Thursday, September 26, 2019

Previous | Next

• HeForShe IMPACT Report released
• United Way supporters prepare for 2019 kickoff
• Wear an orange shirt on Monday, September 30
• Thursday's notes

HeForShe IMPACT Report released

On September 24, the HeForShe Champions released the 2019 HeForShe IMPACT Report. The Champions, numbering over 30 male global leaders, including heads of state, global CEOs and academic leaders are working to prove that significant progress for gender equality can be achieved in our lifetime. The report demonstrates how individuals and communities all over the world are advancing gender equality across society, in the workplace, at home and with the next generation.

“Being a HeForShe Champion has been about action and long-term, sustainable change that supports grassroots efforts to empower our entire university community,” said President Feridun Hamdullahpur, a global university HeForShe champion in the report. “This has resulted in more women in leadership positions, more women who are tenured professors and more women entering into STEM disciplines at the University of Waterloo.”

HeForShe male allies like President Hamdullahpur are evolving their own leadership styles to become more inclusive. Waterloo’s HeForShe commitments focus on boosting those who identified as girls and women in STEM outreach experiences, enhancing female faculty representation and attracting and advancing women identified leaders into senior positions.

When the University of Waterloo joined as a HeForShe Champion, 24.5 per cent of our senior academic and administrative leaders on campus identified as women. Through the HeForShe commitments and a suite of programs to target high-potential women, we committed to reach 29 percent representation of women by 2020 and exceeded that goal in 2018 with 32 percent. Waterloo also committed to increase the number of girls and women in our STEM outreach experiences and activities to 33 per cent by 2020, reaching 32 percent in 2018. Additionally, we committed to enhance women identified faculty representation to 30 per cent by 2020. Waterloo reached this goal in 2018 with 30.1 percent. 

Despite these accomplishments, panelists in the discussion at the Get Free Tour on campus last week warned against the assumption that gender equality has been achieved.

At Waterloo, as with most organizations, the gender gap widens at the senior level. Undergraduate students, for example, are divided almost equally at 47 percent female and 52 percent male, while senior leadership roles at the University are at 65 percent male identified and 35 percent women identified, demonstrating there is still work to be done to correct gender imbalances.

Find out more about HeForShe at Waterloo or access the 2019 Impact Report to read about how HeForShe champions around the world are working for change.

United Way supporters prepare for 2019 kickoff

A message from the University of Waterloo United Way campaign.

On Tuesday, United Way champions from across campus came together for lunch, networking and to learn about the 2019 campaign events and goals. The air was buzzing with inspiration and ideas for a successful campaign!

We heard from Feridun Hamdullahpur, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waterloo, Joan Fisk, CEO of United Way Waterloo Region Communities, and Mallory Boyer, Resource Development Manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Waterloo Region. They explained why our investment in the community is important to the University and highlighted the key areas of impact that your investments are targeted towards. Mallory Boyer discussed the immense impact that funding from the United Way has on organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, helping them to deliver essential services to youths in our community.

This year’s campaign focuses on three key areas:

• Supporting Vulnerable Children and Youth
• Fighting Poverty
• Empowering Neighbourhoods

With a goal of $250,000 for this year’s campaign, the continuing support of our campus community is essential to our success. Please consider participating in any way you can – whether by donating financially or giving your time to host an event in your department or unit in support of the United Way.

Mark your calendars for these upcoming campaign events:

• Campaign Kickoff is Tuesday, October 1. Help us turn the campus red by dressing up and decorating your office. Don’t forget to share your photos using #UWUnitedWay!
• Souper Tuesday is Tuesday, November 5. Campus ‘celebrity chefs’ will be serving three types of homemade soup (including a vegan and gluten free option) in the STC lobby 11:30 – 1:30.

Wear an orange shirt on Monday, September 30

A message from Diana Parry, Associate Vice-President, Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion.

Monday, September 30 is Orange Shirt Day, a day to raise awareness and educate Canadians about the history and legacy of the Residential Schools System in a spirit of truth and reconciliation.

Orange Shirt Day is a national campaign and movement for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to come together in the spirit of hope and reconciliation to honour former residential school students and their affected families and communities.

Orange Shirt Day was first marked in British Columbia in 2013 and has since spread across the country.

In 2009, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada began a multi-year process to listen to survivors, communities and others affected by the residential school system. In 2015, to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published 94 calls to action, which span all sectors of Canadian Society.

The University of Waterloo has a responsibility to consider how to respond to the Calls to Action, particularly those geared towards post-secondary education, and is developing a University-specific response to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action that provides a pathway forward for students, faculty, and staff to meaningfully engage Indigenous voices, traditional knowledge, and perspectives.

President Hamdullahpur struck a steering committee and working group that  published recommendations in response to the Calls to Action. We are also moving forward with hiring a Senior Director of Indigenous Initiatives to help guide this important work on campus.

In addition, the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion offers training workshops on Indigenous initiatives, including:

• You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know, presented by Ela Smith in two parts (October 16 and November 13) on historical and current realities for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples – open to faculty, staff and students
• Kairos Blanket Exercise, an experiential and participatory history lesson, (next session January 21, 2020) – open to faculty, staff and students
• Reading Group on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls final report, a four-part discussion of the report’s findings and their post-secondary context – open to faculty and staff

To stay updated on Indigenous initiatives at the University of Waterloo, consider signing up for the Indigenous Initiatives mailing list.

I invite you to wear an orange shirt on Monday, September 30 and join this growing national movement of education and reconciliation.

Thursday's notes

"On September 27, organizations from across Waterloo region will gather at 11:30 a.m. in Waterloo Town Square to mark the Global Climate Strike. On campus, people are planning to gather at 10:00 a.m. in the Arts Quad before heading to Uptown," wrote President Feridun Hamdullahpur in a memo circulated to campus on September 12. "At the University of Waterloo we respect and support the rights of students and other members of campus to express their views as it relates to this global initiative. That support includes efforts to enable members of our campus community to participate if they choose to do so. It also includes preparations to allow us to meet our education and service needs on the day."

President Hamdullahpur's memo referenced the fact that Waterloo hosts the United Nations’ first Sustainable Development Solutions Network in Canada and that earlier this year, Times Higher Education ranked Waterloo 5^th in the world for research on Climate Action. He also mentioned University's Environmental Sustainability Strategy and the work that is ongoing on an institutional long-term Climate and Energy Action Plan.

"I appreciate the passion, commitment and initiative of our campus in tackling the challenges facing the environment," the president's memo concludes. "Know that the University of Waterloo remains committed to tackling climate change at an institutional level for positive change."

Check out the Climate Strike Waterloo Region website for more information about tomorrow's event.

Test your knowledge by joining Legal & Immigration Services for Trivia Wednesdays every Wednesday during the month of October. There are amazing prizes to be won, and all proceeds go to the University's United Way campaign. For trivia rules and more information, please visit the Legal & Immigration Services website.

The second Information Session for those wanting more information about running or nominating someone for a University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) Board of Director position is being held today from noon until 1:00 p.m. in DC 3608. "Get your questions answered by our current board members! They are super friendly," writes Catherine Bolger. The call for nominations is open until October 1.