The President's Commission on the Status of Women
The President's Commission on the Status of Women,
established in 1971, acts in an advisory capacity to the Office of
the President. The Commission has 30 regular members, appointed for
two-year terms by the President, and liaisons from bargaining units
and other University offices. Members serve on its five standing
committees: Affirmative Action and Equity, Career Development,
Information, Membership, and Outreach; volunteer members from the
University community also participate in committee activities. The
Commission meetings, held on the final Wednesday of each month, are
open to the public.
The Commission investigates and makes recommendations in areas of concern to women at the University, including the following:
Chairs of the Commission
Nancy Schlossberg 1971-73
Marilyn Heins 1973-75
Marisa Keeney 1975-77
Joella Gipson-Simpson 1977-79
Winfred Fraser 1979-82
Dorothy Dreyer 1982-84
Yvonne Doolittle 1984-86
Patricia Coleman-Bums 1986-89
Jane Thomas 1989-90
Susan Hutton 1990-91
Kathryn Heidt 1991-92
Ruth Panagos 1992-93
Diana Rosario 1994-95
Penelope Hammons 1995-96
Patrice Merritt 1996-97
Barbara Roseboro 1997-99
Linda Seatts 1999-2000
Denise Moore 2000-2001
Margaret Maday 2001-2004
Smriti Panda 2004-2006
Linda Ellington 2006-2007
Historical Perspective
Since 1789, the Constitution of the United States and its first ten amendments have represented a set of principles presumed to be in some sense 'higher than the product of mere legislative majorities," transcending political power and expediency, and therefore assuring the general good of society and safeguarding the fundamental rights of the citizens of the country. Seventy years after the adoption of the Constitution, Amendment XV extended its protections by prohibiting denial of rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. However, it was not until 130 years after the Constitution and 50 years after the XV Amendment that women achieved the right to participate in defining the "good" society in a realistic, political way: the ratification in 1920 of the XIX Amendment explicitly prohibited denial of voting rights on the basis of gender.
The decades that followed ratification of the XIX Amendment were characterized by major economic and political turmoil, including a worldwide economic depression, World War II, and an often violent union movement in the United States. The right to vote would seem to have provided women with the political power necessary to improve their legal and economic status in society, but it was difficult to assess whether women's new political power was indeed being translated into substantial improvements in legal and economic status.
The history of the fate of proposed Constitutional Amendment XXVII, popularly known as the "Equal Rights Amendment" or "ERA," gives cause for continued concern. This amendment was first considered by Congress in 1923, soon after women's suffrage was granted. However, a form of the amendment was not submitted to the states for ratification until March 22, 1972. After a full ten years of bitter debate, in 1982 the amendment fell three votes short of the number of states necessary for ratification. The "unratifiable" Constitutional Amendment XXVII read simply that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, an increasingly vocal civil rights movement brought national attention to the fact that the guarantees of the XV Amendment had not resulted in equal legal or economic opportunities for blacks and other minorities. The exclusion from the major civil rights movement of issues of concern to women generated a parallel feminist movement for political and economic power. Women were determined that this time they would not wait fifty years to secure similar advances in their own civil rights.
In 1960, responding to increased pressure from women's groups, President John F. Kennedy appointed Esther Peterson to head the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor, and in 1961, created the President's Commission on the Status of Women, chaired by the prominent advocate of women's rights, Eleanor Roosevelt. Labor unions, national women's organizations and government agencies were all represented on the Commission. The charge given to the national Commission was to investigate the level of participation of women in key political and economic areas, and to make recommendations for improvement, where necessary. Individual states were encouraged to establish their own commissions on the status of women. Notably, Michigan became the first state to do so, when, in 1962, Governor John B. Swainson created the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women by executive order; in 1968, the Michigan Legislature, under the guidance and leadership of Senator Lorraine N. Beebe, enacted Public Act No. 1, which created the Michigan Women's Commission by statute.
