Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reached a significant milestone in 2020 when its Senior Appointments and Promotion Committee achieved gender balance for the first time. BGU is the second university in Israel to have done so. Five women and five men were recently elected to serve on the Committee, which evaluates and approves the promotions of tenure-track academic faculty members.
“For the first time since the University was founded there is gender balance – 50:50 – on such an important committee," said Dr. Hila Riemer (pictured below), Presidential Adviser for Gender Equity. “This is a clear and unequivocal message of the importance of gender equity to the University, which dovetails with its vision of uncompromising academic excellence alongside social responsibility."
The five women elected to serve are Prof. Yael Amitai of the Faculty of Health Sciences; Prof. Michal Krumer-Nevo of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; Prof. Orit Sivan of the Faculty of Natural Sciences; Prof. Yael Edan and Prof. Nurit Ashkenasy, of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences. These five new committee members will continue the work their predecessor, Prof. Vered Slonim-Nevo, began as the sole woman to serve on the committee in recent years.
Dr. Riemer added: “We have taken a significant step forward toward gender balance in all fields and at all levels, but there is still much work ahead. This is but one of several additional moves to remove internal and external gender barriers, and to create an organizational climate that promotes gender equity. To that end, we launched the project 'Toward 50:50' during the University's 50th anniversary."
