March 2018

The Academic Senate has invited the Committee o give an opinion on:

  • the appropriate use of professional titles or roles in public discourse, instead of generic titles, and appropriateness in relation to gender;
  • the duties of members of the academic community witnessing disrespectful behaviours, given their academic position, and regardless of the intentions of the offended person.

Opinion of the Committee:

  • the inappropriate use of generic titles (such as "signora") and professional titles (such as "dottoressa" instead of "professoressa") is a practice that must be avoided;
  • the seriousness of the offence is difficult to assess and depends on the situation, the persons involved, their belonging to a community that has a shared culture and consolidated social norms;
  • in the academic community, titles and roles are well defined and known to all its members. Ignoring someone's title or role may affect their dignity, especially when this occurs in certain communication contexts, and may constitute gender discrimination;
  • individuals holding certain offices should take action when they witness disrespectful behaviours, to underline that such behaviours damage the University as they affect the dignity of the offended person, the principle of respect for the person and equal opportunities (articles 6 and 7 of the Code of Ethics).