Gender Equality Commission
To commemorate International Women's Day on March 8, the CRUCH Gender Equality Commission collaboratively produced a video. In addition, CRUCH universities have organized various initiatives, which can be viewed on their Instagram account. @councilofrectors.
To advance equality in universities, the commission has determined that by 2024 the focus will be on mainstreaming a gender perspective in curricula. Rector Fernanda Kri (UOH) says that “when we talk about mainstreaming a gender approach, it is essential that we understand that diversity is a gateway to better quality education.”.
To commemorate International Women's Day this March 8, the Gender Equality Commission of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) collaboratively produced a video featuring academics, students, and university authorities. The video recognizes women's struggles throughout history to achieve their right to participate in various areas of social, political, scientific, and academic life, and calls for continued progress.
As in previous years, the Gender Equality Commission takes stock of the main achievements since its creation in 2018 and also of the various problems that need to be addressed.
According to Angélica Marín, president of this CRUCH commission, “it is important to value the progress made by universities in having Equality Policies; however, it is important to recognize that there are still many challenges to reduce or eliminate the gender inequalities detected in universities in research, in training, in the representation of women in decision-making positions, in issues of social co-responsibility for care and in the eradication of gender violence from university spaces.”.
Fernanda Kri, rector of the University of O'Higgins (UOH) and head of the commission, says that "March 8th always has a bittersweet taste, where we can see all the progress we've made, but it's possible that we could regress at any moment." In that sense, she is concerned about the "fragility of the progress" and considers it essential to work towards consolidating it, "so that everything we've achieved in recent decades doesn't regress due to a change of government, a political shift, or anything else," she maintains.
Challenges 2024
Regarding the work agenda for 2024, at the plenary session of the commission last January, it was defined that one of the priorities is "the mainstreaming of the gender perspective in the curricular plans and to continue decisively with the process of formulating equality plans with actions and measures that achieve substantive equality in the daily life of universities," says Angélica Marín, who also serves as Executive Secretary of the Office of Gender and Sexuality of the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE).
Rector Kri adds that above all, “it is important to understand that when universities train professionals in any field and educate them in a diverse environment, students will receive a better education.” She emphasizes that “when we talk about mainstreaming the gender perspective, it is essential that we understand that diversity is a gateway to higher quality education.”.
As an example, Rector Kri refers to the case of engineering. “When universities make an effort to incorporate, for example, more women into engineering programs, it is not a favor to women, but rather a positive thing for the entire student body, because those engineers of the future will be better if they have been trained in a diverse environment, and in an environment where the perspective of women is also present,” she states.
8M Commemoration Activities
To commemorate International Women's Day, the CRUCH universities have organized various activities that will take place during March, including events, discussions, talks, plays, concerts, projects, meetings, workshops, fairs, exhibitions, seminars, film screenings, and reflective sessions.
The various initiatives can be reviewed in the account of CRUCH Instagram: @councilofrectors.
It is worth remembering that International Women's Day was first commemorated in 1975 by the United Nations (UN) and proclaimed by its General Assembly two years later. Its origins lie in the demonstrations of women, especially in Europe, who at the beginning of the 20th century demanded the right to vote, better working conditions, and gender equality.
For this year 2024, the United Nations invites everyone to join the demands on March 8th, International Women's Day, with the theme 'Investing in women: accelerating progress'.
According to the international organization, there is insufficient funding for gender equality, with an annual shortfall of $360 billion in gender equality measures projected for 2030. Therefore, it argues that achieving gender equality and women's well-being in all areas is more crucial than ever if we want to build prosperous economies and a healthy planet.
See more at:
UN – International Women's Day, March 8
Commemorative video for March 8th, CRUCH Gender Equality Commission
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