‘‘WHO talk more, men or women?’’ ‘‘Do men need more personal space than women, or vice-versa?’’ These were some questions Prof. David Sadker threw to the audience while delivering a talk on gender equity an education at the Women’s Development Cell of Gujarat University on Monday.

Prof. Sadker remarked that since sexist bias worked at a much deeper level of social psyche than is normally perceived, areas of actual gender discrimination are often ignored.Sharing the results of a Gender communication study carried out across the US, Sadker pointed out that while men often try to control the course of a conversation, with frequent interruptions, women try hard to keep it going.

Through a interactive gender quiz, Sadker tried to show that gender realities are not too different in India as well.‘‘It doesn’t matter if it is India or the US, as a rule, male students always get the rough end of the stick, while females get away with lighter treatments,’’ he said, pointing out that observations have also shown, ‘‘that a man will be listened to more carefully than a woman making the identical presentation’’. ‘‘The problem starts at a very early stage, with widespread sex segregation in schools, hindering effective communication,’’ he explains.

While ruing that the gender balance is more often tilted against women, Sadker pointed out that men can become victims of gender stereotyping as well. ‘‘Men live shorter lives. They are not expected to be vulnerable’’, he said, adding, ‘‘At the end of the day, gender equality is a two edged sword that needs careful balancing’’. ‘‘As we move towards the future, we need to rise above biases and start treating people equally,’’ he further noted.

The professor, who with his late wife Myra Sadker gained nationwide fame in the US for their work confronting gender bias and sexual harassment, was in Ahmedabad as part of a series of programmes organised by the American Information Resource Centre, Mumbai.

Source : Expressindia.com

THE Indian Institute of Management (IIMA) will be seeking accreditation from the European Quality Improvement System, under the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), by the end of December.

EFMD is a self-financed non-profit organisation with an international network of 600 members in 65 countries, that works to raise the standard of management worldwide. The EQUIS accreditation that assesses degree programmmes and activities connected to e-learning units and community outreach programmes, has so far been awarded to 97 institutions in 29 countries.

IIM-A Spokesperson Ashok Shah says that the accreditation process will be completed in 18 months. He says, ‘‘Compared to others, the institute will get the accreditation faster since its standards are in accordance with EQUIS standards.’’ He adds, ‘‘Once we have the accredition we will see an increase in the number of foreign students and overseas recruiters. There will also be monitoring done by EMFD which is an advantage. This is also a positive step on the institute’s part as this will push up our ratings too.”

Source : Expressindia.com