A nationally recognized expert on gender and communication challenged universities on Friday to position themselves at the forefront of social change by embracing diversity.
"We should be leading the way in envisioning and embodying an inclusive community," said Julia T. Wood, co-founder of a national conference on gender communication and professor of communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "An inclusive university community shows all participants that they are recognized and valued." Wood said. Her remarks were the culmination of the annual Women's Week celebration at the University of Utah.Wood began with the premise that every community is made up of different subgroups categorized by gender, race, sexual orientation or cultural background. This diversity often generates tension.
"An inclusive community is a vibrant collage of the many different people making up the community," Wood said.
Universities inherently show their degree of exclusion for those outside the dominant group in numerous ways, according to Wood.
For example, they include the observance of New Year's Day on the academic calendar and fail to observe Yom Kippur.
Hallways are often lined with pictures honoring the contributions of only members of the dominant group, discounting the accomplishments of all others.
Buildings housing women's studies and ethnic studies departments continue to be located on campus peripheries, removing them from the academic community.
Policies extend insurance coverage to only those falling within a rigid definition of family member excluding a majority of the population, according to Wood.
The research and curriculum at nearly all universities still disproportionately represents caucasian, heterosexual, Protestant, middle-class men, said Wood.
"An inclusive community will convey the message that `you are important, your life is respected and your knowledge matters," Wood concluded.