Indore (Madhya Pradesh): After improving enrolment of girl students, Indian Institute of Technology Indore has now set a target to enhance women ratio in faculty positions also.
“The number of teaching faculty members is around 10% and hence I would urge all the departments to look into it. We pledge that we will try to improve the women ratio in the faculty positions,” said IIT Indore director Prof Suhas Joshi while addressing a function organized to mark International Women Day.
Citing increasing number of girl students on the campus, Joshi also announced plans to setup one more hostel for fairer sex.
“Amongst the students, we have around 23 per cent as girl students (including 19.3 per cent girls in flagship BTech courses). This ratio is enviable to many IITs as it is not easy to achieve this ratio. Seeing the larger ratio, the institute is looking to build up another girl’s hostel in next 3 years,” the director said.
He noted that even today, there are difficulties for the girl students to take higher education. “In this context, IIT Indore should participate in the program being undertaken across all IITs to encourage the brightest girl students to join IITs, thereby strengthening their participation in STEM education,” he added.
Prof Pritee Sharma, Dean of Administration, gave a message to the women community saying “This is the time and opportunity where we promise ourselves that we will help each other because we understand both women and men. Wherever you are, that is because of the hard work you have already done, and you have to do excellent work now to have a very bright future. We need to look and have just leaders, who understand the meaning of justice. It is the privilege that must be provided to the underprivileged who have accepted their fate. Please don’t accept, please don’t give up and every night promise yourselves that you will work better tomorrow.”
IIT Indore celebrated the women’s day in a 2-day programme ie March 7 & 8 with felicitating all the women community and recognizing their immense contribution in the path of progress of the institute.
The celebration was also conjoined with Jan Aushadhi Diwas on March 7. The event was conducted by the Women’s Cell in association with the Office of Students Affairs. The theme of the event for “Gender Equity for Sustainability”.
The day also included talks by Dr Nishad Fathima from CSIR-CLRI on “Science pursuits through the lens of a women scientist”, Dr Kalpana Nagpal from Amity University on “Gender equity: a new motivational way ahead” and Dr. Shweta Kaushal from IIM Indore on “Women leaders: the key to sustainable change”. Sanitary Pads were also distributed to the labourers working at the campus in collaboration with Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendra.