In 1962, the President's Commission completed its first report on the status of women in the United States. Women working outside the home were found to have a median pay less than 60% that of men, and to be concentrated in the lowest paying jobs having the lowest status. Women were clearly underrepresented in managerial positions and in positions of power in national and local governments and political parties. The President's Commission recommended increased access to education for women, aid to working mothers, child care services, equal employment opportunities, equality of rights under the law, and a wider role for women in government. The report further recommended continuing governmental action on behalf of women's rights.
As a result of this report, Congress provided additional protection for women in the workplace and in institutions of higher education. Possibly the most significant protective device was Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII, the equal opportunity section of the act, prohibited discrimination based upon race, color, religion, national origin, or sex by private employers, employment agencies, and unions. Although the public sector, including educational institutions, was exempted from Title VII protection, a later series of federal laws and regulations barred sex discrimination in educational institutions and provided the basis for legal challenges to the policies of colleges and universities holding federal contracts. Most significant among these was Executive Order No. 11246, issued in September 1965, and amended in October 1968, by Order No. 11375. Together these orders prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex in institutions receiving federal contracts over $10,000, and charged the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW, now the Department of Health and Human Services) with investigating compliance.
1971: Formation of the
President's Commission on the Status of
Women at Wayne State University
During 1969 and 1970, consonant with the national and state-wide examinations concerning the status of women, a small group of WSU women staff members met monthly with President William Keast to discuss the inequities faced by women at WSU, exhorting him to appoint an advisory group to study and address women's concerns on campus. After fourteen months of dialogue, at a meeting in February 1971, the President told the members of this group that he would like to see a formal advisory commission formed to examine the status of women employees and students at WSU. The impetus for the formation of this body may have been a HEW communication that required all universities holding federal grants and contracts from HEW agencies to be able to document equal opportunity for women in all areas and conditions of employment, in compliance with Executive orders No. 11246 and 11375.
Eighteen persons were appointed to serve on the first Commission on the Status of Women -- twelve regular members, three ex officio and three resource persons -- and, of the original informal group that had met with President Keast, four accepted appointments: Margaret Canty, Cleo Moran, Toby Cedar, and Frederica Lombard. The eighteen members were to serve for a one-year period, until June 30, 1972, and they were to submit a report at that time. An organizational meeting was held on April 30, 1971. By the conclusion of this meeting, the new Commission had established its initial committees and goals. WSU thus become the second university in Michigan to have such a commission, following the University of Michigan, which had established its commission in 1970.
The first Commission meeting was convened by Executive Vice President Ali B. Cambel at noon on April 30, 1971. The Commission initially focused on four major areas of concern:
1. Equity and equality in policies, procedures
and customs with regard to sex in employment, placement, and
promotion at WSU of the faculty, non-teaching professional and
administrative personnel, and non-academic staff.
2. Policies, climate, and customs used in the counseling of women
students in all schools but especially where gender was known or
believed to be a determining factor in recruitment and/or
admission.
3. Establishment of an office for equal employment opportunity with
special emphasis on the employment problems of minority groups and
women.
4. Compilation of a list of principal writings and resource
documents on the subject of sex-based discrimination, especially as
it concerned university-related occupations and professions.
Each of the four areas was discussed at the first meeting, and committees were established to address three of these. Formation of the committee to study the establishment of an equal opportunity office was postponed until the university's newly initiated affirmative action program was more clearly defined. The University created an Office of Equal Opportunity during this same period, and its new director was to begin work on August 2, 1971; the initial goal of that office was to coordinate efforts in the area of minority employment and the University's dealings with external minority contractors.
Three months after the Commission's first meeting, it issued a preliminary report, dated July 22, 1971, indicating that the Commission took their several charges seriously. The full Commission endorsed the recommendations that resulted from the investigations of the subcommittees. The major recommendations involved provision for child care; hiring, maternity leave, and grievance procedures; and retirement inequities. The Commission also requested a permanent budget.
1971 - 1975
Commission members met regularly through the end of 1971 and the beginning of 1972. However, it became clear that the amount of data to be gathered and the scope and complexity of the issues to be investigated precluded the completion of a final report by the Commission's original expiration date of June 1972. To ensure that the Commission had sufficient time to make a thorough study and to provide continuity during implementation of recommendations for change, Acting President George Gullen, Jr. extended the term of the Commission's service to June 30, 1975.
