WOMEN ACADEMICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
IZMIR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Professor Semra Ulku
FormerRector
1

Sustainable development
◦ the progress that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
◦ combines environment-friendly solutions with economic
efficiency and social justice, taking into account
democratic political issues as well as global and cultural
aspects.
three interdependent pillars of sustainable
development
 Economic sustainability
 Social sustainability.
 Environmental sustainability



Sustainable development can’t be achieved unless all
segments of the society, with equal contribution of
woman and man starting from childhood, are involved
Empowerment of woman is a prerequiste for sustainable
development and the achivement of MDG
Education -- which is a right that should be enjoyed by
all - is the most powerful tool through which to achieve
the goal of global sustainable development
Institutions of higher education educate people that will
shape the futue societies
• They have a crucial function in the attainment of sustainable
societies and global development.
• UN announced 2005-2014 Decade of Education on sustainable
development
• New goal of higher education in terms of learning outcomes
• Gender Equality
• Organizational structure,
• Program curricula,
• Course syllabi,
• Learning (Teaching methods)
Faculty trainig centers
Institutions of teacher education
•




ESD is based on values of justice, equity, tolerance,sufficiency
and responsibility.
ESD promotes gender equality, social cohesion and poverty
reduction and emphasises care, integrity and honesty, as
articulated in the Earth Charter.
◦ Promote the active participation of women in all aspects of
economic, political, civil, social, and cultural life as full and
equal partners, decision makers, leaders, and beneficiaries
ESD starts during the early childhood where the basis for
future learning is laid out and continues in during the entire
life
ESD aims to enable people to acquire the values knowledge
and skills required to shape their life and society in a
sustainable way
The forgotten priority::
Promoting gender equality in Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD)
• Noteworthy achievements have been made throughout the world
with regards to awareness raising and the implementation of ESD
in educational systems.
• Gender equality is clearly at the heart of the overall development
agenda and is critical in achieving the MDGs
• gender inequality remains poorly addressed in education
sector strategies, policies, planning and implementation.
• ESD should
• actively promote gender equality,
• create conditions and strategies that enable women to
share knowledge and experience of bringing about social
change and human wellbeing.
Balancing between the career and the family is a general problem for
all the women.
• How do women manage the conflicts between family and career?’
which raises the question of ‘how work/family conflicts influence
the choices women make?
• How can cultural barriers and sterotypes about the role of
woman in society be overcome?
• Women find that it is not good enough to be as good as men, but
are pushed to establish their credibility by being better than men
• They work harder than their male counterparts in administrative
positions and feel that they still have to prove their worth in a
male-dominated environment.
• Traditional expectations exacerbate the problems for
women,
• Being married
and having children create career
barriers that are unique to women
• For many women a professional career is dependent on
the grace and favour of the spouse.
• Balancing career and family demands rise as constraints
that affect women more than they affect men.
• Lowing down in their careers unless they have
supporting family members or hired help.
• Feeling some kind of guiltiness, especially for their
traditional roles for their children, and trying" doing all,
doing best, even more than enough " rather than setting
appropriate limits on both work and family expectation
magnifies the stress.
• Women are not daring enough
• Women do not take the risk to apply for something if there
is a chance that they might fail.
• Men are more prepared to fail than women.
• Their self confidence and motivation is higher
• Men have stronger networks than women.
• Women network with those they like,
• Men connect with people who could be useful to them.
• in conferences,
• women more likely to go to bed early and prepare their
talks
• go for a drink and negotiate jobs among themselves.





The academic careers are built in the critical years after
completion of the undergraduate degree (the years
which for women are most likely to be interrupted by
child-bearing and domestic responsibility)
Academic life is demanding( the average professor
works 55 hours per week).
When child care and home responsibilities are added, a
woman should work 70 or more hours per week.
The concentration and energy needed to fulfil work
expectations is likely to conflict with demands for
attention from children and/or spouses.
The expectation will be fulfilled by sacrificing from the
leisure, relax or sleep time.
• 59 % of EU graduate students
• 31% of EU science and engineering students
• 20 % of EU senior academicians
• Engineering was an exclusive men’s club until the late 1800s but
still women don’t even consider engineering as option
• Young women are socialized to believe that math and science
are the province of males, and that discourages them from
pursuing engineering.
• There is a lack of role models and opportunities that inspire and
cultivate interest.
• Furthermore, there is a lack of fundamental math and science
standards in high school curricula in most of countries.
 .
Global Gender Index2013
two extremes
 47% in Turkey,


12.7% in Japan
women faculty feel well supported within their departments and
most do not believe that gender bias will impact their careers
differently from those of male colleagues
In Turkey, women are more successful in enrolment at
universities and in attaining positions then most western
countries after 1920s Republican period, due to the reforms
realized for gender equality, including opportunities for higher
education, with the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to
establish a modern and secular society

In Turkey ,the educational system, with intensive math and
science courses throughout high school
and a highly
competetive university entrance exam with equal chance for
girls and boys allows the women to represent themselves
better in engineering and science.
 Contrary to Western stereotypes, Turkey has a surprising proportion of women
scientists.

