Grant stories

Many of our member universities are working hard to promote gender equity and equality. ACU Gender Programme support makes their efforts go further. Here are some examples of achievements by our members as a direct result of ACU Gender Programme support:

• The University of Papua New Guinea School of Business and Public Policy reviewed the curriculum to ensure students have knowledge and understanding of the Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) policy and its advantages.

• Inspired by the ACU supported workshop, Vels Institute of Science, Technology & Advanced Studies in Chennai, India organised a series of events promoting gender equity, including community engagement events supporting underprivileged women, following the workshop.

• The University of Asia Pacific (UAP) in Bangladesh reported that after the ACU supported workshop on gender issues and several follow up seminars, complaints regarding sexual harassment in the UAP has dropped to zero.

• The participants at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan reflected that the ACU supported workshop broadened their horizons and improved their leadership skills. They organised several follow up events, such as workshops on women empowerment and gender equality.

• Women’s Studies and Development Centre of University of Delhi, India said that the ACU supported national workshop resulted in plans for inclusion of voices from grassroots in academic programmes. Such workshops and awareness initiatives have brought an increase in the number of researchers pursuing gender related research within the university. It has also led to a focus on interdisciplinarity, reflected in the introduction of modules on gender in various courses/disciplines.

• Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda reported that the workshop resulted in development of a university sexual harassment policy, as well as on-going revision of the university admission and recruitment policy to incorporate gender aspects.

• For its 100-year anniversary, the University of Malta decided to exhibit achievements of the first women admitted to the university. The ACU supported workshop encouraged the roll out of a gender audit for one of the faculties, with a view to accomplish similar audits for the rest of the organisation. The university is now planning to include gender mainstreaming as part of its Continuous Professional Development programme for academic staff.

• Zambian Open University saw considerable positive change after the workshop. Gender equity is now part of consideration for all managerial appointments, and strives to ensure that working committees are gender balanced. Gender has been mainstreamed in all Schools and in all modules. University gender experts are now being invited by the Zambian government to organise training on gender equity and to provide feedback from a gender perspective on government working groups and committees.

• Appna Institute of Public Health, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Pakistan acknowledged that the workshop improved awareness on gender-based harassment related issues and the university is now planning to formally implement Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, passed by the President of Pakistan in 2010. The organisers developed a training manual ‘Integrating Gender in Higher Education Institutions’ following their four-day workshop financed by ACU Gender Programme.

• Department of Women’s Studies in Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam – Women’s University in India organised a three-day workshop for male students from all 7 universities in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The workshop educated the participants on the role of men and boys in gender equality and raised their awareness about responsibility of both sexes in promoting gender equality.