Salary Equity Resolution Delayed

Faculty Council members delayed Friday voting on a resolution that would combat gender inequity in faculty salaries.

Discrepancies in wording, concerns that not all groups were represented and a lack of time to discuss the issue prompted a majority of the council members to vote for postponement.

Etta Pisano, chairwoman of the Status of Women Committee, presented the legislation -- created in response to recent study results that showed female faculty earn significantly less than their male counterparts -- at the Faculty Council meeting.

The resolution would require the formation of a Committee on Salary Equity for each professional school and institution, as well as one for the College of Arts and Sciences.

These committees would review faculty salaries and recommend salary corrections, if needed, to Provost Robert Shelton.

The uneasiness arose when Ken Bollen, professor of sociology, pointed out that higher-end salaries also should be reviewed, arguing that such a review might help to identify the reasons why salary differentiation occurs.

"Equity has two sides: too low and too high," he said.

After hearing Bollen's argument, other members decided that they needed more time to think the proposal over and voted for postponement.

"I was surprised that something like this could hold it up," Pisano said.

"The point of the proposal is to deal with low-end salaries."

On average, women in Academic Affairs make $1,332 less than their male counterparts, while female faculty in the School of Medicine earn $6,976 less than male faculty members.

"It's a highly charged issue," said Sue Estroff, chairwoman of the Faculty Council. "We need equal pay for equal work."

To speed up the process of creating salary equality, a separate resolution containing Bollen's requests should be made, Estroff said.

Shelton said faculty will benefit from the postponement, which will give members more time to think about the issue.

"The mind-set is that we need to generate more money for salaries so we can compensate those who are earning less without punishing those that rightfully earn more," he said.

By making a case to the N.C. General Assembly, Shelton said, he hopes to receive this funding despite recent budget cuts.

"I'm optimistic. ... I have great confidence in the provost and the chancellor," Pisano said.

"They have made it very clear that they want to deal with these problems."

The Faculty Council will vote again on the resolution Feb. 7, and, like Pisano, most members remain optimistic.

"We are going to move ahead," Estroff said. "We are moving at warp speed."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.