How to Promote Gender Inclusiveness on Your Campus

With 19.4 million students enrolled in college, helping them feel welcome on campus has never been more important. After all, a welcoming campus climate can go a long way toward helping a prospective student matriculate. Further, it can help convince a current student to stay and graduate.

But how does a college help all members of its community feel valued? If you're in a position to enact changes, stick around. You'll learn valuable tips to help promote gender inclusiveness on your campus!

Establish Clear Inclusivity Policies

To show that you are committed to improving gender equity, start by putting your plans in writing. As a college, create a statement on gender inclusiveness. It should show that you recognize its importance and are taking actionable steps to improve the climate.

Create guidelines for proper language use, as well. Be aware that not everyone will be familiar with gender inequality. It's far too easy to perpetuate stereotypes and tropes. 

Plan on pursuing training opportunities for faculty and staff so everyone is on the same page. You may want to integrate training into regular campus meetings. Or you might want to require sensitivity training modules for employees to complete. 

Pursuing opportunities to promote gender inclusiveness will appeal to your most invested employees. And with 65% of workers interested in new jobs, you want to do all you can to retain your best employees. They'll appreciate that you're being proactive.

Campus policies on gender inclusiveness also should extend to student housing. Consider offering mixed housing options, for instance. This can help nonbinary or transgender students to feel more comfortable.   

Dorms that include all genders won't put anyone in an uncomfortable position. Alternatively, you may want to designate housing options for those in transition. This can include setting up private rooms or bathrooms. 

Demonstrate Inclusive Behavior in the Classroom

It's easy to assume that the newest members of your college community recognize the challenges of gender inequality. But that can be a dangerous assumption to make. Not all students come from backgrounds where they were exposed to people unlike themselves — or taught to respect them. 

Many students will need help adapting to a more gender-inclusive environment. As a result, all campus employees will need to model behavior and language that is respectful. Compassionate and clear communication is a key piece of gender inclusiveness. 

For example, on the first day of classes, provide an opportunity for students to share their preferred pronouns. This could happen during class introductions or through questionnaires. The latter option provides a more private means of sharing. 

Model the best behavior by indicating your preferred pronouns in your email signature. Be receptive when students feel reluctant to share pronouns publicly. You may need to work with students individually to find an appropriate way to share their preferred pronouns. 

In addition, discuss appropriate ways to handle the misuse of pronouns. It's best to self-correct and, if needed, offer an apology. As a college employee, you want to help students graciously navigate mistakes. 

Add a section to all syllabi that speaks to gender inclusiveness. This can be a paragraph that helps students understand what gender-inclusive language looks like. You also can speak to the rationale behind working toward non-sexist behavior. 

Develop Curricula Addressing Gender Inequality

Promoting gender inclusiveness needs to be a priority in the classroom. Weave projects that address gender inequality into the class curriculum. Likewise, you can use project-based learning that lifts up gender inclusivity. 

Ensure that departments work together. They should select a diverse range of scholarship for student engagement.

Departments should review their course offerings and content regularly. Courses don't have to focus on gender inequality. But they should reflect a broad spectrum of thought leaders.  

Traditionally, courses have skewed toward featuring the work of white males. Instead, lesson plans should aim for balance.

Courses should give equal weight to male and female superstars in a given field. This will students envision themselves pursuing different career paths more easily. 

Business faculty can highlight the work of female leaders in an entrepreneurship course. Or biology professors can spotlight female scientists and writers in their courses, for example. 

A literature professor should assign an even balance of male and female authors. And an art historian should cover both male and female artists in a 20th-century art history course. Work with faculty members to provide them with resources to improve the diversity of their offerings.

Look at Disciplinary Trends

Before launching new programming, take time to research. See where things currently stand. In a college setting, this means taking stock of which career fields have a shortage of women or men.

How do you enhance college diversity? It may mean recruiting underrepresented groups to particular disciplines. 

Gather stats on representation in given areas. For instance, engineers, pilots, and architects tend to be men. Similarly, most financial analysts are men. 

With these trends in mind, you can re-design college admissions marketing campaigns. For example, you can help female students see how they can find a place in engineering fields.

Advisors, faculty members, and student life staff can help. They can create a culture where women feel welcome to enroll in STEM courses. And they can help women feel confident speaking up in the classroom. 

Hiring female faculty in traditionally male-dominated fields, such as physics or math, also is critical. Faculty serve as mentors, and it's vital for women to see themselves represented. 

At the same time, college campuses should recognize that there are disciplines where men are underrepresented, as well. For instance, women dominate the fields of nursing, teaching, and social work. It may be wise to target men with recruiting practices in these areas. 

Tailor Specific Activities to Underrepresented Groups

If club involvement is a big part of your campus community, use it to your advantage. You can leverage your extra-curricular activities to facilitate college equity. 

For starters, be intentional about encouraging all students to participate. Some students may have preconceived notions that certain clubs are off-limits to different genders. Do everything you can to dispel this stereotype. 

Aim to bring in a range of campus speakers from different backgrounds and genders. Publicize these events and tie them to course content and credit. 

You may even want to host seminars or other talks that engage with gender inequality directly. These can be great opportunities for students to practice talking about a challenging topic. And respectful conversations can bring understanding. 

Activities addressing gender inclusiveness don't just need to happen on the stage. They need to happen in departments that look at enrollment, retention, and graduation.

Does your college track student outcomes for men and women separately? If not, it's time to start doing so. You may be surprised by disparities between male and female graduation rates, for example.

Or perhaps you'll notice that a certain demographic is disappearing. You can revamp your college admissions strategies in response.

Consider offering scholarships that appeal to a specific college demographic. Maybe you want to target first-generation female applicants, for instance. Collaborate with high schools to seek out the most promising students who could be eligible. 

Seek Ongoing Feedback

Ultimately, the only way to improve the sense of college equity on your campus is through continual improvement. Don't stop with one new initiative. And don't assume that it's working.   

Assessing your campus climate can help you understand where you're starting. You may think that having a balanced college demographic means you're doing well. But you might be surprised how many students feel uncomfortable or isolated on your campus.

Recognize that you'll need to make revisions. Involving all members of the campus community in this process is the best way to approach changes, too. When you know what's wrong, you can intervene. 

Sometimes working with a third-party consultant can be helpful during this process. Seek out professionals with experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

These professionals can help you design survey instruments. Then you'll be able to get the most accurate reading of your campus pulse.

Form committees and task forces that meet on a regular basis. Include a cross-section of students, faculty, and staff. Doing this alone will help create a culture that's committed to change.  

Help Promote Gender Inclusiveness

When you make gender inclusiveness a priority on your campus, you'll create a healthier environment for everyone. Focus on establishing campus guidelines and modeling inclusive behavior. Create targeted projects and programs outside the classroom, as well. 

For more ways to expand your college's resources, contact us for help!