Q&A

Claudia Emes

Interview by Natalie St-Denis

OnCampus: Why does the U of C need a university
advisor on women’s issues?

Claudia Emes: This is an important position with a legacy of women leaders bringing women’s issues to the forefront, addressing our concerns, challenges and needs. Women are still under-represented in academe, and in some ways, universities aren’t traditionally women friendly.
I have admired the work of the women who have proceeded me in this position; each have contributed in some way to our well-being and we’ve achieved more and more over the years.
More recently, Dr. Hermina Joldersma, the past advisor on women’s issues, focused on a large research project to examine gender equity within the university, and she has contributed tremendously to the university. Her dedication to getting this done and in a timely fashion is remarkable. She’s shown with respect to gender equity, that some things are improving for women academics, but there is still much more needed in terms of improving working conditions.

What is your role as university advisor on women’s issues?

My primary role is to advise the university and the president on policy relating to the status of women at the University of Calgary and to participate in the development of employment equity policies and procedures. With the recent report of the Gender Equity Project, there are many recommendations and ideas about what we can do to improve women’s experiences at the university. My role will be to implement as many of these recommendations as possible.
I will also facilitate communication among groups concerned with women’s issues and organize special events related to the status of women at the university. I think it will be important to hold gatherings with women academics so that we can hear first-hand their concerns and difficulties and hopefully find short- and long-term solutions to some of the immediate problems.

What challenges are women in academe still facing today?

The challenges remain around creating a balance between family and career, to achieve what is expected in academe, such as acquiring grants, producing research, writing books or peer-reviewed articles while taking care of a family.

For women who have young children, daycare remains an issue, but we’ll be doubling our daycare spaces with the completion of the new Child Development Centre, so we are making some headway in that area. It’s also important to note that gender challenges differ from one faculty to another. For instance, we have information that suggest that women in science are doing better in acquiring grants from major funding agencies, but the dollar amounts that they are receiving for their research is still significantly less than their male colleagues.

That is a trend that we would like to reverse.

In your opinion, do men and women face the same challenges?

There is no doubt in my mind that women and men have different ways of pursuing their careers from a scholastic and research perspective, and a different way of approaching their work in the office.
I maintain that there is still a greater challenge for women to balance home life and the office. I have colleagues who for years came into to the office at four in the morning to work, then went home at seven, got their kids up, made them breakfast and got them ready for school and then came back to the office. There is evidence that things are changing, but it is not changing rapidly. So many women face chronic sleep depravation, which can have serious effects on one’s mental and physical health. It shouldn’t have to be this way.

There is also a concern about the University Student Ratings of Instruction (USRI). There appears to be gender differences in the results of this process. This tool is used as a measure of teaching success for determining increment recommendations yet we don’t know if it discriminates against women.

How do men’s academic careers differ from women’s academic careers?

I think one important element is that many women are at prime childbearing age when they start their academic careers. And those who choose to have children are heavily burdened with multiple roles as mother, wife and academic—it’s not easy to juggle all of those priorities.

While women are raising their children they are not likely to take on additional administrative duties such as being a departmental chair or dean. And by the time they are ready to take on these leadership roles, because their children have grown, they want to sink their teeth into research—bringing to life all of those ideas that have been brewing for decades. I think this partly contributes to fewer women in upper administrative roles.

How does the University of Calgary rate in terms of its treatment of female academics?

We are very lucky to have an administration and a president who are sincerely interested in addressing women’s issues and reducing the gender gap. Like I said before, there is still room for improvement, but the good news is that this university has every intention of making things better.
Much of what female academics experience comes from centuries of male tradition within universities. It’s going to take a while to shift the culture into a new paradigm, a new way of thinking. Part of the solution is to increase the number of women in leadership roles, and I don’t only mean administrative roles. We need to recognize women who are doing amazing things for the university through community outreach and their involvement and influence outside administrative roles.