The data presented here is collected as part of our efforts on Gender Equality Action Plan (GEP) writing process at Yeditepe University. Once the initiative core group of Yeditepe University Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, YEDI, began to hold regular meetings and discuss the roadmap on planning the stages going forward, one of the first decisions we made was to implement a systematic and sustainable process. Thus, we have agreed to follow the steps envisaged by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in the gender mainstreaming cycle and adapted them to the local context of Yeditepe University. This cycle consists of four consequent steps, as outlined in the GEAR (Gender Equality in Academic and Research) Tool; Define, Plan, Act and Evaluate.
The first stage, Define, requires analyzing and assessing the state-of-play of the institution. When we put this first step, “Define,” in motion, gender statistics regarding academic and administrative staff, students, leadership and management, research, community engagement activities, and teaching and learning have been collected, visualized, and the current state-of-play in the institution has been detected in terms of numbers and ratios. The data and statistics included here are gathered from the Human Resources Department, Provost’s Office, Student Affairs Office, and Project Management Office of Yeditepe University.
However, we have decided not to limit our data collection efforts and analysis to quantitative data only; therefore, we set up a research group in order to design and organize focus group interviews with students, academic staff, and administrative staff and in-depth interviews with senior managers. So far, we have identified interviewees among the academic and administrative leaders with whom in depth interviews will be conducted. The analysis of qualitative data will be included in our GEP and annual report next year and will be publicly shared on our webpage.