From the Desk of Prof. Shulamit Almog, Head of the Gender Equity Unit and Gender Equity Advisor to the University President

Gender equity essentially represents an aspiration for a society whose practices, agencies, and institutions acknowledge the historical inequality between women and men, and a determined and committed desire to take informed action to eradicate this inequality.

Gender equity is not only a goal to be achieved, it is a process that incorporates a wide range of means and tools to effectively make progress toward equality. In organizational contexts, gender equity is manifest as a process of change that leads to equality  and recognizes the need for continuous ongoing efforts to promote gender equality between women and men in the organization. Institutions that fail to effectively use the tools of gender equity are perpetuating the existing social order and its gaps between women and men.

The academia is a societal institution whose adoption of a gender equity perspective has impact on the labor market and on society at large. Therefore, gender equity in academia is important both for its direct impact on the men and women members of the university community, and for its ability to advance gender equity outside academia.

The University of Haifa is committed to gender equity throughout the institution and beyond. Today, the University is close to parity in the percentage of men and women members of its senior faculty, and statistics pertaining to gender equity in the University show a positive picture overall. For example, there are an equal number of men and women deans, hiring of women faculty members has been on the rise since 2021, and the University was ranked ninth in the field of gender equity in the Times Higher Education 2023 Impact Index.

Still, gender differences have not been completely eliminated. Promoting gender equity is a continuous process that requires a fundamental change in ways of thinking and multiple proactive efforts to ensure their assimilation. While gender equity is justified in itself based on social principles of equality, it is also a critical tool for empowering excellence in all academic institutions. Therefore we must strive to endorse a new gender equity narrative that guarantees that gender does not constitute an obstacle. 

In this spirit, the Gender Equity Unit, supported by the University community, is involved in efforts to increase awareness of the need for gender equity, and to initiate projects to reduce specific and fundamental barriers to equality. Additional information, including details of these efforts and initiatives, and relevant statistics on gender equity in the University of Haifa, is available on this website.

The Gender Equity Unit is at your disposal to answer questions and provide information on gender equity, and collaborate with others to promote gender equity in the University community.