UWE needs a Women’s Officer now

UWE’s Student Union does not currently have a Women’s Officer, despite the position being commonplace in most universities throughout the country. UWE women could seek help from their Unison Women’s Officer; someone who isn’t a part of the SU, isn’t on campus and you can only email. But, if a female UWE student was to walk into the SU building to report a lecturer being sexist, or her placement underpaying her for nothing other than her gender, she would find no support there.

Gender equality does not exist in the UK, not yet. Giving students the “real experience” of oppression should be second place to helping students overcome it. Within three years of graduation, a woman can expect to be paid 15 per cent less than a male of the same degree. That’s the same grade, in the same subject from the same university. Until women are paid equal, they won’t be equal to men. Women are still prevented from rising to management, forced to choose between a career and a family and yet UWE’s lack of a women’s officer is doing little to help overcome these injustices.

UWE is failing half its population

This is not to say that men don’t face their own injustices, they face many, but the prejudices men face are mainly social whereas women are professionally discriminated against. Most students come to university to gain a degree to aid their future employability. Therefore, as a part of preparing students for employment, women may need additional support so that they’re treated equally, especially in male dominated areas such as Maths and Science.

More importantly however, the absence of a Women’s officer sends an SU message that gender discrimination isn’t significant enough to represent. UWE SU has an LGBT officer so why not a women’s officer? It’s not like there isn’t a demand either, last year UWE’s Feminist Society campaigned for a Women’s officer but due to ideological differences failed to achieve their aims. Regardless of the details of how a Women’s officer is decided, there should be a women’s officer! The fact that the SU didn’t try to unite themselves with the Feminist Society and female students and saw it easier to give up further shows their disregard for women’s systematic injustices.

The SU’s job is to represent students, yet it is failing to represent nearly half of all students. Half of students who could not help their biological makeup and will be hindered financially as a result. UWE needs to start respecting it’s female students, it’s unlikely that the pay gap will change anytime soon, so UWE should be teaching women to call out their employers, not just sit back and accept “the real world”. Without a women’s officer UWE is spreading the message that it’s okay for a woman to be paid less, it’s okay for sexism to be commonplace and sexual harassment is okay (her skirt was probably too short, she must have been asking for it).

Well gender inequality is not okay. I am not okay with the fact that I will be paid less because I have a vagina and I am ashamed of my university’s ignorance. UWE needs a women’s officer and it needs one now.