Today women occupy is above 40% of the all the academic positions in
Turkey.
 The percentage of female academics in Turkish engineering disciplines is
above 30%.
 In Turkey around 25% of the professors in engineering are female (In USA
10%)
 In Izmir Institute of Technology total percentage of academics in engineering
is 40%
In comparison to other countries, women are very
well represented in Turkey in the academic world






This is thanks largely to reforms in favor of gender equality
realized under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk –
the founder of modern Turkey
Long history of female lecturers in Turkish higher education
as early as 1920s (Tradition of female faculty)
Gender stereotypes (that women would be less capable of
doing research than men, or less qualified for some forms
of research) do not play a large role
Academia is regarded as a female appropriate career
choice.
Transparency in promotion system
Availability of domestic help.


Prof Dr Sümer Peker (Retired Chemical Engineering)....Women
academic members receive more understanding when
confronted with problems related with their gender, such as
birth and baby care right after birth, in institutions where
they are in the majority, especially if managed by another
woman.
If women in the academic world think they are being held
inferior to the male academic members, other factors should
be questioned, again related with gender. The first is related
with the social values of the community. In a community
where male dominance is not questioned, the female
academic members carry over these concepts to the
academic world: they will prefer a male department head or
a dean, out of sheer respect to the superior capabilities of
men, injected to them throughout the years by their family
and society they live in.
They will not vote for a woman
academic member, for example. Another outcome of the
values of the society is the aspiration of male academic
members to leadership positions such as department heads,
deans and rectors. The same goes for the aspiration of male
academic members in giving “prestigious” courses ...



..I believe motivation is another important factor in gender
differentiation in the academic world.
Motivation in women
academic members is not very strong, especially if she is working
with the aim of “supporting the family by working in a socially
acceptable environment”. Another factor causing the inferiority of
some of the women academic members is their fear of meeting
challenges. This may result simply from their self-respect, lack of
interest or motivation.
Those who have this confidence and
motivation succeed under all conditions.
In summary, in the academic world where the intellectual level of the
members are supposed to be higher than the general level of the
population, the inferiority of the women academic members, if any,
mainly stem from their lack of motivation in meeting challenges.
Perhaps, meeting challenges and motivation are other criteria that
should be examined in the CV of candidates applying for a position
in the university.






Gender equality in academia can be achieved by several ways:
It is so important how the university responds to both individual and
institutional forms of discrimination. It could be done to engage in
overt political responses that would actively challenge the structure
of the academy and university policy.
Since there is a relationship between familial responsibilities and
gender discrimination due to duties of child, and home , it may be
needed for a new model of Professional life, one that
accommodates both women and men who want to be more involved
with their families. Therefore, these responsibilites can be shared
by women and men.
Flexibility can be applied for both women and men. Flexibility in
terms of how people can be successful, and demonstrate excellence
at the end. For example universities can allow longer time before
tenure and full professorship.




Assoc Prof.Dr Şebnem Elçi (Vice Eng. Dean , Civi lEng..
I don’t belive there is discrimination in our country and gender bias
will impact careers differently from those of male colleagues....For
rising the number of female acedemics precautions should be
taken for making the life easier for them during child-bearing
parental periods.
Prof.Dr.Fehime Özkan (Dept Head Chemical Eng )
Since women can do numbers of things at the same time they also
become succesfull in academic world in addition to household
responsibilities : ...Women are satisfied and happy in academic
world ... there seems an increase in number of women in
management positions it is more diffucult to keep their positions
although they work harder than their male counterparts in
administrative
positions
.




