Day 1: “Women and Leadership - the Absent Revolution” 10-11 February 2015, Delhi, India
Registration & coffee
08:30-09:30
09:30-09:45
Opening and welcome:
Rob Lynes, Country Director India, British Council
Guest of Honour: Government Representative , Ministry for Human Resources and Development (MHRD), India
09:45-10:45
Opening Plenary 1:
Women and Leadership ‘the Absent Revolution’
The under-representation of women in influential and senior leadership positions in the global academy is a major challenge. Participation in
Education for women, as undergraduate students, is now approaching parity with men at both secondary and undergraduate level (and in some
countries surpassing men). Yet this has not translated into senior appointments and leadership positions in education institutions globally. What
are the barriers and causes for these absences in Higher Education and what policies and intervention are required to redress this imbalance?
Keynote: Judith Kelly CBE, Artistic director of the Southbank Centre, UK
Keynote: Lalitha Kumaramangalam, Chairman National Commission on Women, India
Followed by Q&A
10:45:11:00
Coffee and networking
11:00:12:00
Research and Analysis
“Women in Higher Education Leadership in South Asia”, a custom report commissioned by the British Council report and conducted by the
Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research (CHEER), University of Sussex
Presenter: Professor Louise Morley, Professor of Education, University of Sussex, UK
Panellists:
 Prof. Raihana Popal, Academic Vice chancellor, Kabul university, Afghanistan
 Professor Louise Morley, Professor of Education, University of Sussex, UK
Panel Discussion followed by Q&A
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12:00-13:00
Parallel 1
‘Error 404: Data not found’ – the missing
data on female participation
Gender is often an absent category of
analysis in higher education policy- unless it
refers to participation rates of students
There is an absence of genderdisaggregated statistics held at country or
regional level with which to inform and
evaluate effective policy implementation. The
absence of gender disaggregated statistics
for staff means that progress is not being
monitored or managed
How can this be remedied, what good
practice exists already and how can these
inform policy- making at institutional and
national levels.
Panellists:
 Amarjeet Sinha, Additional
Secretary, MHRD, India
 Vijai Vardhan, Additional Chief
Secretary, Government of Haryana
 Professor Rudrangshu Mukherjee,
VC Ashoka University
 Dr Barbara Crossouard, Senior
Lecturer in Education, University of
Sussex, UK
Parallel 2
Internationalisation – a ticket to the top or not?
In today’s globalised world, mobility has become an
important factor in career advancement.
Internationalisation and opportunities for mobility,
networks and research partnerships. not only
provided resources, but also introduced women to
new knowledge, contacts and professional
approaches
However for many South Asian women moving away
from home may simply not be an option and access
to networks either unavailable or inaccessible
Has internalisation helped or hindered progression
and what pathways and programmes exist to provide
this exposure and are they fairly accessible to all?
Panellists:
 Judith Kelly OBE, Artistic director of
the Southbank Centre, UK
 Fahima Aziz, Vice Chancellor, Asian
University for Women, Bangladesh
 Manjula Rao, Assistant Director,
Internationalising Higher Education, British
Council, India
Group discussion with Facilitator
Group discussion with Facilitator
13:00-14:00
Lunch and networking
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Global Education Dialogues: South Asia Series 2015
Parallel 3
Gender on the Agenda – The rise of
Positive Action
The linking of research
funding to progress on gender equality
recently in the UK was viewed as
something of a watershed for gender
equality in research funding in the UK
Is it time now for Gender to be
mainstreamed into higher education
policy in relation to students and staff,
with equality seen as a central
constituent in quality?
What might this positive action look like,
what has worked, what hasn’t and why?
Panellists:
 Prof Kshanika Hirimburegama,
Chairperson, UGC Sri Lanka.
 Dianah Worman, Chartered
Institute of Professional
development CIPD, UK
Group discussion with Facilitator
14:00-15:15
Plenary 2:
You’re Hired!- myths and realities in academic appointments
Bringing transparency into the recruitment and selection processes for senior appointments has been cited as a major step in improving gender
parity in academic appointments. Furthermore the politicisation of academic appointments in South Asia raises serious concerns about the
quality of academic leadership as well as adding additional layers of complexity to the appointments system.
Does the recruitment and selection processes for senior appointments inadvertently or deliberately militate against women achieving high office?
What attitudes, attributes qualities and qualifications are required for today’s leaders of Higher Education?
This session will explore with those doing the hiring and sitting on search and selection committees the myths and realities of the appointment of
senior staff in leadership roles in tertiary education
Panellists:
 Ms. Shukria Barakzai MP, Member of Parliament, Afghanistan
 Mr Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Minister for Education, Government of Punjab, Pakistan
 Patrick Johnson, Head of Equality and Diversity, University of Manchester. UK
Panel Discussion followed by Q&A
15:15-15:30
Coffee and networking
15:30-17:00
Case studies & Think Piece presentations
Participants are invited to submit case studies and think pieces addressing the core themes of the Policy Dialogue - “Women and Leadership the Absent Revolution” and addressing one of the sub themes below
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Global Education Dialogues: South Asia Series 2015
Theme: Fix the individual - relates to the
behaviours and capabilities of women and men to
enable gender equity in higher education to happen.
The last policy dialogue in Colombo noted that
enhancing women’s confidence and self-esteem,
building capacity and encouraging women in higher
education to be more competitive, assertive and
risk-taking is important.
