Welcome to the second part of a two-part AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary entry by Darlene Seto, a graduate student at the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. Looking at ways that gender can play a role for a student of sustainability, this installment explores gender as a concern for students in their academic careers. In the first installment, posted last week, Seto talked about gender as it relates to environment-related research. This blog post was originally posted on the Getting to GREENR blog, which supports GREENR, an interdisciplinary web portal for environmental and sustainability studies. AASHE welcomes questions and invites feedback on each Sustainability Student Diary entry. Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

In my last post, I looked at how studying gender and environment can work together. In this post, I want to touch upon how gender matters and operates within my own life as an environment studies student.

Now, this task can be quite difficult to disentangle. For example, how has identifying as a female influenced my choice to enter environment studies? Or how has it influenced my choice of research topic? Or even how I go about doing my research and how I process information?

It certainly has, I’m sure, as surely as my own upbringing as a second-generation Chinese Canadian did, though I can’t necessarily point to specific incidents.

Looking ahead to future choices is another way to look at how issues of gender influences my life. For example, what kind of career, occupation or lifestyle would allow a balance between work and home? How would having and raising children differ if I were to be working on international development projects, working in an environmental nonprofit organization, or continuing on as an academic? Should I even want kids as an environmental activist, given the environmental pressures our population is already placing on the earth? Despite my still rather youthful status, issues such as these come to mind.

I say this not because men don’t think about these issues – I’m sure they do. However, I do believe such questions to be a greater dilemma for women who, in most scenarios, continue to be seen as the primary home-caretaker and care-giver. I see this daily, in my female mentors and professors who hold full-time jobs, write and publish articles, teach and mentor students, while simultaneously carrying the expectation of primary household responsibilities. I have taken a course with a professor, who not only taught while nine months pregnant, but gave birth and taught the very next week without break.

While I admire her fortitude, I’m not so sure I want that for myself. Gender inequality continues, even in higher education. Though women now outnumber men in enrollment – and degrees, for that matter – there remain some significant inequities. At my own university, a 2011 gender equity report (using 2009 statistics) notes that only 20 percent of faculty employed at the professor level are women. There is almost a $15,000 differential in annual average pay between women and men. Even after accounting for gender differences in allocation of faculty across departments, differences in experience, and special research allocations, there is still a $3,000 pay differential. Aside from pay, many inequities may be more difficult to quantify: things like inequities in office space, research resources, as well as in a general climate of marginalization. These are sad statistics for a seemingly progressive university which counts itself for being among the best in the world, and I would suggest not out of line with other top universities.

That is, the glass ceiling continues to exist, at multiple levels and in multiple arenas. Taking stock of this, it might seem discouraging. Equity is a fundamental pillar of social sustainability. I would argue that a great deal of the crises our world is now facing is a direct result of the lack of female participation and leadership at all levels in society. If we haven’t managed to even achieve the quantitative measures of equity in the institutions in which we are taught, how can it be expected in the other reaches of society?

To be quite honest, I’m not quite sure what to say in terms of how we might get there, other than it will require a lot more work, and likely some more battles as well. In fact, issues of gender equity can be characterized as quite similar to sustainability in that a great deal more change – behavioral, institutional and structural – is required in the process towards each. Both issues can be difficult to talk about and provoke heated exchanges.

To that end, I think it important that gender play an significant role in environmental discussions in the future, both as a point of intersection in research, as I discussed in my last post, and as an issue in our everyday lives. Simply put, gender matters!

commonvision’s monthly design for January! Designs by Brendan, Mayen, April and Faryal! 

All of you awesome followers can look forward to our designers’ best work each month =) This is the first design collection, so this post has some past design pieces. Many more to come in the following months! 

The Diversity Educator Interns are a mix of six, talented undergraduate and graduate students who work to fulfill the Mosaic Center's mission and vision by promoting cross cultural programs, education and collaboration. Want to know more? Contact mosaic@umbc.edu.

Q: What is your year and major at UMBC?
A: I am a Junior and am double majoring in Psychology and Media & Communication.

Q: How is your major applicable to diversity education?
A: My majors are not applicable to diversity education, but they have helped me learn different ways of thinking and communicating. I can apply my knowledge to diversity education by helping increase communication and understanding through events, videos, and other forms of communication.

Q: Why did you decide to apply for the Diversity Educator Internship?
A: Diversity education is something that I have always been interested in. I wanted to help bring different groups and people together to discuss and accept each other. I believed this internship would help me figure out how to
use my personal skills to educate others about diversity.

