Imperial College London's female rugby

Imperial College London’s female rugby players were humiliated by sexist behaviour, a year-long investigation found as the University vows to stamp out such behaviour.

The inquiry, which was launched following a series of unsavoury incidents involving the men’s rugby team, found that ingrained misogyny and a competitive culture had detrimental effects on gender equality at the university. 

Dr Alison Phipps from the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Sussex was appointed by Imperial College to carry out a review of  its “institutional culture and its impact on gender equality”.

The inquiry came after Imperial's women's rugby team complained of sexist comments from drunk male students when they played at a tournament after the men's team.

Buses that transported Imperial students to watch the matches in Twickenham left before the women's final, meaning that their team played to an empty stadium and had to make their own way back to the university afterwards.

 Several female players reported afterwards that they heard one member of Imperial's sports staff discussing transport arrangements over a walkie-talkie, and saying: "I don't care how those fat girls get home”. The university later said that no evidence was found for this claim.

Researchers highlighted a student they interviewed as part of the study who “expressed concern that the ‘ingrained misogyny’ at Imperial was so deep that it had become normal”.

The damning report found that misogyny and discrimination against women were “more likely to occur in a highly pressurised, competitive environment”.

Researchers, who interviewed 249 students,  suggested “too much focus on finance and individual academic research interests to the detriment of staff wellbeing or student welfare and needs”.

Imperial, which is the only university in the UK to focus solely on science, medicine, engineering and business, has one of the three highest proportions of men to women of all British universities.

There are 2.3 times as many male as female undergraduates, according to figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. Many of its degree subjects attract more men than women. 

"The researchers reported that many of the participants linked it with the elite white masculinity of the majority population, although a few examples of unacceptable behaviour by female staff and students were also cited," a summary of the report said.

The report recommended that Imperial partner with another university with a strong record in humanities as part of moves to change its culture.

It also recommended that Imperial seek more diverse appointments to its ruling council, including three members from the public sector or civic society, because the industrial and financial sectors with which it has links tend to be led by white men.

Professor James Stirling,  Imperial's Provost, said: “We strongly believe that Imperial is only a world-class institution because of our talented, diverse community.

“We want everyone at the College to feel supported, respected, and able to excel. That is why we are committed to ensuring gender equality and eradicating sexist behaviour wherever we can, at all levels.”

source: The Telegraph