ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 4, 1997 TAG: 9704040031
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS THE ROANOKE TIMES
Total number of women faculty increased 17.4 percent in 1996, despite reduction in faculty as whole.
Women continue to lag behind men in both salary and employment opportunities on college campuses throughout the country - and Virginia Tech is no exception, according to statistics discussed this week.
The national numbers were examined Tuesday in a presentation on sex discrimination called "Sex, Lies, and Lawsuits," part of a series of programs scheduled at Tech in recognition of Women's Month.
Members of the American Association of University Women revealed in the seminar that nationally, just one-third of all faculty members are female. Of those, only 48 percent make tenure, as opposed to 72 percent of their male counterparts. In addition, a woman holding the rank of full professor receives, on average, just 88 percent of a man's salary at the same position.
Tech Provost Peggy Meszaros confirmed Thursday the program's assessment that Tech falls below the national average, with just 18 percent of full-time faculty positions filled by women. Additionally, while one-half of all male faculty at Tech hold the highest rank of full professor, fewer than 17 percent of female faculty members hold that same rank.
Representatives of the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund, which provides both financial assistance and legal advice to women, stressed that these statistics exist despite Title VII, Title IX and Equal Pay Act initiatives, all federal laws designed to fight inequality.
"Sexual discrimination is an issue in America," said Patty Stroud, director of the fund. "Fifty to 85 percent of American women will experience some type of sex discrimination during their careers. And education is definitely the strongest weapon we have to fight it."
Meszaros said Tech has made a commitment to increasing its numbers of women and minority faculty members, as evidenced by recent hiring and promotion trends.
"I've been at Virginia Tech just three years myself, so I'm still looking at this place with a fairly objective eye," Meszaros said. "And one of the more notable changes on this campus is the growing number of women in every department. There are very few departments with no women on the faculty at all, and that hasn't just happened by happenstance, but careful planning."
Meszaros said that the total number of women on the faculty increased by 17.4 percent in 1996, despite a reduction in the total number of faculty members. Likewise, the total number of women in tenure track positions has increased by 15 percent over the past five years.
"Are we where we need to be?" Meszaros asked. "No. There is still an awful lot we need to do to make sure the voices of women and people of color are well represented at this university. But of great comfort to me is the level of progress we've made over the past three years, even at a time when the university wasn't hiring much faculty. And we're committed to keeping those numbers on the rise."
AAUW representatives praised Tech's Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action office and Women's Center for their stances against sex discrimination, and encouraged anyone facing sex discrimination - male or female - to report the offenses to Tech's EOAA office immediately. There is a 180-day limitation on filing a sex discrimination charge.
"Coming forward is the beginning of the process," said Elyzabeth Holford, Tech's director of the EOAA, "and it's probably the hardest."
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