IIT Bombay institutes mandatory course on gender awareness

The course is aimed at sensitising students on gender discrimination and gender inequality.  

Students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay will have to compulsorily take up gender awareness course. The objective of the course is to sensitise students on gender discrimination and inequality.  

The course will be initially rolled out for students, it will later be extended to faculty and staff. This is for the first time when IIT Bombay has mandated a zero-credit gender awareness course for the students at all levels. The senate passed the course recently. Last year, IIT Bombay renamed its women’s cell to the gender cell that handles and manages the complaints around sexual harassment.  

Rowena Robinson, convenor of the gender cell and Sahana Murthy, co-convenor, said, “In accordance with the law (Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013) and IIT Bombay policy against sexual harassment, the institute, through its gender cell, aims to ensure gender awareness and sensitisation for all students and employees. The new course ‘Gender in the workplace’ rolling out for students soon, and subsequently for all staff and faculty, is in online mode in both English and Hindi and its objective is to sensitise individuals about broader issues of gender discrimination and inequality.” 

They said, “We believe it’s the first time that an online course of this nature is being initiated for all members of the institute. Students at all levels will be expected to complete this course. We are not aware of an instance like this. However, some IITs do conduct workshops and orientations on gender issues.”  

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