Gender Policy

Background and Rationale

• Women Development Cell (WDC) and Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) of Gujarat University firmly believe that "Attainment of the acme of holistic wellbeing and education, irrespective of caste, creed, race, religion, political belief, economic or social stature, is one of the most fundamental rights of every human being. The fabric of society is increasingly becoming egalitarian and lends credence to the fact that we are all born equal and must live equal”
• There are differences in the opportunities and resources available to women and men, and in their ability to make decisions and exercise their human rights, including those related to education and holistic wellbeing. Gender roles and unequal gender relations interact with other social and economic variables, resulting in different and sometimes inequitable patterns of exposure to risk, and in differential access to and utilization of information, care and services. These differences, in turn, have clear impact on outcomes. Evidence documenting the multiple connections between gender equity, gender education and holistic wellbeing is rapidly growing.
• Responding to this reality and in line with its long-standing concern with equity and equality, WDC & ICC, Gujarat University, will as a matter of policy and good practice, integrate gender considerations in all facets of its work. This action is also in harmony with the decision, now being implemented across all policies and programs. It will be the WDC& ICC, Gujarat University's policy to ensure that all programs and initiatives address gender issues. This will contribute to increasing the coverage, effectiveness, efficiency and ultimately the impact of holistic wellbeing for both women and men, while at the same time contributing to achievement of the broader university goals.
• WDC & ICC, Gujarat University is committed to advancing gender equality in its own workforce, as well as in scientific and technical advisory bodies, and academic and executive bodies. Strategies to close the gender gap by the end of this decade fall into the broader context of peaceful and sustainable world, and are in line with Gujarat University's Vision and Mission.

• The goal of this policy is to contribute to better education, career opportunities and holistic wellbeing for both women and men through training, seminars, research, policies and programs which give due attention to gender considerations and promote equity and equality between women and men. WDC & ICC Gujarat University will address and analyses gender issues in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, programs, projects and research in order to achieve the following objectives:

• Creating an environment by designing gender responsive policies and programs to enable both men and women to realize their full potential
• Mainstreaming a gender perspective in the syllabi at both under-graduate and post- graduate levels.
• Increase coverage, effectiveness and efficiency of interventions to promote equity and equality between women and men, throughout the life course, and ensure that interventions do not promote inequitable gender roles relations;
• Provide qualitative and quantitative information on the influence of gender on education and wellbeing and promote research on the same.
• Promoting wellbeing as a core role in education which helps students to flourish in their education journey, build resilience against adversities, and develop protective strategies.
• Support teaching and non-teaching departments and women development cells in colleges affiliated to Gujarat University on how to undertake gender-responsive planning, implementation and evaluation of policies, programs, and projects.

• These objectives will be achieved through the incorporation of gender analysis in the work of WDC & ICC, Gujarat University. This analysis will examine the differences in the relationships between women and men and their roles, and how these differences impact on:

• protective and risk factors and the interventions to overcome them;
• access to resources to promote education, career opportunities and holistic wellbeing including information, technology and services;
• the manifestations, severity and frequency of gender discrimination, as well as holistic wellbeing outcomes;
• the individual, family, community, social and cultural conditions

• This policy applies to all work throughout the organization: research, program planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, human resource management, and budgeting. Effective implementation of the policy will require senior level commitment and validation, organizational support for activities to advance the knowledge and skills of staff for efficient gender analysis in their area of work. Directors will be expected to institutionalize mechanisms for building capacity among their staff, providing information, training or technical support staff needed to assure the policy's success.
• General guidance and support will initially be provided by the Gender Unit of WDC & ICC, Gujarat University, in collaboration with NGO / Colleges and departments. This analysis will help ensure the integration of gender considerations in all work with which Gujarat University is associated in different fields.
• The resources and administrative and operational mechanisms for implementation and monitoring effectiveness of this policy throughout the University will be set forth in directives of the Vice Chancellor of the Gujarat University.