Lima, Peru, 07/07/2017 – The Space for Women Leaders from Higher Education Institutions in the Americas (EMULIES) adopted the theme “Breaking the ‘Glass Ceiling’ in Higher Education Institutions in the Americas” for its fifth edition (held 6 and 7 July 2017). The Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) hosted this event and signed an agreement in which EMULIES is designated as the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education’s (IOHE) fourth official program.
“With the signing of the agreement officialising EMULIES as the fourth IOHE Program, we have realized two major aims; the first, institutionalizing this space thus increasing its influence and, secondly, reinforcing the longstanding tradition of collaboration between IOHE and PUCP, considering that the President of this university, Dr. Marcial Rubio, was the president of IOHE from 2011 to 2013. In this regard, as an official program, and with an expanded scope, EMULIES is enabled to address gender issues in a cross-cutting way within our Organization”, underscored IOHE’s Executive Secretary General, Dr. David Julien.
EMULIES became an IOHE program in 2016 after originally being created as an initiative of the College of the Americas (COLAM) in 2011. Its development was consolidated through offering events and activities such as four Inter-American meetings (Mexico, 2011, Brazil, 2012, Mexico, 2013, and Ecuador, 2015) as well as a number of other regional gatherings.
The meeting was preceded by a meeting of EMULIES’ Governing Board which is composed of representatives from Argentina, Chili, Mexico, and Peru. During this gathering the future of the program was outlined through a semesterly working plan which involved a portfolio of products and activities aiming to support the development of the program and, at the same time, to increase the number of its participants. It was also decided that EMULIES primary areas of work will be encouraging research and systems of information as well as the strengthening of management capacities.
Through this meeting we seek to eliminate the “glass-ceiling” and what has been called the de facto limitation on the rise of women in organizations, including higher education institutions throughout the continent.
“It is very encouraging to see how this project has developed in only six years. The institutional force resulting from its evolution as an IOHE program is, without doubt, a sign of maturity which has been attained through its growing influence in terms of both content and overall achievements” underscored Dr. Pepi Patrón, president of EMULIES’ Governing Board and vice-President of research for the host institution.
This year delegates from the international, continental, and national levels represented, among other organizations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), the Organization of American States (OAS) and Peru’s Ministry of Education through the National Superintendency of Higher Education (SUNEDU).
The activities of this 5th EMULIES meeting concerned best institutional practices, the identification of examples of women’s leadership in various spaces throughout the region, the provision of tools which facilitate the understanding of obstacles that women face in higher education institutions, as well as challenges facing women who are at the head of these institutions.
In addition to this, the second EMULIES Award was awarded to Dr. Ana Buquet, the first director of Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios de Género (CIEG) of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), in recognition of her contribution towards advancing the gender equality, her professional career, as well as her contribution to the management and development educational institutions and systems throughout the continent.
Based on four areas of work (applied research, capacity development, cooperation and knowledge sharing) EMULIES carries out projects such as The Monitoring Centre for the Participation of Women in HEIs in the Americas, the Gender Equality index for HEIs in the Americas, the Diploma for Gender and Leadership in Universities (DGLU), as well as coaching and networking programs which serve as mechanisms for exchange and accompaniment between university directors, as well as fostering the development of the next generation of leaders. All of these efforts are carried out through channels aimed at the development of a knowledge community.