Bhubaneswar: A research chair in the honour of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama would be set up in KIIS, director of Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP) Meenakshi Gopinath has said. WISCOMP is a leading South Asian think tank.
Addressing a workshop on ‘gender, equity and inclusion’, organised by KIIT and KISS, she said discussions will be held with the authorities before the final outcome is announced.
KISS and KIIT, she said, have been doing exemplary work in gender equity and inclusion, where 50 per cent of the students (KIIT) are girls and 40 per cent staff (KIIT), are women. Many senior positions in KIIT are occupied by women. Similarly, in KISS 60 per cent of students are girls, Gopinath said, adding with this achievement both these institutes have fulfilled one of United Nation’s key development goals of gender, equity and inclusion.
In India, there are more than 900 higher education institutions, but only 3 per cent of the women are occupying higher positions, she stated.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor of KIIT Deemed to be University Prof. Sasmita Samanta, secretary R N Dash, Secretary, deputy director of WISCOMP Seema Kakran and others attended the workshop.
The workshop was supported by the Public Affairs Section of the American Embassy-New Delhi and brought together eminent educators, lawyers and civil society representatives from Odisha, USA and other experts from around the country.
Gender audits as a tool have been employed by international development agencies, corporate and American universities to assess progress on gender mainstreaming. The dialogue-cum-workshop at KISS was part of first such Pan India initiative for universities and colleges, said a university statement.
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