Univ. to investigate gender equity report
October 8, 2007 by TAMARA BEST
Filed under News
A committee is looking to see if there are discrepancies between the pay of men and women at the University.
The University Council Benefits Committee met Friday to talk about plans to interpret the findings of a gender equity report by the end of 2007.
The University Council and Provost’s office are joining forces to analyze the report, which seeks to determine whether differences between male and female faculty members’ salaries exist. If so, they will recommend actions that can be taken to remedy the discrimination.
“It’s important to have the administration involved in order to implement real change,” said Sarajane Love, a professor at the school of law and chair of the subcommittee on gender equity.
Provost Arnett Mace approved the study this spring, and the subcommittee assigned to the issue is nearing a consensus on how to administer the study. Within the last few weeks, consulting experts such as Barbara Butterfield have offered input on how the study should be conducted.
“The toughest part is agreeing on the methodology. Crunching numbers is crunching numbers,” said Thomas Gausvik, associate vice president of human resources.
The study will have three parts: conducting the report, analysis of the results and salary adjustments, if necessary. Factors to be considered in the report include gender and race, among others. A similar report was conducted in the early 2000s but never published.
“The report is something that needs to become a part of normal business every three to five years at the University, so that we can examine disparities across the board,” Gausvik said.
The committee also discussed developments in child care and the Sept. 28 rally. Although there has been no significant progress, consultants hired by the University are conducting a needs assessment to determine more information for the possibility of building a child care facility.
Members of the committee say they believe the input from different groups, including students, is important to the process.
“This issue cuts across all areas of the University community, and everyone should have access to the decision-making process,” said Mark Brown, an entomology professor. “It would be beneficial to have representatives from different areas, including GSA (the Graduate Student Association) and SGA.”
The committee also briefly discussed issues of domestic partner benefits, professional leaves of absence and retirement plans.
The committee agreed to support a recent decision by the Faculty Senate of Georgia State University to ask the Board of Regents to offer employer-subsidized domestic partner health care benefits for members of the University System of Georgia.
