I agree that unless it fits within your job description then stay out of this particular situation. As an employee however you have the right to bring up concerns about male:female ratios and I think you should do it. I too work in this industry and although the undergrad degrees in my field are dominated by women, the academic positions certainly are not. I think that similar to in Europe workplaces should have policies on the mandatory quotas of men to women.
Thanks so much for your input. I haven't written anything yet and if I do I will certainly look at the language I use (the paragraph I wrote was just my original idea and I was very annoyed when writing it, which is why I asked for advice, as I knew that the wording wasn't the best, LOL).
We have no HR department as such - each academic department is responsbile for hiring it's own staff. And as a previous poster pointed out, usually there are no interviews and Heads of Department just hire their mates. It is really bad practice. Let's just say when I think of how this place is managed, the cartoon Dilbert comes to mind...
I think that it's a good idea to maybe not do anything in writing, so I will wait for a meeting with this particular person and maybe bring it up then. Thanks again for your input. I really appreciate it.
(I have already brought this issue up with another department manager (via informal verbal chat), who has now made a conscious decision to hire a female teacher. And I am also trying to push the development of maternity leave and breastfeeding entitlements, so don't want to be seen as too much of a trouble maker...)
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