Women's groups hope report confirming discrimination and harassment leads to change at UPEI

Two women's rights advocates say a report released this week into workplace and classroom misconduct at the University of Prince Edward Island reveals some shocking stories, but is a necessary first step toward change.

Jane Ledwell, the executive director of the P.E.I. Advisory Council on the Status of Women, says the harassment and discrimination incidents described in the report from Toronto-based law firm Rubin Thomlinson are deeply concerning. 

Ledwell was critical of the UPEI Board of Governors's messaging as the report was released on Wednesday, saying it would learn from the report, make the necessary changes and do better in the future. 

"I've been troubled by some of the signalling around accepting the report and moving on. In my view, it's not a report to move on from," she said. "This is a report that says: 'Identify what needs to be burned and burn it down and start again.'"

The board's message to the campus community pointed out that Rubin Thomlinson was given a broad mandate to not just look into complaints of workplace harassment, but to examine UPEI's mechanisms for reporting issues with bullying, sexism and racism. 

"Many of the recommendations involve areas in which we have made progress in the last 18 months, including equity, diversity and inclusion, and sexual violence prevention and response," the message said in part. "We welcome the thoughtful recommendations from the report. We must continue to improve, and we will."

An issue of imbalance

Ledwell hopes other institutions learn from the UPEI report and change their policies to avoid similar failures to deal with systemic issues with their staff.

Jillian Kilfoil, the executive director of the Women's Network P.E.I., said it's not uncommon for established institutions like universities to have power imbalances.

"It's really clear that UPEI, like many other institutions, has to make serious changes, has to look at how power exists in their organization and create accountability as well as checks and balances to ensure that people who are the most vulnerable and who are being victimized by this type of behaviour and toxic work culture are protected and supported."

Among the stories told in the report: 

• "One woman said that she lost her appointment to a less experienced male after she separated from her husband who continued to work at the university." 
• "Another female said that when she learned that she was compensated less compared to her male counterparts, she was told that she did not 'need' more money because her husband works at the university and made 'good money.' Another male colleague told this same woman that 'men need to make more money because they have families and responsibilities.'" 
• "One participant said, 'Some people were discouraged from coming back after maternity leave or were given different, unsuitable positions.'"
• "Another described a lack of flexibility related to childcare obligations following maternity leave, particularly for women who reside outside of Charlottetown ... We heard about discriminatory comments as well. One woman said that a male faculty member said to her that 'maternity leave seems like a great deal, I'm going to go out and get pregnant.'" 
• "We also heard from several participants, including members of faculty, staff, and students, who expressed grave concern in relation to what they believed was the university's inadequate response to an incident involving a male student who was caught taking a surreptitious picture of a female student in a washroom in the library. We were told that the female student left the University."   
• "Several participants expressed concerns about the university's inadequate response to complaints of sexual violence more generally. Others described incidents where sexual violence complainants, and those who publicly supported them, had experienced reprisal."

Ledwell also criticized the Charlottetown-based university's use of non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, that prevented harassment victims from speaking out after they settled claims against the university and some of its employees.

The Rubin Thomlinson report said there were 29 NDAs signed in the 10 years covered by its investigation into the university.  

The investigators were unable to learn details of the incidents that sparked some of those confidentiality agreements – not to mention financial settlements to the victims. 

The university has said Rubin Thomlinson will be paid about $400,000 for its 18-month investigation.

That amount does not cover legal fees connected to issues raised by the investigation, or the redaction process, a spokesperson told CBC News.  

On Thursday, Premier Dennis King met with UPEI's board of governors chair and interim president, and later told reporters he's considering implementing "drastic measures" in light of the report.

He said the province will need to see an action plan and timeline for change, and will be appointing an independent auditor to measure progress. 

King also said future funding would be contingent on the university proving it is making progress.