Nearly a year and a half of investigation culminated in August 1972, in the Commission's first Annual Report, analyzing the status of women as students and as employees. The Report identified inequities regarding women and made recommendations to resolve these. Because most of the Commission's recommendations in its preliminary report a year earlier had not been implemented, the first Annual Report included many of those recommendations as well. Not surprisingly, the major inequities identified in the status of women at WSU were similar to those previously documented by the national Commission's report issued in 1962. The 1972 Report revealed that the inequities were far more numerous than had been thought originally and urged the establishment of a formal mechanism to monitor the implementation of the Commission's recommendations and to assess the impact of such implementation on the inequities identified.
The major findings of the 1972 Report regarding women students were: women comprised 41 percent of the total University enrollment, yet representation of women decreased from 47 percent in the freshman year to 40 percent in the senior year, and to 21 percent in graduate and professional schools; women enrolled in nursing, education, and social work in large numbers, but were virtually absent in the business, engineering, medicine, and law schools; women experienced discrimination in classrooms, admission, financial aid, counseling, placement. and physical education.
The inequities identified in the Report regarding women employees included: women were overrepresented in service and secretarial/clerical areas and underrepresented in the professorial ranks; women were virtually absent from the upper levels of the central administration; women earned an average of $2,000 less than their male counterparts; women faculty took about twice as long as men to obtain tenure and remained at their ranks twice as long as men; part-time faculty and student assistants of both sexes received no fringe benefits, including Social Security; regulations required secretarial and clerical staff members to take a maternity leave after six months of pregnancy, resulting in financial hardship; and, upon retirement, women received smaller annuity payments than their male counterparts.
In light of these findings, the Commission made
several major recommendations for action by the University to address
the inequities.
Regarding women students, the 1972 Report recommended that:
1. WSU undertake a total childcare feasibility study and give financial support to a cooperative day care center
2. WSU establish and fund an annual career conference for women students
3. In-service training programs be initiated for all Wayne State counselors and advisors; and, a women's center be established at WSU
Regarding women as employees, the 1972 Report recommended:
1. Use of University-wide position postings, with all position vacancies being widely publicized
2. Preference in hiring, whereby preference would be given to women and minority group applicants when several applicants met qualifications
3. Vigilance against nepotism so that hiring and promotion would be based solely on professional qualifications and abilities without regard to family relationships
4. Support for a compassionate maternity leave
policy as an integral part of a program designed to facilitate the
professional advancement of women employees
5.
Consistent, explicit grievance procedures
6.
Equity in retirement benefits without reference to gender, in
opposition to the TIAA-CREF retirement fund's procedure of
distinguishing between male and female retirement benefits;
8. Re-examination of benefit policies for all part-time employees; and, creation of an affirmative action program.
In December 1971, the U.S. Department of Labor had issued Revised Order No. 4 in response to accusations of non-compliance with Executive Order 11246 as amended. Revised Order No. 4 established affirmative action guidelines for federal contractors when hiring and promoting women and racial minorities. The guidelines were to be followed by the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in investigating compliance by colleges and universities. The Commission's stress on access and action in the Report was consistent with the affirmative action guidelines of the federal government as specified in Revised Order No. 4; implementation of the Report's recommendations would help the University meet the federal government guidelines.
The Commission's Report was made public on November 9, 1972, at a joint press conference held by President Gullen and members of the Commission. At this press conference, the President announced that immediate measures would be taken by WSU. In response to several of the Commission's findings and recommendations. Some women on the WSU faculty and staff, whose salaries were found to be lower than those paid to men doing similar work, would receive salary increases. Funds would be provided for both the recommended career conference and an in-service training program for WSU counselors and advisors. He also promised further review and possible implementation of other major points.
The Commission then implemented two of the recommendations the President had agreed to fund. In recognition of the importance of successful women professionals as role models for women students, the Commission sponsored a one-day career conference for women in May 1973. It also sponsored an in-service training workshop for counselors and advisors in an effort to sensitize them to the causes and manifestations of gender bias in the counseling relationship.
