At its Feb. 6 meeting, the President’s Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) presented midyear updates to President Bill Chace.

Marietta Collins, Susan Gilbert and Anne Kelley, representing the faculty concerns committee, reported the group is still working on obtaining data from the School of Medicine to add to its existing faculty gender equity issues study. The committee already has data from the basic sciences and pediatrics departments and waiting on data from surgery.

As a follow-up to the study, Gilbert will lead a subcommittee to examine issues of women in leadership at Emory. The committee asked PCSW members to co-sign a letter that will be sent to various search committees currently active on campus to remind them of the importance of including qualified women in the candidate pools. Also, the group will:

• begin to use the HR database to investigate women’s representation at Emory in formal leadership roles currently and in recent years.

• supplement the HR database with new data that reflect women’s perspectives on leadership opportunities and development.

• research the presence of women in formal leadership positions at comparable universities.

An additional component of the study will be an examination of “family-friendly” policies that apply to faculty and how they are used and/or perceived by male and female faculty.
Staff concerns committee chair Susan Lee said her group is pleased with the alternative work arrangements website it helped initiate and that the site will be updated with alternative work arrangement “success stories” in the coming months. Lee also reported that the Mentor Emory program successfully finished its pilot study and now is examining funding opportunities.

Members of the student concerns committee presented a report that focused on expanding and promoting Emory’s sexual harassment information for students, faculty and staff. The report reviewed Emory’s current sexual assault policies, along with information from peer institutions.

Representatives from Human Resources (HR) and the general counsel’s office, along with Bob Ethridge, vice president for Equal Opportunity Programs (EOP), responded to the study. Ethridge, who helped write Emory’s sexual harassment policy in 1988, said the EOP has received favorable feedback on its existing programs and long has been educating campus organizations and departments through group information sessions.

Both Ethridge and HR’s Pat Douglass said their departments have been reviewing computer-based sexual harassment training/education programs, but there is a per-person cost involved that needs to be examined, Douglass said, adding that a large portion of Emory employees don’t have access to a computer on a regular basis.

Ali Crown, director of the Women’s Center, ended the meeting by suggesting the student group focus on updating information that is already available, such as flyers and the posters found in campus restrooms.

The commission will meet again March 6 at 3:30 p.m. in 400 Administration.

If you have a question or concern for PCSW, e-mail chair Beth Seelig at bseelig@emory.edu.