Gendered Academia

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 2011

EMBO reports, 2002

Geopolitical, Social Security and Freedom Journal

The article summarises the scientific debate on the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies adopted by the European Union to promote gender equality in academia and the adoption of a gender perspective in research. The article focuses on introducing gender mainstreaming, promoting gender equality and structural change in research performing and financing organisations, and adopting gender action/equality plans. The discussion is structured around textual analysis of relevant EU acts, scientific literature, reports of EU funded research projects, communication and support actions. The authors discuss the critics of the various initiative and advance some considerations about what could support individuals and groups interested in promoting positive changes towards gender equality, diversity and inclusion in the academic field. The article relevance is linked to the innovation promoted by Horizon Europe, that requires all public institutions applying for Eu funding to have a Gender...

Scientific Annals of the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Iaşi. #TAB#New Series SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK Section, 2020

The existent agreements and beliefs in the organisational culture, predominantly male, resist the possibility to find alternatives to even the chances for promotion in an academic and scientific career for men and women. The more a person identifies with the norms and culture promoted in an institution, the more difficult it is for them to see alternatives. Acker (1990) explain that such persons (who normally have management positions), socialised in the male culture of the academic and scientific world, benefit the most from the existent arrangements and stand to lose the most if the existent practices of the academic world are changed. The European Union has been focusing on a new direction to eliminate gender obstacles in the academic and scientific world. The new approach for activities related to gender equality has focused on academic and research organisations and institutions rather than only on the women themselves. "Administration improvement" has become the new objective. One of the ways this new objective has been implemented concentrated on integrating the gender dimension into research.

Gender Work and Organization, 2012

In this article we propose a multi-level distinction between gender inequality practices and gender equality practices to come to better understanding of the slow pace of gender change in academia. Gender inequality resembles an unbeatable seven-headed dragon that has a multitude of faces in different social contexts. Based on an empirical study on the recruitment and selection of full professors in three academic fields in The Netherlands we discuss practices that should bring about gender equality and show how these interact with gender inequality practices. We argue that the multitude of gender inequality practices are ineffectively countered by gender equality practices because the latter lack teeth, especially in traditional masculine academic environments.

Gender Equality and Knowledge Production: Hierarchies of Exclusions This key note presentation will have three parts. In the first part, I will set up a scene for the issue of gender equality in HE in Serbia, going beyond statistics, and showing the state of art of research and policy in that domain. In the second part, I will offer a broader theoretical perspective on a set of exclusions which create dominant hierarchies in academia, internationally and nationally (within Serbia). I will claim, that contrary to the ideal of meritocracy, scientific and academic systems are mainly created in a spirit of exclusions, and that present day global and transnational flows are increasing exclusions, rather than decreasing. Therefore, those hierarchies are “hierarchies of exclusions” and they dominantly shape organizational power, knowledge production and policy making to which academia is linked. Within such a context of “competition with limited meritocracy”, all “vulnerable” or “minority” groups suffer from additional risks of exclusions, including women. Finally, I will give some concrete examples of how exclusion of gender as a research dimension and the lack of knowledge on gender issues, create three types of negative consequences: firstly, perpetuation of “old boys networks” in academia and exclusion of women, which cancels meritocracy; secondly, bad scholarship limited by androcentricism (where gender is not addressed, or when it is simply “added” without in depth analyses and critical thinking); and finally, dead-end and failure when dealing with the most fundamental problems of social and economic development of Serbia. The conclusion is that gender equality in academia, and within the broader sense of knowledge production, is inseparable from development of critical thinking, diversity, cooperation and meritocracy in science, as well as from constructive and progressive development policies.