Dear Nick,
I am sure that you will receive considerable practical advice from colleagues ( which I shall read with interest), I do remember addressing similar issues when I worked at Leicester University. Clearly female students and staff cannot be expected to change their behaviour patterns and must not be subject to unacceptable treatment or behaviours from male students so it is, at a minimum, an awareness raising issue..
One issue to address, I think, is to look at the Orientation sessions run for your International Students once they arrive and, of course, pre briefing by your International Recruitment officers and the university's recruitment agents.
It is clearly important to highlight to all international students behaviours/practices etc which may be quite different to their own culture and the practical implications of this so that they are not 'taken unawares' on arrival.. Gender equality is a key area but is not the only one where 'challenging' issues can arise. I wonder if UKCOSA might have some useful material and advice?
Best wishes,
Fiona
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-----Original Message-----
From: "Givens, N" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2007 17:34:28
To:[log in to unmask]
Subject: suggestions welcome
Hi everyone,
I wonder if you are familiar with the following sort of scenario, and / or can suggest what might be an appropriate response?
It concerns the challenge of working with male overseas students who find gender equality, as played out in a 21st century
UK HE environment, offensive.
More specifically: a male overseas student has complained to my colleague (a female member of staff whose role upholds race equality) that:
- his timetable includes lectures given by women
- his lecturers who are female make eye contact with him
- his lecturers who are female are not sufficiently supplicant towards him (his phrase)
- he is surprised by the prolific-ness of female academics
- female students on campus walk in front of male students
The interim responses offered so far have been to
- suggest that his expectations (e.g. that female staff should not make eye contact with him) do not transfer to a UK HEI that
is fully committed to a contemporary equalities agenda
- suggest that he needs to question these expectations in relation to a UK HE context
- offer him the contact details of the education officer at his local (in UK) place of worship
This has felt like a clash of equalities and, for the colleague concerned, an exhausting one.
She and I would really welcome multiple perspectives on this clash of equalities,
Nick Givens
Senior Lecturer
BME Recruitment and Retention Project Leader.
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