Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

From Academics To Change Agents In A Gender Equity Initiative, Sonia M. Galtz, Patty Sotirin

Organization Management Journal

Firsthand experience offers a valuable perspective on the lived complications of change initiatives. We describe how we suddenly found ourselves in charge of a university-wide gender equity initiative. Despite our experience with campus issues of gender bias and larger discussions about implicit bias, we were unprepared for the personal, community, and institutional implications of taking on such a widespread and very visible initiative. We reflect on the complexities of our struggles to reframe our own assumptions, to engage with the campus community, to respond to multiform resistances, and to ensure institutional accountability. Our reflections have implications both for equity initiatives …