Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is committed to preventing and addressing all forms of gender discrimination and striving for gender equity among its staff and students in all areas. Our goal is to enable women and girls to realize their full potential. This commitment has been recognized through Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s designation as India’s UNESCO Chair for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, held since 2016.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham aims to create an inclusive, safe, and equitable study and work environment while also acknowledging that women are typically underserved and underrepresented, in both general academic situations and in personal resources available to pursue academia.

While a women’s empowerment agenda is our priority, the ultimate goal of our agenda is to attain gender equity, in which individuals of all genders experience a balanced and cooperative environment that promotes inclusivity. Such inclusivity ensures the vision and mission of the University are achievable by everyone, regardless of gender, sexuality, caste, class, creed, or other protected or relevant characteristics, in accordance with applicable law and University policy.

1. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is committed to providing fair treatment for individuals of all genders, including women, according to their needs, so that all benefit with equal rights, opportunities, and resources.
2. For the purpose of this policy, discrimination includes any harmful practices against an individual or group of individuals based on their gender, including any unwelcome conduct creating unsafe, unpleasant or offensive, hostile, or intimidating environments preventing an individual or group of individuals from effectively exercising their rights or benefiting from a fair and equal treatment.
3. Harmful practices include violence, harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior, and can take many forms such as words or statements, signs or gesturing, jokes, cartoons, pictures, posters, pranks, intimidation, whether verbally or in writing, and any other kind of inappropriate behavior. It may target an individual or a group and can occur in various ways, including in-person interactions, as well as through different communication channels. These channels include direct ones like face-to-face conversations, phone calls, messages, emails, or letters, as well as indirect means, such as social media, messaging and other online platforms.
4. Technology-Facilitated and AI-Enabled Discrimination: Discrimination, harassment and gender-based harm may also occur through digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This may include algorithmic or automated decision-making that results in gender bias; discriminatory or stereotypical AI-generated content; creation or dissemination of non-consensual synthetic or manipulated images, audio or video, including deepfakes; AI-enabled harassment, impersonation, stalking or intimidation; and inappropriate use of personal data or automated systems in ways that disproportionately disadvantage women. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is committed to preventing and addressing such harms and to promoting the responsible, transparent and equitable use of AI and other emerging technologies.
5. Fair treatment and non-discrimination based on gender shall notably apply to:
   • Admission processes
   • Access to research grants, industry collaborations, faculty development programs
   • Access to services, accommodation, facilities, and healthcare programs
   • Access to decision-making positions, leadership positions, and senior academic roles
   • Promoting workplace flexibility and assistance with childcare on campus
   • Ensuring there is no “gender pay gap”
   • Hosting campaigns to prevent harassment and violence against women
   • Use of AI, automated systems and digital technologies in admissions, assessment, recruitment, hiring, promotion, research, student services and other institutional decision-making processes.
6. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has a zero-tolerance policy regarding any discrimination based on gender. Complaints will be addressed promptly, fairly and in accordance with applicable University procedures and legal requirements. Dedicated committees and administrators have been appointed to oversee the enforcement of this policy. Complaints of sexual harassment are addressed by the Internal Committee constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and the UGC (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2015.
7. Any student or staff facing any challenge regarding the same can reach out to us. Complaints can be filed with the University dedicated committees, implemented in each campus: https://www.amrita.edu/grievance.
8. Any discrimination or harassment faced by students or staff, at all levels, will be addressed through the appropriate procedures.
9. These grievance and reporting mechanisms also apply to discrimination, harassment or other gender-based harms occurring through digital platforms, AI systems or other emerging technologies, including where such conduct affects a member of the University community even if it occurs through an external digital platform.
10. Women facing any kind of discrimination can also reach out to the Equal Opportunity Cell in charge of promoting equity, diversity, and social inclusion; preventing and addressing discrimination or bias; supporting grievance redressal for disadvantaged groups, including women; raising awareness on social exclusion; and sharing information and resource mobilisation for inclusivity: eoc@amrita.edu.
11. The committees will undertake inquiries with regard to complaints, ensuring that complaints are kept confidential to the extent necessary and that adequate protection is provided to the person reporting discrimination. Retaliation against any person who reports discrimination or participates in an inquiry in good faith is prohibited.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham seeks to ensure that AI and automated decision-making systems used within the University do not reproduce or amplify gender discrimination. Where AI systems are used in processes that may affect students, applicants or staff, appropriate attention should be given to fairness, transparency, privacy, data protection, human oversight and the identification of potential gender bias. Personal data is processed in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has implemented a Gender Sensitization Plan conducted regularly.

