Equity and social justice - Page 16 of 22

Equity and social justice, Faculty associations

We were a strong union before Janus, and we will be a strong union after Janus

Andrea Calver

The Janus decision has made it more challenging for public sector unions to be effective in the US. Seeing this threat coming, […]

Equity and social justice, Politics

Ontario’s ‘Open for Business’ law will erode workplace rights

Alison Braley-Rattai, Brock University

The purpose of Bill 47 is to “bring jobs and investment back to our province” and to increase “opportunities” for workers. One needs to look harder for any mention of fairness for workers or the creation of decent jobs, although the government claims to wish to “protect” workers. At the end of the day, however, Bill 47 will do none of the above.

Equity and social justice, Students

College students with disabilities are too often excluded

Christa Bialka, Villanova University

All students need to feel included in order to succeed in college. But when a student has a disability, inclusion can be more difficult to achieve. One study shows students with disabilities participate in fewer extracurricular activities, like clubs or on-campus events, than non-disabled peers.

Equity and social justice, Students, Teaching and learning

Educators must commit now to tackle grade inflation

Louis Volante, Brock University and Christopher DeLuca, Queen's University, Ontario

Thousands of students received unsettling news this fall regarding the rigour of their high school grades. They learned that at least one university in Ontario — the University of Waterloo — assesses new engineering applicants partially on the basis of which high school they attended and not solely on their grades.

Contract faculty, Equity and social justice

How we can turn the tide for women in science

Rowan Thomson, Carleton University

For the first time in 55 years, a woman has won the Nobel Prize in physics — Prof. Donna Strickland. This win has publicly highlighted that women are still under-represented in science, particularly in physics. As a woman in physics, this lack of diversity is something that I encounter almost daily, and also something that we can take action to change.

Equity and social justice, Students

For millennials, employment is a public health challenge

Arif Jetha, University of Toronto

Millennials now make up the largest share of the Canadian workforce and many are facing precarious working conditions. As a society, we have previously assumed that if young Canadians invest in formal training and “pay their dues” in poor quality jobs early in their careers, they will work their way into better quality employment. A recent report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) suggests a different reality.

Equity and social justice, International issues, Teaching and learning

Gender quotas and targets would speed up progress on gender equity in academia

Joanne Pyke, Victoria University and Kate White, Federation University Australia

Recently, the University of Adelaide used a special exemption under the Equal Opportunity Act to advertise eight academic positions in the faculty of engineering, computer and mathematical sciences for women only. This raises questions about why a university might take this approach. While Australia has had gender equality legislation for 30 years, there has been very slow progress towards addressing the gender equity issues plaguing the sector. To illustrate, women are still under-represented at senior levels. Only 27% of full professors (the main recruitment pool for top jobs) are women, and only 32% of Vice-Chancellors in public universities.

Equity and social justice, Participation and enrolment, Students

Dangerous stereotypes stalk black university and college athletes

Joseph Cooper, University of Connecticut

If you go strictly by the official account, heatstroke was the cause of death for University of Maryland football player Jordan McNair. McNair died earlier this year following a grueling practice in which training staff failed to properly diagnose and treat his condition. But there’s another culprit – or at least a contributing factor – that should not be overlooked.

Equity and social justice, Health and safety, Students

What universities and colleges must do to promote mental health for graduate students

Meghan Duffy, University of Michigan; Carly Thanhouser, University of Michigan, and Daniel Eisenberg, University of Michigan

Sara did not expect much to come from her visit to the university’s counseling center, but she was concerned enough about the dark thoughts she’d been having that she decided to go anyway. As she sat in the waiting room after turning in the patient questionnaire, she thought: “It’s probably not a big deal. I’m probably overreacting.” But she wasn’t. After reviewing her screening survey, staff at the counseling center didn’t want her to leave without speaking to a therapist.

Equity and social justice, International issues, Participation and enrolment

For universities, making the case for diversity is part of making amends for racist past

Juan Miró, University of Texas at Austin and Edmund T Gordon, University of Texas at Austin

The Trump administration recently announced plans to scrap Obama-era guidelines that encouraged universities to consider race as a factor to promote diversity on campus, claiming the guidelines “advocate policy preferences and positions beyond the requirements of the Constitution.” Some university leaders immediately went on the defense.

Topic: Equity and social justice