Through the end of its term of appointment in June 1975, the Commission continued to work toward an improved status for women in several arenas. At the urging of the Commission, a list of courses under the heading "Courses of Special Interest to Women" was included in the Class Schedule beginning in the summer of 1974. This practice continued until the creation of the Women's Studies Program in 1976, when these courses were included in its course offerings. To bring women's issues and achievements to the attention of all WSU students, faculty, and staff, the Commission placed a greater emphasis on providing news releases to The South End, Wayne Report, and other media when appropriate. It also published a one-page newspaper, WomeNews, during 1973 and 1974, and prepared for women employees a Handbook for Women, which unfortunately remained uncirculated due to lack of funds for printing copies.
The Commission's continued concern regarding the gender-based inequities in the TIAA-CREF retirement plan resulted in a meeting between the Commission, the University administration, and representatives of TIAA-CREF in 1974. Although TIAA representatives agreed to submit a plan that would eliminate discrepancies in benefits paid to men and women, the TIAA-CREF problem ultimately was not resolved until a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1983.
Other Commission accomplishments during this period included the sponsorship of a two-day conference, "Women in the World of Work," in March 1975, agreement from the University to institute a policy of posting vacant positions within the University, and the establishment of a child care council. The Commission also encouraged the University to comply with new legal requirements concerning women in the area of maternity leaves, improved maternity benefits, and pregnancy coverage regardless of marital status. A meeting with President Gullen in June 1975 resulted in his agreement to establish a Women's Center.
The Commission achieved a sense of permanency in the spring of 1975 when it was provided with office space and clerical support. And, as the June 30 expiration date for appointments to the Commission approached, President Gullen requested that the Commission continue to meet. At a special meeting to review the future of the Commission, members agreed that it should continue as an advisory group to the President.
1976-1979
The rejuvenated Commission began the new year by sponsoring in January a play, Walking the Tightrope: Herstory, and an open house to familiarize more students, faculty, and staff with the Commission. The work of the Commission continued to bring additional advances in the position of women at WSU. In February, a director was selected for the newly-created Women's Center, and the Center was housed in MacKenzie Hall. After months of encouragement from the Commission, the Liberal Arts Council adopted a women's studies co-major, with courses offered for the first time in the fall of 1976. By spring, ten students were in the program.
On November 15, 1976, President Gullen requested the Commission Chair, Dr. Marisa Keeney, to enlist the Commission in determining the extent to which affirmative action plans within the University addressed the needs of women. The Commission formed an ad hoc committee to interview the executive officers and the deans with respect to their affirmative action plans as these related to women. Later, President Gullen also established the President's Task Force on Affirmative Action to study the effectiveness of affirmative action policies on campus, an assignment similar to that of the Commission. Both groups proceeded with their projects and prepared reports on their findings.
Other ongoing Commission concerns also saw action. The Commission worked toward implementation of campus child care at Wayne State, setting up a task force with members of the Family and Consumer Resources Department and the Early Childhood Care and Education Program. Affordable comprehensive health care and gynecological services, long advocated by the Commission, were provided for all female students, beginning in April 1977. The Commission continued to observe Women's Equality Dayevery August 26, commemorating the passage of the XIX Amendment.
On November 18, 1977, the Commission celebrated its successes in the first of the recognition events that continue today. The 1977 reception focused on the contributions made by past Commission chairs: Professor Nancy Schlossberg (1971-73), Dean Marilyn Heins (1973-75). and Dr. Marisa Keeney (1975-77). Special recognition was also given to Governor Mildred Jeffrey, the only woman on the WSU Board of Governors at the time.
Career-related needs of campus women had been a Commission concern since its inception. On April 29, 1978, the Commission once again sponsored a leadership conference. Called "Women on the Move In the World of Work," this successful program aimed to help women choose a career.
Sadly, the Commission became inactive in the spring of 1978. The illness of Chairperson Dr. Joella Gipson, lack of budgetary and secretarial support, and a change in the Presidency of WSU may all have been contributing factors in this situation.
