It is noticed by students and faculty throughout campus.

ISU students experience gender discrimination on a daily basis, whether they realize it or not. It occurs in class, extracurricular activities, clubs, sports and at businesses off-campus, such as restaurants, bars, stores, auto dealerships and banks.

Gender discrimination is everywhere, according to Penny Rice, director of the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center. She believes it permeates every action and every arena.

“Our life is not a neutral reality,” she said. “Men and women carry societal stereotypes of the roles of men and women. This creates parallel worlds that at times doesn’t take into consideration the other’s world or perspective,” Rice said.

The problem is students may be unaware of how prevalent it is. Gender discrimination is committed by faculty, fellow students and even by non-university related persons. Students experience discrimination based on gender alone, as well as physical appearance, race, sexual orientation and chosen career paths, especially if they are not gender-traditional.

Carver Hall, Catt Hall, Margaret Sloss Women’s Center and Jack Trice Stadium are four establishments on campus named in honor of legendary ISU figures. These buildings celebrate the achievements of ISU alumni, regardless of race or sex. Decades have passed since their outstanding accomplishments. Although the buildings are dedicated to equality, gender discrimination is still nestled on campus where students and faculty study and work.

Rice said she feels females are stereotyped as kind, nurturing and accommodating to men. She said males are stereotyped in that they are not emotional and the only feeling they show is anger. Rice said some males hold the belief they need to be in control and know everything, which creates an unequal partnership for both genders.

Zachary Johnson, sophomore in pre -journalism and mass communication, said in his first textiles and clothing class, he was one of only three males, which was at times awkward.

“I didn’t mind the fact that I was outnumbered by girls as much as I felt like the professors catered more to girls,” Johnson said. “She’d talk about things that related to girls only sometimes, and that made me feel uncomfortable being in the class sometimes.”

However, Johnson did mention benefits to being in the class.

“I ended up making some great friends, though, because I was one of three guys in the class, which was pretty cool,” he said.

Benjamin Barry, senior in industrial technology, said during his freshman year he encountered gender discrimination as an engineering major.

“In some of the classes guys wouldn’t give the girls as much credit for the work done in class,” he said.

Barry also commented on females working the bar scene.

“You don’t see many girls doing work other than bartending at bars. I know girls who are just as capable of being doormen.”

To prevent gender discrimination in the classroom, it is important professors are aware of how they teach and what they reference during their lectures.

“I hope I don’t do it [discriminate],” said David Bulla, assistant professor of journalism. “I worry about making too many illusions to sports, although plenty of women are into athletics.”

Bulla believes professors need to be aware of their own biases, understand their blind spots and try to overcome them.

To learn about gender discrimination, students can enroll in University Studies 160X, Gender Justice, which is an introductory course that discusses contemporary gender issues. Rice, who is currently teaching this course, also recommended University Studies 150, Dialogues on Diversity.This is a one credit course that explores diversity at Iowa State. Iowa State also offers many clubs and organizations whose missions are to address inequities. Examples include: Got Ignorance?, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and Catt Associates.