Addressing the 48th annual convocation of SNDT Women's University, Dr Desai pointed out the low enrolment of women in professional courses, enumerated UGC's plan to bring more women in the engineering and technology faculties and urged women's institutions to reverse the traditional biased gender attitudes and practices.

Dr Desai observed it was important to equip colleges and universities with adequate infrastructure to increase women's enrolment. Quoting statistics, she maintained that enrolment of women in professional courses, even in traditional ones, is very low. To improve the situation, UGC hasadopted several measures. It is identifying the application content of the courses in the social sciences and humanities and also in the natural and physical sciences, so that women enrolled in these faculties have a professional bias in their courses. It is also set to give a facelift to the five women's universities in India.

Taking a cue from SNDT University's proposal in the VIIIth Plan, UGC is planning to start courses in engineering and technology in women's universities. This will facilitate job opportunities for women in technical institutes where there are large vacancies (40 per cent), besides strengthening the image of women's universities, observed Dr Desai.

Though paucity of funds is a major problem, Dr Desai is confident of making a beginning that also includes more hostels for women.

``Discrimination against women continues in employment. Women get lower wages in spite of the law enforcing Equal Pay for Equal Work (1976), and fewer women are in top jobs. Take our universities, where veryfew women are selected as vice chancellors, deans of faculty, rectors and heads of departments or principals of colleges. Even in the civil services, the same ethos prevails as in the political arena. There is a need to encourage legal literacy and advocacy of women's issues with both illiterate and literate women, if they are to have heightened awareness of their rights,'' Dr Desai maintained.

It is women's institutions that should begin to reverse biased gender attitudes and practices through their activities both within and outside the institution, the UGC chairperson said.

Altogether, 7,060 students were conferred degrees today, according to vice chancellor of SNDT University, Dr M A Varghese. Beside starting several new courses, the university has granted affiliation to four new colleges and ten more applications are being processed, Dr Varghese added.