1980: Second Beginning
In 1980, President Thomas Bonner announced the reorganization of the President's Commission on the Status of Women. As previously, the Commission was to act in an advisory capacity to the Office of the President with four principal areas of concern:
1. Equity and equality in policies, procedures,
and customs with regard to sex in employment, placement, and
promotion at WSU among faculty, staff, and administration.
2. Policy, climate, and customs in the counseling of women students
at WSU, especially in those areas where gender was believed to be a
determining factor in recruiting and admission.
3. Increased communication among women about issues of special interest to them.
4. Redefining the function, staffing, and reporting relationship of WSU's Women's Center to the University generally.
The membership of the Commission was to reflect the diverse population of the WSU campus. Every year, the Office of the President would request self-nominations for service on the Commission to maintain a membership of 20. A committee of the Commission then would screen the nominations and submit recommendations to the Commission for approval and transmission to the University President for appointment. Effective September 1981, all members regularly appointed would serve for two years. Bargaining units on campus could select liaison persons to the Commission; these ex-officio members could attend and participate in meetings and take part in Commission activities, but could not vote.
The University granted the reconstituted Commission an initial budget of $10,000 and office space in MacKenzie Hall, and President Bonner appointed Professor Winifred Fraser as Chair. At its first meeting, four standing committees were formed: Information, Career Development, Affirmative Action and Equity, and Outreach. Each member of the Commission would serve on at least one committee. The Commission thus assumed the structure it would have for the next decade.
1980-1985
In the early years of the 1980s, the Commission increased its collaborative efforts with other women's groups on campus. Between May 12 and 15, 1980, the Commission co-sponsored with other groups a successful International Women's Mini-Film Series featuring women directors. During 1981-82, the Women's Center was threatened with extinction when it appeared that the Center would be merged with University Counseling Services (UCS). Due in part to the efforts by the Commission, although the Center merged with UCS, its autonomy as the Women's Resource Center was maintained. In 1981, the Women's Center and the Commission began joint publication of a newsletter which continued publication until 1987.
A social hour, inaugurated in fall of 1981, to enable members to become better acquainted, evolved into a well-attended, campus-wide "Getting-To-Know-You" series of brown bag luncheons that featured as speakers a variety of successful WSU women who had achieved position such as vice president, dean, director and associate professor. On May 21, 1984, the Commission introduced the annual spring luncheons, which would feature well known Michigan women, with Lieutenant Governor Martha Griffiths, a key figure in the struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment, as the guest of honor at this first event.
Sexual harassment also became a focal issue for the Commission during this time. The Michigan Legislature amended the Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act to include language prohibiting sexual harassment and requiring environments free of sexual harassment; it was approved by Governor Milliken on July 18, 1980. The Commission's initial effort to educate the community on this issue was the presentation, on December 8, 1980, of a panel that examined sexual harassment and informed women about sources of help. The Commission scheduled another well-attended panel discussion on March 31, 1982, along with a showing of the film 'Workplace Hustle." Following that event, the Commission passed resolution asking the Board of Governors of WSU to issue a public statement condemning the sexual harassment of students and employees. This statement was forwarded to the new president, David Adamany, in November, 1982, and was approved by the Executive Council on May 25, 1983. Two months later, the Board of Governors adopted the WSU Sexual Harassment Statute on July 15.
Promulgation of the new policy was also important, and the Commission asked for its widespread distribution. President Adamany agreed to the Commission's request to disseminate it and asked the Board of Governors' Office to distribute copies to deans, directors and department chairs. An article on the subject appeared in Inside Wayne State during fall 1983. At the same time, the Commission established an ad hoc Committee to develop educational workshops on the subject of sexual harassment.
The Commission had since its inception advocated equitable pension benefits for employees. Several charges of discrimination brought against TIAA-CREF had languished for years, including one filed in June 1976, by a group of 80 former and then current women employees. Although the Commission was not actively involved in litigation, its members felt vindicated when, in its 1983 TIAA v. Spirt decision, the U.S. Supreme Court finally ruled that "the practice of paying female retirees lower monthly benefits than male retirees, despite equal contributions, is in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment." The ruling, however, was not retroactive and applied only to benefits paid after August 1, 1983.
