About Us | President's Commission on Women's Issues

The primary mission of the President's Commission on Women's Issues (PCWI) is to be an advocate for the interest of the entire community of women at UMCP. This community includes undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, administrators, and both exempt and non-exempt staff. In its advocacy role, the Commission places particular emphasis on the diverse perspectives of women within the community. To achieve its mission, the Commission:

• Advises the President on issues related to women, gender, and diversity.
• Communicates and collaborates with other groups concerned with gender and diversity.
• Investigates, studies, and makes recommendations concerning the needs of all constituencies of women in the campus community.
• Suggests responses to problems as they arise and communicates these suggestions to the President.
• Educates the community about women's issues.
• Celebrates women's accomplishments.

First established in 1973 by then-Chancellor of the University of Maryland Charles Bishop, for more than four decades, the Commission on Women's Issues has taken an active role in influencing University policy pertaining to women and championing and advocating for the quality of life of women on the College Park campus.

The Commission was born at a time in which only two women were full professors, there were no locker rooms for female athletes, there were few female professors or students in any science department, and all administrative positions were held by white men. Early recommendations suggested strategies for addressing the concerns of women on the College Park campus.

Since then, initiatives of the PCWI have focused on sexual harassment, faculty salaries, under-representation of women, campus security, eliminating sexual stereotypes and sex bias in the classroom, child care (PCWI was instrumental in setting up the Center for Young Children), family care leave and eldercare, diversity, and the climate for women staff.

"Orchestra kind of stuff," A narrative examination of the first 25 years of the PCWI, written by Kathy Shollenberger.