (CSW) should continue as a faculty committee but at the end of next year (August 2002) the Commission should merge with the faculty CSW to create a single, permanent, campus-wide advisory group on women's issues at the University, chaired by the Cabinet-level women's liaison representative.

APPROACH

The President’s Commission, through a competitive bid process, retained the services of Jeanneret & Associates, a management consulting group, to conduct an assessment of the campus climate as it pertains to women’s issues and to identify issues relevant to women at this University.

Jeanneret & Associates employed a three-phase approach in gathering this information.

Initially, working closely with the Office of Affirmative Action and the Department of Human Resources, data were collected regarding faculty, staff and student demographics, selection and promotion, compensation, crime statistics and utilization of campus services. The data were analyzed in an attempt to identify differential impact or patterns regarding women.

In the second phase, a survey was distributed to faculty, staff and students. The survey contained questions regarding general campus issues as well as gender specific issues such as sexual harassment, perceptions of salary inequities and underrepresentation of women in higher-level positions. The surveys were distributed to all faculty members, a sample of over 1000 male and female staff and over 1000 male and female students. The response rate was 30% for faculty, 37% for staff and 15% for students. This report reflects these survey results.

The third component of the assessment used focus groups to help the consultants clarify and interpret some of the survey findings and also provided anecdotal information. The focus groups were conducted with male and female faculty and staff members representing departments and positions across the campus. Focus groups were conducted with 24 staff members from various levels and 19 faculty members and deans from across the University. The results of the study were then issued to the Commission in a narrative report that discussed their findings in detail along with statistical representations and charts to illustrate responses.

FINDINGS

There were some general conclusions that could be drawn from the assessment conducted by Jeanneret & Associates.

While pay inequity within comparable jobs and pay grades is not a problem, the appointment of women to the upper ranks of staff and faculty is disproportionately low. In addition, many female staff members feel that pay raise determinations are too subjective and that males receive higher raises than females. The fact is females are less likely to hold highly compensated positions. Underrepresentation of females at senior staff positions is a reality and the fact that only one female sits on the President’s cabinet is particularly distressing.

Female faculty reports the same perception of salary inequities. Female faculty are underrepresented as full professors, chairs and deans. The statistical representation of female faculty in these areas is extremely low.

Many females believe that the lack of representation at the higher levels of both staff and faculty reflects a systemic bias against women, whether intentional or unintentional. Factors that are attributed to this trend include subjective hiring and promotion, a “male dominated” senior management, unnecessary job requirements and a lack of explicitly communicated criteria for promotion and tenure.

Also of great concern is the finding that female faculty, staff and students continue to encounter inappropriate and offensive treatment from males on campus. While all agree that the University adequately communicates its policies on sexual harassment, provides training and otherwise educates the community on sexual harassment and gender discrimination, they report instances of inappropriate remarks, comments about physical appearance and sexual innuendo. A majority of female faculty members believes that instances of sexual harassment are underreported on campus due to fear of retaliation. Many female staff members similarly report that they know of individuals whose fear of retaliation has kept them from filing formal grievances.

A large percentage of both male and female staff, faculty and students feel that campus safety is an issue that needs to be addressed. They believe that a variety of methods need to be employed to ensure greater safety on this campus including a larger police presence, increased lighting, bike patrols and an increase in the awareness of crimes committed on campus.

The Commission, as a result of the research, identified a total of six broad areas and issues in need of address. Recommendations were developed for each of these areas. Those recommendations were brought back to the full Commission for further consideration and what follows are the final recommendations related to each of the issues.

RECOMMENDATIONS

I. Underrepresentation

Male and female faculty and staff observe a clear lack of female representation in higher-level staff and faculty positions. These are not misperceptions as the numbers bear out these observations. There are fifteen Deans at this University and only three are female. Two of those were hired in the past eighteen months. There are 41 Chairs of Departments and only four are women. Ten individuals sit on the President's immediate Cabinet, holding the positions of Vice President, Provost and General Counsel. Only one of those individuals is a female. There are many reasons and explanations for these statistics but the reality is that they are demoralizing for employees and lead to suspicions that the Administration is not committed to improving the lot of women at the University and that senior management pays only lip service to the commitment to women on this campus.

Female staff members report fewer opportunities for advancement and claim that they are less likely to receive promotions and are largely prohibited from reaching the upper levels of the University hierarchy. Staff report that there are few professional development opportunities available, thus limiting their ability to improve themselves and establish a career path for advancement.

Females comprise 27% of the full-time instructional faculty but only 13% of Full Professors are women. In four-year public institutions nationwide, females comprise 48% of full-time instructional faculty. Clearly, the University is well below the average. The University has made concerted efforts in the past year to increase female representation among the faculty, resulting in 40% of all new faculty hires in the past year were female.

