The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

10_V1_WAT_Sep28 Visit: www.earandhearingclinic.com Email: elvira@earandhearingclinic.com Phone: 519-743-7000 "THE GifT of HEarinG" BEcomE a haPPy winnEr and rEcEiVE a FrEE Pair oF hEaring aids. Starting from September 18, 2017 - October 23, 2017 Express your interest why you or somebody you love needs hearing aids. 20172017 • No Cost or Fee to Apply • Approval within 48 Hours • Thousands Paid Monthly! • See Website for Application Deadline. Do You Have More than 20 lbs to Lose? - Apply Now! $2,000 WEIGHT LOSS GRANT Please visit www.weightlossgrants.org for full Guidelines, Terms & Conditions. www.weightlossgrants.org 10 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • Thursday, September 28, 2017 Serving your community since 1856 By Joy Struthers Chronicle Staff Feridun Hamdullahpur said he is excited and happy about the progress the University of Waterloo has made toward gender equality. The University of Water- loo's president announced at the United Nations in New York last week that as part of the HeForShe Impact 10x10x10 initiative, the university has surpassed the goal of having 33 per cent female participation in science, technology, engineer- ing and math (STEM) outreach by 2020 three years early. Hamdullahpur said they already have 35 per cent par- ticipation, years before the school's stated target date, and plan to do more. "We hope that we are going to go way above it," he said. The university is one of 10 schools acting as impact cham- pions, which means they are trying to understand the issues they need to address and make great strives for the future of women's equality. There are also 10 national leaders taking action for women and 10 busi- ness executives doing the same. "Each organization took it upon themselves to set some goals and objectives," Hamdul- lahpur said. The University of Water- loo decided to address areas it believed were not displaying gender equity, the first being the amount of students in STEM disciplines who identify as women or girls. The second was hiring faculty members in those areas, and third, recruit- ing and retaining women in senior executive positions, Hamdullahpur said. "They are all moving in absolutely the right direction," he said. In fact, as far as faculty, the goal was for 30 per cent in STEM areas to be women -- and the university is already at 29.5 per cent. Hamdullahpur is confident they will meet and exceed their targets. He said the senior adminis- tration was harder to measure, but he could state specifically that two female vice-presi- dents, two associate vice-presi- dents and a university secretary were hired last year. "They are people who see the university as a place where gender equity is respected and promoted," he said. He thinks it is impor- tant that they see themselves reflected in the university and know they are making a change. Some areas of the school have less female representation and Hamdullahpur said they are working very hard to rem- edy that. "Physics is one area we're working on. Engineering was a big concern, but I'm delighted to say that this year, we have achieved 30 per cent female participation across all engi- neering disciplines," he said. The university has repre- sentatives that go out to public schools, high schools and com- munity events to encourage girls to enter into all fields and tell them they can be success- ful. "We do not wait on our campus for students to come to us. We go out and tell them about what exciting things are out there," Hamdullahpur said. Mostly, he wants students to be comfortable and safe, as well as able to meet their goals. "Their long-term success is one of our key objectives," Hamdullahpur said. There are no walls or obsta- cles and he wants students to know that there is no discipline their brilliant minds will not excel at. UW exceeds HeforShe goals