Professo Sohela Nazneen, BRAC Institute of
Governance and Development, Bangladesh
18:30
Theme: Fix the Knowledge - relates to
identifying bias, for example, in curricula,
and the importance of including gender
as a category in all disciplines as well as
introducing specific areas of scholarship
such as gender and women’s studies.
Dr. Farida Momand, Kabul Medical
University, Afghanistan
Theme: Fix the Organisation- relates to
gender mainstreaming through institutional
transformation by introducing gender equality
policies, processes and practices, challenging
discriminatory structures, gender impact
assessments, audits and reviews.
Patrick Johnson, Head of Equality and
Diversity, University of Manchester. UK
Professor Rohini Godbole, Indian Institute of
Science, India
Prof Sunaina Singh, Vice Chancellor,
The English and Foreign Languages
University, Hyderabad
Networking event – Reception
A special screening of ‘Do not Trust my Silence’ - Mubareka Sahar Fetrat, Journalist & filmmaker, Co-founder independent Female Society
Organisation, Afghanistan
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Global Education Dialogues: South Asia Series 2015
Day 2: “Women and Leadership - the Absent Revolution” 10-11 February 2015, Delhi, India
Breakfast
session
08:30-09:10
Mainstreaming persons with disabilities - Moving from the margins
Presenter: Dr Maryam Rab
An informal discussion with Dr Rab who will present the findings of a custom research report commissioned by the British Council examining
the challenges, opportunities and policy issues affecting persons with disabilities in Pakistan and which might resonate with the rest of the
countries in South Asia
09:15-09:30
Welcome to Day 2
Michelle Potts, Director Education -South Asia, British Council
09:30-10:30
Research and Analysis
Defined by absence: Women and research in South Asia - custom research report commissioned by the British council and conducted by
the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
The rise in female participation in higher education participation has been driven by rising incomes, the creation of a rapidly growing market
for higher skilled and gradually changing attitudes regarding women in the work force. However, female enrolment in postgraduate degree
programmes has not risen rapidly and women researchers in particular are noticeable by their absence.
Presenter: Dr Maryam Rab – Research Evaluation & Monitoring Unit (REMU), Pakistan, British council
Panellists:
 Furqan Qamar, Secretary General of Association of Indian Universities (AIU), India
 Shahid Zaman, Additional Secretary of Higher Education, Government of Punjab, Pakistan
 Professor Dwikorita Karnawati, Rector of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Indonesia
Panel Discussion followed by Q&A
10:30-10:45
Coffee and networking
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Global Education Dialogues: South Asia Series 2015
10:45 – 11:45
Parallel 3
Double Jeopardy – Future imbalance
As female participation in higher education is growing in some parts
of the world, in other parts, noticeably in OECD countries the
proportion of males making up the student population is dropping.
In the US for example, nearly 60% of university graduates, 60% of
master’s and 52% of doctoral degrees are awarded to women. In
many countries in the MENA and Levant region e.g. Algeria,
Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates, women have
overtaken men too. In the UK the head of the admissions agency
has suggested that universities would soon be required to treat boys
as an under-represented group if current trends continued
What are the potential implications for the global higher education
landscape in terms of gender and how might it affect higher
education leadership in the future?
Panellists:
 N V Varghese, NEUPA
 Dr Kausar Jamal Cheema, Dean of Sciences, Lahore
College for Women University, Pakistan
 Professor Louise Morley, Professor of Education, University
of Sussex, UK
Parallel 4
Invisible women
What causes women to become overlooked from leadership positions.
Is it too simplistic to look at this issue in a binary way? Anecdotes
suggest that women become invisible at a certain age or those from
certain disciplines e.g. those from social sciences or humanities
backgrounds.
Does gender really matter or are there other factors at play that
determine leadership outcomes e.g. socio-economic background, an
internationalised education , English language skills or urbanites who
are more likely to succeed in the leadership stakes?
Panellists:
 Dr Jayanti Ravi, Commissioner Labour, Government of
Gujarat, India
 Dr Sabiha Mansoor, Vice-Chancellor. University. Lahore
College for Women University (LCWU) , Pakistan
 Professor Sohela Nazneen, Department of International
Relations, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Group discussion with Facilitator
Group discussion with Facilitator
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Global Education Dialogues: South Asia Series 2015
11:45-12:45
Plenary 4
Ivory towers and glass ceilings – Contrasting the fortunes of HE with business and other sectors
There is an emerging gender disparity when it comes to positions of leadership and influence in Higher Education contrasted with their
counterparts in business and other sectors Whilst women are beginning to break the glass ceilings in all walks of life, scaling the ivory towers
is still seen as precarious and the preserve of men.
This session contrasts the fortunes of HE with its counterparts in industry, finance, society, the arts and other professions. What best practice
exists outside of academia what works, what doesn’t and why?
Panellists:
 Dr Rowena Arshad OBE. Head of Moray House School of Education/Co-Director of the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in
Scotland (CERES), UK
 Avani Davda, CEO, Starbucks
 Huma Ejaz Zaman, Partner at Mandviwalla & Zafar, Pakistan
12:45-13:30
Lunch & Networking
13:30-15:00
Open Session
Participants will suggest ideas and solution to the issues and opportunities that have been raised during the dialogue. Participants will form
teams based on individual interests and skills, discuss and present their ideas and solutions to a panel of judges. Judging will be based on
the following criteria:
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IMPLEMENTABILITY
INNOVATION
IMPACT
SUSTAINABILITY
Facilitated by Session Leaders
15:00-15:15
Dialogue Close:
Peter Upton CMG, Country Director Pakistan, British Council
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