The Commission also sponsored several topical workshops and seminars to help women achieve equity in employment. In "Putting Your Best Foot Forward," WSU employees learned how to find new positions within the University system. Another workshop honed women's skills in resume and cover letter writing as well as in interviewing techniques. "Meet the Candidates" allowed women to meet and talk with candidates for the WSU Board of Governors. "The Economic Status of Women in Michigan," a successful panel discussion on May 24, 1983, explored women's economic prospects.
The Commission had long recognized that the University's lack of a system for distributing information on available campus job opportunities had been a serious obstacle to women's advancement in employment and had sought a broad dissemination of such information. Though a policy on position postings existed, its implementation had been sporadic, and postings were not consistently advertised campus-wide. In April 1985, President Adamany issued Executive Order 85-2 on Position Posting, which established uniform open position announcements and mandated the placement of these announcements in conspicuous locations in every unit on campus and the publication of such information in Inside Wayne State. The University finally achieved a position posting policy that would not systematically eliminate women from applying for positions for which they believed they were qualified.
1985-1988
At its meeting on September 13, 1985, the Board of Governors approved two resolutions that attested to the ongoing efforts of the Commission. In the first of these resolutions, recognizing the tenth anniversary of the Women's Resource Center, the Board reaffirmed support of the Center, its activities, and its dedication to improving the quality of life for women at WSU. The President also acknowledged the Center's continuing value to students and to the University community, and applauded its activities in working toward true equality for all human beings. Governor Mildred Jeffrey added that there probably would not have been a Center, had it not been for the efforts of the Commission the Status of Women. In the second resolution, on the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Women's Studies Program, the Board renewed commitment to the purposes of the Program.
In 1985, the President's Commission on the Status of Women was recognized as an official University committee. Originally established on a temporary basis with a termination date of June 1972, the Commission's tenure had been extended by several University Presidents, and the reorganization in 1980 had seemed to indicate a greater permanency for the body. Executive Order 85-8, signed by President Adamany on November 15, 1985, listed all official University committees, the Commission among them. According to the Executive Order, all such committees would be issued charters, appointment periods to all committees would be changed from nine months to twelve months, and August would be their convening date.
The Commission also strengthened its internal structure. In 1985-86 the Commission formalized a coordinating committee, consisting of the chair, vice-chair, secretary, and chairs of each of the four standing committees; it would set agendas, monitor progress on issues, address questions that arose between Commission meetings, and give general guidance to the Commission. At the same time, the Commission appointed a treasurer to be responsible for the finances of the Commission. The Information Committee was given specific responsibility for publishing the newsletter.
The Commission continued to work with various groups in advancing the cause of women, including Women of Wayne, the Women's Resource Center, Detroit League of Women Voters, and the Detroit chapter of the National Organization for Women. The Commission also participated in several conferences: 100 Black Women in October 1986; Minority Women in Higher Education in March 1987; Women Decision Makers, in May 1987; and the National Conference for College Women, Student Leaders, and Women of Achievement, a June 1987 meeting held in Washington, D.C. On March 24, 1987, the Commission sponsored a symposium, Women in Engineering, which created new alliances with women faculty and students in the College of Engineering.
In May 1987, the Commission received 48 self-nominations for vacancies on the Commission, the largest response ever received. To reflect this increased interest in Commission activities, membership was expanded to 25.
1988-1991
A series of activities focused on advancement opportunities for women. The Career Development Committee organized a Mentoring Reception for faculty and academic staff on March 2, 1988, that brought together 85 tenured and non-tenured women to share information on achieving tenure. The success of this initial event prompted several more mentor/mentee meetings during the year. In the fall of that year, the program was expanded to include career advancement strategies for all women on campus, and mentor/mentee meetings continue today.
In 1988, WSU was able to send a representative to the Bryn Mawr College Summer Institute, an intensive training program in higher education administration for women faculty and administrators. The President's Office agreed to provide the funding for a Wayne State participant and continues to sponsor a participant to the Institute in alternate years.
