The spate of protests against gender-based discrimination and violence in recent years on campuses across universities and colleges in the country provides the context to reflect on the need to critically ‘audit’ HEIs and make them more inclusive spaces of learning that nurture values of equity and dignity.
The inaugural WISCOMP Dialogues on Social and Gender Audits in Higher Education Spaces on 26 August 2019 in New Delhi brought together over 70 faculty members, senior management staff, academicians, and development practitioners in conversation with experts from India and the US.
The Dialogues was organized in collaboration with India International Centre, New Delhi. Dr. Kristy Kelly, Professor at Columbia University and Drexel University, USA shared her experiences of conducting gender audits at various universities in the US. She is an expert on gender and international education and uses gender and education as critical lenses to examine social change.
This was followed by presentations by experts from Indian academia. This includes: Prof. Poonam Batra, Professor of Education, University of Delhi; Prof. Sanjay Srivastava, Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi; Prof. Rukmini Sen, Professor at School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University; Dr. Bulbul Dhar James, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia; and Dr. Shweta Singh, Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of International Studies, South Asian University. During the Dialogues, WISCOMP also felicitated those who had made contributions to its Login Gender portal.