The commission recommends:

a. Staff

• Develop and implement exempt search procedures for highly compensated staff, grade 73 and above, including ungraded positions. Procedures would be similar to existing faculty search procedures and inaccordance with System Administrative Memorandum 02.A.13, Recruitment, Job Posting and Selection of Staff Employees.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive training and professional development program for all staff.
• Development and implement a formal mentoring program for middle management and professional employees.

b. Faculty

• Develop formal mechanisms and procedures to permit temporary extensions for achieving tenure in cases of childbearing or care of a dependent. Model after policies at similar institutions (University of Texas) and submit through appropriate channels for review and implementation.
• Develop performance criteria for Deans and Chairs that are part of the annual performance appraisal and merit pay process that holds them accountable for the recruitment and hiring of women. Similar measures should be implemented for retention of female faculty.
• Develop formal mentoring programs in each Department for junior female faculty.

II. Sexual Harassment

A major purpose of this study was to assess the climate and culture of the University as it pertains to documented and perceived issues of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

On a positive note, most respondents, male and female, believe that the University does a good job in communicating its policies and educating the workforce with respect to sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

Alarmingly, however, a majority of respondents believes that cases of sexual harassment and gender discrimination go unreported for fear of retaliation and that the administration will protect the accused rather than the accuser. It was suggested that women who file complaints are essentially ending their careers. Several staff members indicated that they doubted whether the Office of Affirmative Action could handle complaints appropriately as that office reports to the Office of the General Counsel. Sixty of all female faculty believe that women as a group have been victims of gender discrimination, and almost 50% indicated that the University’s culture prevents women from reaching their full potential.

Real or perceived, these findings are of great concern and need to be addressed.

The Commission recommends:

• Re-issue a widely distributed policy statement on the University's prohibition of sexual harassment. This statement needs to include a zero tolerance position for any form of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
• Invite select faculty and staff to Wortham House on a regular basis to discuss issues pertaining to women at the University, patterned after the “Conversations at Wortham House” series of meetings with community leaders.
• Conduct aggressive training on sexual harassment and gender discrimination, including diversity and sensitivity training campus-wide.

III. Campus Safety

Campus safety was a major concern for both men and women among faculty, staff and students in the recently completed study. The report states in its conclusion: “Finally, a large percentage of the female faculty, staff and students report that safety of women on campus is a significant problem.

Many feel that greater police presence is needed, particularly on the campus perimeter, that lighting could be improved in campus parking lots and around buildings, and that women are not safe even during daylight hours in some campus buildings. Several women specifically suggested that the University do more to increase awareness of crimes committed on campus, including improved posting of crime notices, and e-mails notifying those on campus of crimes committed against University members. They also asked for an increase in police staffing.”

Members of the Commission met with the acting Police Chief (prior to the appointment of our new Police Chief) and with four lieutenants who are senior officers on the force. They reviewed comparative information on UH vs. other urban university police forces, both in staffing and budget issues and in crimes. They also discussed plans for the future, specifically issues regarding lighting, phone boxes and the bike patrol.

The Commission recommends:

• Continue with current effort to increase the number and visibility of police officers, particularly patrol officers. Ideally, the goal should be a ratio for number of officers/students that is more reflective of the size of the UH student body based on benchmarks from other major, public urban universities. This would mean adding approximately 30 new officers to the force over time.
• Continue with the effort to increase the quantity and quality of lighting on campus and utilize a lighting expert to determine what and how many types of lights a campus this size requires. A commitment of $100,000 per year to support the lighting program is suggested.
• Continue the effort to increase the Cougar Patrol and recommend partnering with the UH-Downtown Criminal Justice program to provide regular internships for their students in order to increase the size of the student-based patrol group.
• Continue to increase and upgrade the call box system, including the perimeter parking lot areas and to expand the system to the interior of the campus.
• Provide information on campus safety at all student, faculty and staff orientations.
• Work with Internal Communications to expand regular communication systems for ongoing safety information and emergency announcements, and that this system be publicized to the campus to alert people where to watch for information on theseissues.
• Reinstitute the building liaison program with people designated in each building trained to help prevent and report crime and that all occupants of each building know how to make use of the liaison in preventing and reporting crimes.

IV. Family Issues

a. Family Leave Policy

Women are more likely than men to be primary caregivers for children and to deal with family emergencies such as sick relatives; they are more likely to need time off work. Female staff reported that women’s performance ratings suffered because of their family responsibilities, specifically their use of “sick days” to perform these duties, though managers and supervisors stated that “only employees who abuse the sick leave policy” received lower ratings. UH needs to implement a family leave policy that will cover the birth, adoption, or care of children and care for sick or elderly relatives.

