[INDOLOGY] Sexism and Bias on INDOLOGY governing committee

Tue Apr 2 11:03:17 UTC 2019

Dear All
First, I want to clarify that I think these discussions are important--in
the context of Indology.
However, this list is not, in my opinion, the place to debate (etc)
institutional forms of discrimination, fundamentally important as they no
doubt are. There are so many things which so many of us are passionate
about, but this list is about Indian Studies, and while that surely
includes the conduct of the management of the list itself, the recently
discussed Sanskrit conference, and matters of that ilk, it does not
include, I would maintain,  German or Austrian higher education as a whole,
for example. So my plea to all of us is to focus on the topics relevant to
this list here, and find other fora for other conversations.
Thank you for listening,
Joanthan

On Tue, Apr 2, 2019 at 12:30 PM Aleix Ruiz Falqués via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Dear Jon and Agnes,
>
> The clause you cite automatically appears in any job advertisement in
>> Austria and Germany in the public sector. It is a legal requirement and has
>> nothing to do with the university or department in question. Such clauses
>> were installed at some point because of (among other things) the
>> appallingly low number of female professors (some 14% or so at the time the
>> legislation was introduced).
>
>
> Thank you for the comment. I apologise, I didn't know that universities to
> not follow the rules. I thought that this clause was actually taken into
> account. The statement is discriminatory against men, nonetheless, and as
> an applicant, I wondered if it was really worth trying. Again, that could
> be the whole purpose of the clause. I don´t know. I just felt it was unfair
> to men, not to men as a social class, but to particular individuals who may
> have nothing to do with structural sexism. If you think that´s not the
> case, then we disagree and that is fine.
>
> what’s the problem with “Given *equal qualifications*, *preference will
>> be given to female applicants”*?
>
>
> The problem is not in this line, but in the previous one, where it says *non-discriminatory
> employment policy*. Will you agree that when preference is given on the
> basis of gender, this is a discriminatory statement? Perhaps I got it wrong.
>
> Jon, when I say that a thousand things can be changed I mean they should
> be, and I think the debate is positive, including the debate on
> discriminatory clauses. I did not mean anything against Audrey, whom I
> personally know I respect very much, as a friend and as a scholar.
> Apologies if anyone felt offended. I am looking forward to what Audrey has
> to say.
>
> Best wishes,
> Aleix
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, 2 Apr 2019 at 15:58, Jon Skarpeid via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
>> «A thousand things that can be improved» is the argument of
>> relativization. Any wishes for change can be met with relativization, but
>> it’s a poor argument.
>>
>>
>>
>> And dear Aleix, what’s the problem with “Given *equal qualifications*, *preference
>> will be given to female applicants”*? Perhaps one day we will need to
>> change “female” with “male”. Who knows?
>>
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Jon
>>
>>
>>
>> *Fra:* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> *På vegne av*
>> Aleix Ruiz Falqués via INDOLOGY
>> *Sendt:* tirsdag 2. april 2019 11:11
>> *Til:* Audrey Truschke <audrey.truschke at gmail.com>
>> *Kopi:* Indology List <indology at list.indology.info>
>> *Emne:* Re: [INDOLOGY] Sexism and Bias on INDOLOGY governing committee
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear Audrey,
>>
>>
>>
>> I am sure that there are a thousand things that can be improved. I think
>> I know how you feel. Please see the following clause in one of the jobs I
>> applied for, in Vienna, realted to Indology:
>>
>>
>>
>> The University pursues *a non-discriminatory employment policy* and
>> values equal opportunities, as well as diversity (
>> http://diversity.univie.ac.at/). The University lays special emphasis on
>> increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions. Given *equal
>> qualifications*, *preference will be given to female applicants. *
>>
>>
>>
>> So much for non-discrimination.
>>
>>
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Aleix
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, 2 Apr 2019 at 14:25, Audrey Truschke via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Friends and Colleagues,
>>
>> I am writing to call your attention to the entrenched, worsening sexism I
>> have been experiencing on the INDOLOGY governing committee over the past
>> year or so (I have served on the committee for six years). Other committee
>> members have warned me not to publicly discuss the bullying and abuse that
>> I have faced from them in private. I break my silence and go against their
>> explicit instructions here.
>>
>>
>> I have repeatedly faced sexism within the INDOLOGY governing committee,
>> ranging from patronizing comments to silencing of discussions about bias to
>> overtly different standards applied to male and female members of the
>> committee and list. I have tried many times to raise these issues
>> internally among the committee and privately with specific individuals. I
>> have been met with blanket denials, belittling of my concerns, declarations
>> that discussing sexism is not a substantive issue, accusations of being a
>> troublemaker, and flat out refusals to discuss gender issues. Indology as a
>> discipline has deep-seated issues with male privilege, discrimination
>> against female scholars, and even outright misogyny. The issues within
>> INDOLOGY's male-dominated governing committee are arguably a reflection of
>> this larger set of problems that systematically drives women out of the
>> discipline. If Indology or INDOLOGY are going to survive in any worthwhile
>> form, we must face our ongoing issues of sexism and bias. I have made
>> numerous suggestions to the INDOLOGY governing committee in this regard,
>> including striving for gender parity on the committee by adding more female
>> members, conducting committee business more openly as a check on bullying,
>> and undergoing bias training. I hope the committee follows up on these
>> suggestions. But, to date, I have seen only a desire to circle the wagons
>> and deny bias, rather than any serious attempt to make the committee or the
>> list a more equitable place.
>>
>> Last week, following another case where I documented and called out a
>> committee member for acting with bias, that committee member wrote that if
>> he were in my position, he would consider resigning from the committee. In
>> other words, if I find members of the INDOLOGY committee discriminate
>> against women, then I should bow out. I find that suggestion highly
>> inappropriate, and I do not acquiesce to it here. But I will no longer
>> serve as a punching bag for men who insist I keep quiet.
>>
>>
>>
>> I expect to face significant pushback and recriminations for shedding
>> light on the dark underbelly of the INDOLOGY governing committee. But,
>> unlike many of my fellow committee members, I think that this is an issue
>> for the list at large. Many of us, myself included, find scholarly value in
>> this listserv. But knowledge exists within power structures, and I find
>> that I can no longer stomach what I have to overlook in order to quietly
>> run this forum. I think it is time for us to talk about the key issues of
>> bias and sexism facing our discipline that make women unwelcome at every
>> turn, including in running this listserv.
>>
>>
>>
>> All the best,
>>
>> Audrey
>>
>>
>>
>> Audrey Truschke
>>
>> Assistant Professor
>>
>> Department of History
>> Rutgers University-Newark
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Aleix Ruiz-Falqués
>>
>> Pali Lecturer
>>
>> Head of the Department of Pali and Languages
>>
>> Shan State Buddhist University
>> Phaya Phyu, Taunggyi, Myanmar 140101
>> (+95) 09428757648
>> _______________________________________________
>> INDOLOGY mailing list
>> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
>> indology-owner at list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing
>> committee)
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>>
>
>
> --
> Aleix Ruiz-Falqués
> Pali Lecturer
> Head of the Department of Pali and Languages
> Shan State Buddhist University
> Phaya Phyu, Taunggyi, Myanmar 140101
> (+95) 09428757648
> _______________________________________________
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> indology-owner at list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing
> committee)
> http://listinfo.indology.info (where you can change your list options or
> unsubscribe)
>

-- 
J. Silk
Leiden University
Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, LIAS
Matthias de Vrieshof 3, Room 0.05b
2311 BZ Leiden
The Netherlands

copies of my publications may be found at
https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/JASilk

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