Activities to increase the campus community's awareness of sexual harassment also received emphasis in this period. The Office of Community Relations had sponsored seminars on sexual harassment for the deans and administrative staffs of the colleges during the mid-1980s, and the Commission saw the need to involve the wider community. In the winter of 1988, the Affirmative Action and Equity Committee began a series of noon hour presentations on sexual harassment, featuring a videotape and group discussion on sexual harassment. The series has drawn a large number of participants and continues today. To encourage more widespread participation, the tape and instructional materials used in the presentation are available from the Commission for use by faculty and campus organizations. In addition, the Affirmative Action and Equity Committee developed a sexual harassment awareness module for classroom use; in February 1991, the Committee submitted a proposal for the incorporation of a mandatory unit on sexual harassment into UGE 100, a required course that introduces new students to the University.
Mindful of its charge to increase communication among women, in the winter of 1989, the Commission proposed that a survey of campus women be conducted to determine the issues that women considered of most concern to them. Funds were allocated for the survey by the Office of the Provost, and the survey questionnaire was prepared, but implementation was postponed. The Provost's Office has indicated that during the next year, a modified form of this project will be used to gather information on the concerns of women on campus.
May 1990, saw the publication of the first issue of the Commission Newsletter since 1987. Aimed at increasing the awareness of issues of concern to women, the Newsletter is delivered through the campus mail to every University unit. Issues have featured articles on sexual harassment, domestic violence and women in technological careers. The "Getting-to-Know-You" receptions continue to give employees of WSU an opportunity to meet Commission members and to become familiar with its work. Another popular outreach tradition, the annual spring dinners, originally begun as luncheons, honor women at Wayne State and feature well-known Michigan women as speakers. In March 1990, as part of the relocation of administrative and faculty offices from Mackenzie Hall, the Commission office moved into the new Faculty/Administration Building.
In preparation for its twentieth anniversary, the Commission proposed and received funding from the Office of the President for a series of activities to commemorate the anniversary year. The proposal included a reception honoring the past presidents of the Commission, a program series, assembly of the history of the Commission, and an update of the Commission's original 1972 Report on the status of women at Wayne State. Committees were organized to work on each of these activities, and a Twentieth Anniversary Committee was formed to oversee the whole project. The program series committee sent out a call for proposals for presentations on issues affecting the lives of women, and selected four that the Commission would fund: a lecture, "An Agenda for Women in the 90s," by the first chair of the Commission, Nancy K Schlossberg; a performance of Randi Douglas' play, Count on Me; a day-long symposium, Native Exiles: Third World Women and the Politics of Land; and, a film and discussion series, Aging and Women: Independence and Dignity, three documentaries by Communication professor, Robert Steele.
The committee for the update of the 1972 Report on the status women forwarded sections of the 1972 recommendations to the relevant University units and requested the units to note the actions they had taken to implement the recommendations in the intervening years; the committee will compile the responses, analyze the results to determine the progress of women in the last 20 years, and make further recommendations. The updated report and the history of the Commission will be published during the twentieth anniversary year.
Today and Beyond
The Commission observed its twentieth anniversary during 1991. As a kick-off event, on October 17, the Commission held the reception honoring its past presidents; over 150 members of the University community helped celebrate the anniversary. The remaining activities a scheduled for presentation throughout the year.
Eager to enter their twenty-first year, the members of the Commission plan to continue raising issues of Importance to women at WSU and to educate the University community regarding women's concerns. Women have made considerable progress toward equity in these 20 years: nearly half of the top University administrators are women; widely circulated position postings permit everyone eligible to apply for openings; women students can be found in academic areas t previously were nearly all male, including law with 50% and medicine with 40% women students.
Yet, in other areas, women have not achieved equity: women still underrepresented on the faculty -- 28% are women and only 12% of full professors are women -- and women are virtually absent in some disciplines and at the department chair level; salary equity, despite two rounds of equity adjustments, remains elusive, and the majority of women employees remain clustered in lower-paying positions; sexism in the classroom continues to hamper and discourage women students; childcare provision remains unresolved.
Since its inception, the Commission has been a
strong voice for equity and equality for women. It will continue to
be so.