It includes the following:

• Promoting communication with respect for human dignity and social responsibility.
• Allowing the recognition of multidimensional representations of women and men, and of all genders in general.
• Promoting communications that represent unbiased representations of gender equity.
• Conducting workshops that promote diversity and gender-sensitive communication for members and employees.
• Enabling faculty and students to reach out to a trained, senior staff person in every campus in matters of need related to gender-related communication.
• Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for implementation and their follow-ups.
• Conducting regular awareness-raising activities among students and staff.
• In classes, promotion by faculty members of fair representations for leadership roles, impartial participation, gender balance in team projects when possible, meeting with faculty, having open and closed sessions with faculty members of the appropriate gender for related scenarios, complaints, and counseling during class hours and at hostels.
• Providing a network of gender equality advisers for research and coursework, facilitated by our Center for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (CWEGE). These advisors can provide resources for gender sensitization and inclusivity inside the classroom, and outside.
• Promoting gender-balanced representation in hiring and selection committees.
• Balanced gender quota in hiring committees.

Additional measures implemented include:

• Designing and deploying a gender-sensitization curriculum to address gender issues, promote gender equality, and include gender-sensitive content.
• Offering mentoring programs so that women students can connect with female faculty members or industry professionals who offer guidance and support for academic and career development.
• Providing equal access to all resources and academic support and other financial resources through scholarships.
• Celebrating women’s achievements through awards, ceremonies, and public acknowledgment.
• Supporting the appointment of women in leadership roles within Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to serve as inspirational figures for female students.
• Conducting workshops for staff and students on gender-based violence and sexual harassment, in accordance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and UGC Regulations.

In addition to the Gender Sensitization Plan, needs assessments, based on the Centre for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (CWEGE)’s AWESOME Framework (Gressel, et al., 2020[1]) are carried out regularly on a multi-campus level.

This needs assessment will include vulnerability tracking and assessment of both men and women, students, faculty, staff, and facilities in order to best understand any issues that may inhibit either gender from fulfilling their highest potential both personally and academically. This needs assessment will span multiple sectors to ensure that all stakeholders are adequately represented.

Spearheaded by the CWEGE, the following programs will be undertaken to ensure gender equity:

• Annual or semesterly campus workshops on gender sensitization.
• Regular surveys of students, faculty, and staff requesting any relevant, new, or unaddressed feedback, specifically on gender issues including safety, health, mental well-being, and associated services.
• Curriculum implementations at the Board of Studies level that require equal representation of female authors and scientists in-class readings/studies. The same principles can be applied to research conducted in all departments, to ensure gender equity elements are included in relevant research areas.
• Form an Equal Opportunity Cell to improve gender relations and diversity practices throughout the University.
• Map all private facilities for non-resident females on campus, nursing mothers, or other women who need privacy for any reason, and determine if these are sufficient or should be increased/improved.

Collaboration and partnership within and across organizations and communities as well as bringing all involved in the life and work of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham on board, to both champion the work already underway as well as creating substantial ownership of actions taken is a key to working a successful SDG-inspired agenda.

Based on this idea, a full needs assessment and implementation of the above programs will be incorporated into the annual plans of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham as a priority issue. Heads of departments from across the campuses will be encouraged to support these measures and engage in all relevant activities as per their capacity. CWEGE will maintain a leadership role in this process, to ensure that the programs initiated meet the highest standards.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham recognizes that sustained support is essential for empowering women in academia and the workforce. In addition to the general support systems, we provide tailored mentorship programs that connect women students with female faculty members and industry professionals. These mentors provide guidance and encouragement for academic and career development, enhancing networking opportunities and helping mentees navigate challenges unique to their gender.

We are committed to evidence-based approaches to gender equity, which include regularly collecting data to identify gaps and improvements in gender-related policies. Through anonymous surveys, focus groups, and feedback channels, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham evaluates the experiences and needs of all genders, including emerging concerns related to digital safety, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and potential gender bias in AI or automated systems. This evidence is used to adapt policies and support structures as societal, educational and technological contexts evolve.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham encourages inclusive representation in academic materials and research activities. In line with our Gender Sensitization Plan, we promote the integration of diverse perspectives and gender-balanced authorship in course syllabi, research projects, and publications. This effort aims to ensure that the curriculum reflects contributions from both women and men, fostering a richer, more inclusive academic environment.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham conducts periodic reviews of this Policy to assess its effectiveness and make necessary updates to address evolving challenges and opportunities.