Q: How would you define diversity?
A: I believe that diversity occurs when people accept and acknowledge differences in others.

Q: How does UMBC foster an appreciation for diversity?
A: UMBC has a multitude of groups that students can participate in that provide opportunities to interact with different cultures and beliefs. Even if you don’t participate in a group, it is impossible to walk around campus and not find someone who has a different background from yours.

Q: What are ways that students can participate in advocacy for diversity?

A: I believe that students can be advocates by learning instead of assuming when it comes to others, going to events that are not the norm for them, and keeping an open mind.

 Q: After graduating how will you continue to be an advocate for diversity?

A: I’m still figuring out everything for after graduation, but I would love to go find work as a Diversity Educator or eventually become someone who teaches about gender stratification and stereotypes. I find diversity, cultural interaction, and gender stereotypes interesting and going into any of these fields would give me tools to be an even better advocate for diversity. I also view being an advocate for diversity as a life style. It can just be little acts of kindness and acceptance, not a huge world changing cause.

The first session will be held today at free hour (12-12:50pm) in the University Center Room 115D (CASTLE).   It's not too late to attend!!!  

Be sure to visit my.umbc.edu/groups/getsmarties for more information and updates. 

https://docs.google.com/a/umbc.edu/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEEybE44aG1lY1lKa2FrUEh4czZLTnc6MQ

Thanks!

--

Tashauna Felix, M.S., Ph.D.

iCubed Study Group Coordinator

tfelix1@umbc.edu

410.455.3173

my.umbc.edu/getsmartiesumbc

Located on Route 40 in Ellicott City, Honey Pig Restaurant is the Korean way to eat great when it’s late, (sorry Wendy’s, did I steal that line?) which is PERFECT for the college crowd who is tired of the same old fast food. If you’re like me, you might be skeptical at first. A 24-hour Korean restaurant? But give it a chance!

Upon walking in to the restaurant, you are promptly seated at one of their tables that feature a built-in grill. The entree options range from beef, to pork, to chicken, to soups, and more. The group I was with decided to split a few different options. I had a sampler of Pork Belly followed by Jumuluck (seasoned boneless rib pictured below). After a waiter takes your order and retrieves drinks and sides, the kitchen comes to you! All of the food is prepared right before your eyes as you snack on the appetizers.

This gives you a chance to take inventory on all the dishes they have set out. Most note-worthy is the small double-dish that houses two different sauces (there’s two of them in the picture above). The dark red sauce is tasty with beef, while the lighter one goes best on pork. The pork belly is a lot like bacon, just thicker. I soaked mine in the lighter sauce before enjoying its crispy goodness. But the Jumuluck was my favorite dish of the night. The thick chunks of beef soaked up the red sauce quickly and created a tender mouthful of satisfaction. I could have eaten an entire order of that by myself!

But I had to share. There were also some seafood dishes of which I had a nibble. They were raw and contrasted nicely with the hot meat. My friend suggested making a lettuce wrap instead of eating everything separately- a WONDERFUL idea! Large leaves of lettuce are waiting for you to create your own combo. I used white rice, Jumuluck, some red sauce, and an assortment of sides as toppings. Wrap the lettuce tight and you have a tasty sandwich that’s easy to eat!

This is a great place to take friends and try some new food. Even late at night, there is still a young crowd feasting on all the wonderful choices. Just ask Dylan if he had a good time.

Check out their menu! Don’t be scared by the prices. Rice and the assortment of sauces and sides are included.

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Fellows Internship Program is designed to introduce Maryland’s most promising college students to the rewards and challenges of working within Maryland’s integrated transportation system.  Interns can gain experience in policy development, marketing, international relations, computer networking, engineering, planning and financing, public relations, and neighborhood conservation.  Placement opportunities are available at the MD Aviation Administration, MD Port Administration, MD Transit Administration, Motor Vehicle Administration, MD State Highway Administration, MD Transportation Authority, or The Secretary’s Office. 

Participating student earn $3,500 during 8 weeks this summer (June 4^th to July 27^th).

Qualifications: The program is open to all students entering their senior year or who have completed 90 credits by fall 2012 with a GPA of 2.7 or higher. 

Web Address:

Additional information can be found on the web at

http://shrivercenter.umbc.edu/students/the-scholars-programs/mdot/

Deadline to Apply:  Friday, March 9, 2012