One major discrepancy revealed by the survey can be described in terms of policy versus practice: while UH employees might rate their own supervisors as “flexible when I have to deal with family problems” they also felt that UH as an institution was not necessarily “family friendly.” In other words, individual practices might be favorable to women, but because these practices varied from department to department and from manager to manager, policies are needed that support UH employees’ family needs. In order to develop rational leave policies for faculty and staff, UH should first determine exactly what practices are in place across campus now and explore other options for working parents, such as work-sharing, the use of flextime and part time positions.

b. Childcare

The campus childcare center (UHCCC) receives high marks for its high-quality care, but low marks for affordability (especially for students and hourly staff) and particularly for its limited availability. Informal records show that the center accommodates some 160 children each term, with 200 names on a waiting list. Affordable and available childcare could be an effective tool in recruiting and retaining women in all positions at the University including returning and nontraditional students, a population on which we pride ourselves as an urban institution. Other concerns surrounding childcare include the special needs of single mothers, the possibility of offering evening hours, and a drop-off program (as distinct from the semester contract). All of these matters require additional research.

The Commission needs additional data on childcare because so many respondents among all three groups (35% of staff, 52% of faculty and 66% of students) marked “unable to rate” questions concerning the UHCCC in the Jeanneret survey. Specifically, we want to know more about who uses the center and for how long, whether we lose good candidates (again, among students, staff and faculty) because of UH’s limited childcare, what other options our constituents do use, and how UH might serve its community better. Both family leave policy and childcare are issues crucially affecting the climate for women at UH.

The Commission recommends:

• Begin a record-keeping system to track such information as the number of inquiries it receives about childcare on campus, the number of potential users on the waiting list (including the ages of the children), the number it serves and denies and the number that eventually declines the services.
• Develop and distribute a survey for past, present and potential users of the UHCCC. Data should be gathered and analyzed by May 2002 and will inform the Commission and provide final recommendations.
• Appoint a member of the Commission to the UHCCC Advisory Board and serve as liaison between the two.
• Institute a Stop-the-Clock program for men and women faculty on tenure track and a comparable program for staff members for reasons of family responsibility, such as the birth or adoption of a child, the care of a child, and sick or elderly family member.
• Continue to research alternative work schedules for staff, including work sharing, flextime and part-time options.
• Initiate serious discussions among UH officials, managers and supervisors and staff members concerning interest in and viability of these various alternatives.

V. Job Satisfaction

Male and female staff members reported overall job satisfaction and pride working for the University. They did note that they often felt like staff are treated second to faculty and that a class system existed at the University. Many respondents felt that the University was not particularly loyal to them. A majority of faculty both male and female indicated a positive University experience, though 50% indicated that the University was not loyal to them. Several recommendations, which affect job satisfaction, have been included in other sections.

The Commission recommends:

• Development of supervisory training of faculty and staff regarding gender issues.
• Development of an alternate dispute resolution program and/or mediation program with emphasis on gender issues.

VI. Women’s Resource Center

The Commission asked that two items be included in the Jeanneret survey instrument that addressed the need for a Women’s Resource Center (WRC). The result is a general consensus at this University for the need for a Women’s Resource Center for use by all members of the University community.

A majority of female respondents felt that women would benefit from a central resource center and would be supportive of efforts to create such a center. Focus group members were asked to discuss what services would be provided by such a center, and some services identified included rape crisis counseling, career counseling and women’s health issues.

Additionally, members of the task force on the WRC understand the function of the WRC to include: services to older/returning female students, staff and faculty, assistance with the recruitment and retention of non-traditional students, provision of information on childcare and study skills, and provision of a meeting place for support groups. Also, a WRC would provide career development and counseling for women in especially non-traditional fields, support and assistance for staff and students with applications for scholarships, internships and advanced studies. The WRC could function as a clearinghouse for information gathering and also act in a coordinating role while serving as an umbrella office with the general advocacy role for women and issues affecting women on campus. The WRC would also sponsor seminars and lectures on various issues affecting women including but not limited to sexual assault, date rape awareness, women’s health issues, elder care and domestic abuse. These services would also be available to men with similar concerns.

The Commission recommends:

• Establish a WRC as an officially funded and recognized office, with a budget and staff.
• House the WRC in an appropriate campus location with regular hours, including evening times.
• Charge the Committee on the Status of Women to survey students, targeting at least 8,000 students at all levels, with an expected response rate of 20%, to determine what specific needs they believe could be addressed by the establishment of a WRC.

The Commission would like to thank President Smith for the opportunity to address the concerns identified through the research and work of the Commission. The establishment of a Presidential Commission on the Status of Women indicates his commitment to women’s issues and to making the University an environment that values and supports women. While feedback from the consultants indicates a serious morale issue among women at UH, implementation of the above recommendations will go a long way to address some of the bigger problems. This is great beginning and by no means a conclusion. With the continued support form the administration, this Commission along with the CSW can effect some positive changes and advance the lot of women at our University.

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