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Women leaders at WSU few but rising

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, October 25, 2001

The Associated Press

PULLMAN — Only one in 14 academic leaders at Washington State University is a woman, and women make up only 21 percent of tenured faculty and 11 percent of full professors.

But those numbers are an improvement over previous years, according to a report released by the university this week.

Women students at WSU outperform men academically, the report found.

"They graduate at higher rates, have better grade point averages and win more scholarships," said Kathy Zeches, a member of the school’s Commission on the Status of Women. "This is a good place for women students."

The average grade point for women on the Pullman campus was 2.99 out of a possible 4.0, compared with 2.71 for men.

Among the report’s findings:

  • Only 7 percent of deans or department heads at WSU are women.

  • A survey of all 89 undergraduate major degrees found women were underrepresented in 30 areas compared to their percentage of the population.

  • There was a 13 percent increase in the number of undergraduate women of color on campus, rising from 886 students in 1995 to 1,008 in 2000.

  • Women were more than 29 percent of instructional faculty in 2000, up from 26 percent in 1995.

  • There have been improvements to facilities for women’s sports, and the number of women participating in college athletics is almost equal to the percentage of undergraduate women on campus.

  • There were 138 sexual harassment complaints filed between 1995 and 2000. All were reviewed, but only 60 got a full investigation by WSU and 58 of those resulted in corrective actions.

    "We need to focus on sexual harassment," Zeches said. "Individuals should get more comfortable presenting those concerns."

    The university is currently dealing with three active gender-harassment lawsuits.

    Former WSU president Glenn Terrell appointed the commission in 1971 to determine if women were treated, promoted and paid the same as their male counterparts. Since 1990, the commission has issued reports every five years.

    "We, as always, have a long way to go," said WSU’s current president, V. Lane Rawlins, as he presented the report Wednesday.

    Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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