Prof Aysun Sofuoglu (Enviromental Engineering)
I beleive ithat the countries shoul be classified in their nature such
as undeveloped, developing and developed.
Their cultural
differences and woman percetions shoul be cleared. Then,
Undeveloped countries due to poverty and problems in gender
equality, women do not have chance to have education. Therefore
the education should start from begining with some support and
then these women should be use as a role model . Cultural barriers
that discourage women to get in scientific careers
Unfortunately in the developing countries, women are one of the
workforce even though not in management much, due to globalism,
the established cultural habits and
perception in education
changes the cultural structure . Generally tendency to luxury,
enjoyment in life changes the women perception in education,
especially in science. Instead of spending too much time on
science, they start to focus on the hobbies or the work they can
create from their hobbies. Responsibilities in home also do not
help woman to put much time into scientific career. In this way the
tendency to science decreases like in developed countries...
Prof Ann Frary Dogan (Biology)
Turkey is much better than most countries on this issue
but, of course, work still needs to be done. I think one area
requiring change is gender education. Boys and girls should
learn from an early age that they are equal and equally
capable in every subject and that every possible career is
open to them. As in much of the rest of the world, girls
tend to be steered/scared away from certain fields
(engineering, for example). One idea could be to arrange
career days in schools where strong women in business,
engineering, etc. talk about their experiences. Children
need to have more exposure to such role models. Gender
bias is another area needing improvement. People need to
be more aware of what gender bias is and taught that it is
wrong. For example, when hiring a specialist, it is not ok to
think 'well, she's married and will probably get pregnant
soon so we better not hire her.' I have heard such things
here


Assoc. Prof .Dr Gulnur Aygun Ozyuzer (Physics)
....There is discrimination in Physics Dept...Male academics
don’t want female faculty..

Assit. Prof Gülüstan Meşe (Biology)...women are interrupted by
child-bearing and domestic responsibility support for child
bearing and parental period and availability of high quality
affordable child care facilities are important...
• Women are much more
likely than men to choose
engineering through the influence of a role model
• Women in leadership positions serve as role models to help
attract other women to engineering positions
• Activities to provide young women with role
models, promoting an ‘if they can do it, then so can
I’ attitude.
• Various pre-college strategies, such as
• mentoring,
• internships,
• workshops,
• and career field trips,
emphasize subjects that align with these students’
values
female gender composition in education is in turn
reflects in academia
Masculine Engineering Departments <female students< 10%
• mechanical
• civil
• electrical-electronics....
Feminine Engineering Departments female students >50%
• food,
• chemical
• environmental.....
Percentage of Academics at Engineering in Iztech
120
100
100
88
80
77
80
73
66
%
60
50
50
40
38
40
30
31
30
25
24
17
20
0
0
Food
0 0
Chemical
Prof.
0 0
Computer
Assoc. Prof.
17
Assist. Prof.
Electronic
Rsch. Assist.
22 22
0
17
11 13 12
0
Civil
Total
Mechanical
Percentage of Academics at Engineering in Turkey
80
71
70
65
62
57
60
50
%
40
43
47
54
53
45
37
35
33
30
25
20
20
14
10
10
37
35
31
23
17 18
1312
20
21
41
57
54
49
3637
21
1616
12
11
12
10
5
0
Food
Chemical
Prof.
Computer
Assoc. Prof.
Electronic
Assist. Prof.
Civil
Mechanical
Rsch. Assist.
Total
Industrial
Environment
• School visits with proper role models
• Modification of the engineering courses for sustainability
• Courses with sufficient depth and breadth
• Integrating research and education (student’s motivation,
creativity, teamwork)
• Inductive learning instead of traditional lectures
• Flexible engineering curriculum (with
technical elective
courses , directions for the interests and talents);
• Nontechnical electives in humanities and social sciences.
30
• Mentored bright, hard working students and created
opportunities for them to study for PhD in the best
universities in USA.
• Encouragement of students for applying graduate programs
• Supervising their training
Encouragement of faculty for applying
• positions
•
grants
Transparency in
• hiring
• promotion
• funding
• Attractive enviroment
• Exceptional resarch ,education ,leisure atmosphere
• Availability of in campus housing
With perception of
• women as capable academics
• and gender equality
32
transformation process in gender equalty cannot
work without a corresponding change in mentality
Are policies such as:
• Gender training in universities
• Mandotory legal quaotas
• Return to work after parental leave
• Paid parental leave
• Availability of high quality affordable child care facilities
• Availability of faculty housing
• Family frendly flexibil working arrengements
• Encouragement of parental leave sharing (Parental leave
that cannot be transfered to the partner..., man and
woman should find work balances that suit themselves)
• Attractive working and leisure enviroment
will solve the problem????
Family settings have strongest influence in
gender role development
• Gender equilibria cannot be achieved with a topdown,centrally controlled strategy.
• It is the task of education to put people in a position to
shape their personal, social and global development for
gender equality .
• How can influence of the social values of the
community, cultural bariers be changed ?
• How can self-respect, confidence motivation of woman
be increased ?
• Can (ESD) be effective ?
.
there is no country that can act as definite role model for
others as there is still so much work to do
For faculty positions
• a perception of women as capable academics
• rol models
• transparency in hiring and promotion
are more important
•


Women are still underrepresented in the management levels of
research institutes and universities
◦ Mandotory legal quaotas can be effective in board or
management positions
,

I am honoured of being a
member of this young
university
and
leading
almost from the ground
up.
37