UNC’s women’s status committee to conduct new survey, examine issues

Female faculty members at the University can face various challenges balancing work and family life.

The committee met Wednesday to consider ways to survey female faculty members once again to see if those issues still exist.

“It’s very hard to make a blanket statement for the entire University,” said Patrick Curran, chairman of the committee.

“I think there are areas within the University that gender disparity exists.”

The committee was formed in 1973 to address ongoing concerns of women faculty members, identify obstacles to achievement and propose steps for overcoming these obstacles, said Anne Whisnant, a committee member.

Curran said the committee addresses more subtle forms of discrimination than the members might have seen before.

On Wednesday, the committee discussed how the medical school does not have many women in leadership positions, while most of the student body is female.

Committee members hope to find out why a gap exists, said Amy Herring, a member of the committee.

She said they might use surveys and focus groups to gather information from individual departments for study.

Whisnant said the group will also address salary disparities at the University, which might arise from maternity leaves or familial conflict.

“We have to question what is the status and what are the disparities,” Whisnant said.

“We have to find out whether it varies based on the school.”

Curran said women face tougher decisions when it comes to balancing work and family life.

“A lot of the concerns commonly expressed are, ‘How can I be a successful faculty member — a teacher, an active member in my intellectual community — and be a good parent, and be able to get away at 3 p.m. so I can go see a violin concert my kid is in?’” Curran said.

The committee plans to present its newest report at the Faculty Council’s meeting in March.

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