GATI - IITR
Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) is an innovative Pilot Project launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the aegis of the WISE-KIRAN Division.
Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) is an innovative Pilot Project launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the aegis of the WISE-KIRAN Division.
I see GATI as the first step towards the fulfilment of the goal of gender equity in institutions. The approach seems to be multi face tenant is going to target the faculty, the administration as well as the students. It's going to devise various policies to give a shape to its principles which when implemented will surely lead to a positive change. The department of Earthquake Engineering to which I belong has never treated me in a way that would reflect gender bias. However, there are still some areas where there is scope for improvement and I'm sure through GATI we can achieve that.
Prior to attending the GATI orientation at our department, I had so many questions spinning in my head related to the GATI program, one such question was about reservation. Is this program is about ensuring women participation in the research field through a reservation system. And what if this reservation thing becomes a burden on women such that rather than making their wings stronger, if this reservation thing proves to be a burden on them such that they have to do some sort of research work for which they are not at all interested in... Then what will be the consequences.... So meanwhile I mistakenly took GATI as the initiative to ensure equal women participation through reservation. But the way it has been explained and elaborated by Prof Manish Shrikhande has made many doubts clear regarding the reservation thing. Also the way ground reality of women in research field mentioned and explained by Prof. P. Sarangi is quite insightful. That indeed needs great initiative to facilitate women in research with equal resources as that of men, to bring the best brains into research.
Gender imbalance in academia is a known issue and GATI seems to be a step in the right direction to address that. The orientation seminar helped me get a broad overview of the GATI programme and activities. I am sure the pilot programme will help us in understanding and addressing the inherent biases we as academicians have developed in our thinking and policies.
The aim and objectives of the GATI pilot project are highly appreciated as it is helpful to develop a more favourable environment to work where the best out of both genders can be appreciated. Further, it is a collective mindset of the department that in each committee (at faculty/staff/students levels), participation and opinions of both the genders should be considered to finalize the decision.
Making supremacy of ONE gender will not give fruitful results for an evolving technological world. The decisions with the GENDER equality in every aspect will put the institution at the forefront of making the nation's future bright young minds. We should also explain this importance of leading roles from their school education level, which has been implemented here at the higher education level. As one of the GATI satellite team members, I am eager to add a single drop to the future sea of change in women's gender development program.
The main aim of GATI Pilot Project is to focus on the gender equality in science and technology. It will help to create a healthy environment for women to participate in the field of STEMM disciplines at all levels. GATI is a community-based project. It will connect different institutions to work towards reaching the global gender equality. It is bringing large number of stakeholders together to create a good network of participating institutions.
We got the opportunity to learn a lot about the GATI Pilot program being members of the satellite team. We perceived that it aided in creating an atmosphere that allowed for equitable involvement of women at all levels of the institute, addressing long-standing issues. It also introduces a new way of thinking about how to increase retention and recruiting, and how women advance throughout their careers.
Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) is an innovative Pilot launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the aegis of the WISE-KIRAN Division. It ushers a novel intervention programme for promoting gender equity in science and technology. It was one of the three initiatives of DST announced on 28 February 2020, the National Science Day, by the Hon'ble President of India at a celebratory programme dedicated to Women in Science held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
GATI aims to nudge institutions of higher education and research towards supporting diversity, inclusion and the full spectrum of talent for their own success and progression. In particular, it aspires to create an enabling environment for equal participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) disciplines at all levels, addressing deep-rooted problems.
GATI pilots a sustainable self-assessment and accreditation model. At the core of the model is the GATI Charter based on ten key principles that explicitly acknowledge gender inequality and articulate a commitment towards overcoming systemic and cultural barriers to women's academic and professional advancement at all levels. While GATI draws inspiration from the Athena SWAN Gender Equality Charter and accreditation framework operated by Advance HE, UK since 2005, it is developing a distinctly different, innovative and indigenous framework organically rooted in the Indian ethos.