On the morning of March 8, the Gender, Equity and Diversity round table brought together, at Unicamp, women leaders from public universities located in the state of São Paulo and from the Federal Institute of São Paulo (IFSP) to discuss experiences and ideas on issues related to to inequalities on campuses. Conducted by professor Maria Luiza Moretti, general coordinator and vice-rector of Unicamp, the meeting also marked the launch of Rede Equidade. The meeting was organized by Professor Ana Maria Almeida, one of the coordinators of the Gender and Sexuality Advisory Commission of the Executive Board of Human Rights (DeDH) at Unicamp.
The initiative, which brings together USP (University of São Paulo), Unesp (São Paulo State University), Unifesp (Federal University of São Paulo), UFABC (Federal University of ABC), UFSCar (Federal University of São Carlos) and IFSP (Federal University of São Paulo), arose from the proposal to join efforts to develop strategic actions, carry out research, improve diagnoses and structure affirmative policies that can also serve as a subsidy for the public power and other spheres of society, not just for the campuses.
The meeting had the participation of Ana Beatriz de Oliveira (rector of UFSCar), Raiane Assumpção (rector of Unifesp), Maysa Furlan (vice-rector of Unesp), Maria Arminda Arruda (vice-rector of USP), Claudia Vieira (pro -dean of community affairs and affirmative policies at UFABC), Ana Lanna (dean of inclusion and belonging at USP), Luciana Alves (associate dean of student affairs at Unifesp), Caroline Jango (general director of the Hortolândia campus of IFSP) and Diana Junkes (associate dean of research at UFSCar).
Despite the advancement of female schooling in Brazil, equity is still not a reality in institutions: their representatives are unanimous in pointing out the predominance of men who declare themselves white in management positions and in the highest teaching positions.
The examples are many. With two centuries of existence, the USP Law School has had only one director in its history. Across the University of São Paulo, only 30% of female professors reach the final stage of their career. On the other hand, at Unicamp, currently 1495 teachers consider themselves white, 35 Asian, 91 black and mixed race and one indigenous. When relating gender and race, it is worth highlighting that, of the 42 IFSP units, only one is run by a black woman. Finally, at UFABC, according to 2021, of the 15.700 students, 10 were male.
During the round table, university and IFSP leaders were able to share initiatives already underway in the institutions where they work. Reported actions to combat gender-based violence and menstrual poverty on campus; holding a training course on sexuality for civil servants; the opening of research competitions in the area of gender; and different strategies to generate opportunities aimed at women, LGBTQIA+, black, brown, indigenous people and people with disabilities.
According to Maria Luiza Moretti, the creativity of the proposals exchanged throughout the meeting was remarkable. “The Equity Network was also formed so that we could hear how other universities in São Paulo and the IFSP are working on their gender, equity and diversity policies internally. I left this meeting with many ideas. Unicamp has a lot of work ahead of it”, she concludes.
