International University of Sarajevo (IUS) is the only university in the West Balkans that created and is implementing a Gender Equality Plan in higher education. SAGE Team tries to document and inform about all relevant indicators in academia, for both men and women. Gender Equality Plan in higher education is focusing on empowering all genders to embrace the attitude that everything is possible and achievable.
SAGE Team proudly announces that International University of Sarajevo has appointed a new Dean of Faculty of Education, Assist. Prof. Dr. Emine Yaman.
It is worth mentioning that before Dr. Yaman, the noble duty of a faculty dean was also taken on by Dr. Sebina Semiz, who was the acting dean at the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences. Other high managerial positions at IUS that are performed by women are also positions such as the one of Director of Preparatory English Language School, IUS Life – Lifelong learning center, and others.
However, this is the first time that a woman has been appointed a Dean - An important step towards more balanced and inclusive work environment at IUS.
This was an excellent occasion for us to talk to Dr. Yaman. She openly talked about her motivation for accepting this position, the strategic plan for our new faculty, the importance of appointing women to contribute in the decision-making process at institutional levels, and challenges she expects to face. This is her personal message for all IUS staff. We hope you enjoy reading it!
First of all, I would like to thank SAGE team, that decided to interview me and emphasize the importance of this newly-founded Faculty. I will be honest, I have to tell you that I am not feminist in the sense that I see strict division between men and women, or looking at someone with different eyes. When Rector offered me to become the Dean of Faculty of Education, I never thought about it as being only an administrative duty, but an actual managerial position, and that is what is most important. I am a mother of three, and I enjoy teaching, studying and working with young people. My only motivation is to be close to young people’s energy. I had been taught never to demand to be hierarchically high-positioned and I truly believe that, if I give my maximum effort in things that I am doing, someone is bound to recognize it and award me with more responsibility and authority. This is how it was this time, too. As I mentioned before, Faculty of Education is a newly-founded institutional unit, all of us will have to put maximum effort during the next period, but I think I am ready for it. IUS strategic plan includes many “construction sites” for the Faculty of Education, and we hope in the next academic year, this Faculty will welcome new freshmen. I am very happy about it, and that is my main motivation. It is very important to me how this faculty looks on equality and inclusiveness. For me personally and practically this means we need to support both men and women equally in reaching their personal and career goals, since we know both of these are important for sustainable gender equality in the work environment, as well as at home. To be honest, I have not had bad experiences at the IUS only because I am a woman. We should all look at each other as human beings. Currently I am the only woman member of the University Council, and, when I think about it, even though I am the only one I don’t feel one bit less valued by other non-female members. When the University Council starts, welcoming words are Lady and Gentlemen, not Ladies and Gentlemen (laugh)… Although I feel flattered by this small verbal appreciation, I think that we should aim for a more diverse composition, and that this is just a start.
For me, as a mother of three, as someone who is responsible to teach young generations, to be on this position is very challenging and hard mission. Women and men must support and respect each other. I believe that if we do our jobs be well minded, we will get good results. By combining our powers, respecting ideas and valuing the work results, we can achieve a lot.
IUS and SAGE team thank Dean Yaman and wish her all the best in the future activities.
