The University of Sydney in Australia has come under fire after giving preference to male students in a scholarship of nearly $30,000 to study at female-dominated veterinary medicine course, accusing the institution of sexism.
The Prof Marsh Edwards AO scholarship, offered for the first time this year, will award one successful applicant $6,750 a year for four years to students enrolled in the postgraduate doctor of veterinary medicine degree at the University of Sydney, The Guardian Australia reports.
In the press release, the scholarship claims that it will give preference to “male applicants who are from rural and regional areas with an interest in large animal practice and intended to work in rural veterinary science”.
This has sparked accusations of sexism, despite the fact that the veterinary medicine course is dominated by women and, according to the university spokeswoman, “over 90%” of new students in the course are expected to be female.
The university’s Women’s Collective has urged the university to drop “male” from the eligibility requirements to “send a clear message to all students that sexism and discrimination on campus is unacceptable”.
One student said she was “very surprised” to learn that male students are given preference and thought it was an administrative error. The student also said that while there were more women in the veterinary medicine course than men, there are more structural barriers to their advancing in the career, including gender pay gap and fewer women in top positions.
“It’s poorly thought out, their reasoning. They’re not addressing gender inequality in an intelligent way, and I think the university should be held to a higher standard. … It seems they care more about money than they do about my being a woman and getting equal opportunities.”
The spokeswoman for the university has addressed the criticisms of the scholarship, claiming it’s designed to “the current underrepresentation of males in the student cohort” and “it is consistent with the university’s support of actions to address and encourage diversity and [address] underrepresentation in certain disciplines or professions.”
“Of this year’s graduate entry for the doctor of veterinary medicine students over 90% of the intake is expected to be female. This is a trend seen over the past five years along with an increasing trend away from rural practice,” the statement added.
The University administration also pointed out that numerous scholarships were offered exclusively for women, aimed at increasing the participation of women in subjects where they are underrepresented.
Imogen Grant, the university’s women’s officer, said that the scholarship could, in theory, be awarded to a woman who meets other outlined requirements, however, some women might “self-exclude” themselves after not ticking off “every box of the eligibility requirements”.
“The way I think about it, affirmative action should only apply to people who have structural barriers to receiving an education—that’s what the exemption in discrimination law is about, so you can procure particular benefits for women in Stem, Aboriginal students and so on,” Grant added.
“It’s not for further advantaging men. It’s really quite bizarre.”