Gender equality policies in higher education: Atlantic and african universities

Gender equality policies in higher education:

Atlantic and african universities

 

Editors: Inmaculada González Pérez (University of La Laguna), Carmen Ascanio Sánchez (University of La Laguna) and Sara García Cuesta (University of Valladolid)

Call for papers

Since the 1970s, international organisations have been working towards gender equality, as exemplified by the entry into force of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (1981) and the rise in equal opportunities policies since the adoption of the UN Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action(1995).  

These policies have also gained prominence in the field of education, as currently worldwide: “general or inclusive education laws under education ministry responsibility focus on people with disabilities in 79% of countries, linguistic minorities in 60%, gender equality in 50% and ethnic and indigenous groups in 49%” (UNESCO, 2020: 30). This clearly points to the increasing commitments of countries to gender equality in education, and to the commitment of states to meet Sustainable Development Goal 4 “Quality Education” and SDG 5 “Gender Equality”. 

Although there is consensus on achieving this goal, the fact is that the gender equality policies in education have a marked political focus that separates or distinguishes the international organisations that promote them. For example, the World Bank

“… attaches great importance to women being productive and contributing their labour and skills to the economic well-being of the country, such that education becomes a powerful tool for increasing both women’s income and productivity” (Martínez, 2015: 65). 

The UNDP, a staunch defender of Human Development, proposes a “multi-faceted” education, where economy, participation and non-violence go hand in hand, requiring strong investment and commitment from states. 

The Gender Equality and Development (GED) approach, espoused by UNESCO, argues for the need to work with both men and women. It differs from the first approach by seeking to “generate human, social and sustainable development that is built by all, men and women, all with the same capacities, motivations, needs and fulfilment thereof” (Martínez, 2015: 65). From a more political and participatory perspective, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) pursues initiatives in five priority areas: 1) increasing women’s leadership and participation; 2) ending violence against women; 3) involving women in all aspects of peace and security processes; 4) enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and 5) making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting (UNIFEM, 2021).

 

These policy proposals, diverse in principle, are reflected in the practices implemented by states within their borders, which have produced mixed results. Thus, at the global level, there has been progress towards parity in overall gross enrolment rates, especially since the 1990s. But the same has not been true for completion rates at each stage, with huge disparities both by region and by country. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, improved primary completion rates have not brought parity, while in Northern Africa, progress in lower secondary completion rates has been eroded by the recent conflicts in this part of the world (GEM, 2021). 

 

Shifting the focus to higher education, female enrolment worldwide has tripled since 1995. In many countries, women are more likely to complete tertiary education than men (OECD, 2020), although in other areas parity has not been achieved.

 

“In all regions except Central and Southern Asia that has achieved parity and in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 73 female students are enrolled for every 100 men, women are actually overrepresented at this level. This progress is commendable from a human rights, social justice and economic perspective, but the advantage stops there” (IESALC/UNESCO, 2021: 6).

 

However, women are still under-represented in a significant number of countries. This is even more pronounced if we break it down by subject area: in more than 120 countries, the percentage of female students in higher education in engineering, manufacturing and construction or information and communication technology (ICT) is only 25 %. Women are also under-represented in mathematics. At postgraduate levels, the presence of women decreases: in all regions of the world except for Central Asia, women represent a lower proportion of master’s and doctoral students than of bachelor students (IESALC/UNESCO, 2021). This highlights the persistence of social roles that extend beyond the university sphere.

 

Inequalities are also very noticeable in the field of teaching and research: 

 

“Women are under-represented as senior faculty and in higher education decision-making bodies in many countries, a signal of institutional cultures that are not inclusive or not geared towards broader social and cultural change for greater gender equality. Conventional faculty recruitment processes that reward linear, full-time, uninterrupted academic trajectories contribute to women’s under-representation in senior academia, even when they outnumber men as students. Women are more likely to be disadvantaged by norms that fail to recognize competing commitments, such as care responsibilities” (UNESCO, 2020:266).

 

In 2018, women accounted for 43 % of teaching staff in tertiary education, compared to 66 % and 54 % in primary and secondary education, respectively. Other variables related to academic careers follow similar parameters: globally, only 30% of researchers are women (UNESCO, 2019b) and during the period 2014-2018, 62% of those who published in impact journals were men compared to 38% for women (IESALC/UNESCO, 2021). Inequalities are even reflected in the order of authorship (33.1 % of first authorships held by women). This has major repercussions in higher education, as this position in the authorship list is relevant not only for aspects related to the content of the article, but also for professional prestige, career status and eligibility for research funding (Bendels et al., 2018).

 

Another relevant issue that requires immediate responses from rectors’ offices and other members of the academic community is violence against women on campus, where sexual harassment and assault is present in all regions of the world. Various instruments are being put in place to combat this issue, under the umbrella of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1994). However, they remain particularly scarce in low- and middle-income countries (UN Women, 2019). Recent interest focuses on violence against LGTBI people in higher education, providing insightful analysis (Scarpino and Johnson, 2021).

 

All of the aforementioned inequalities have been exacerbated by the global pandemic. But while the impact has been global, studies show that Africa is the continent where the impact on research, teaching and management has been greatest (Marinoni, Van’t Land and Jensen, 2021), particularly because of difficulties in accessing technology and mobility. The gender perspective is not always apparent in these recent studies, but when it is the focus of attention, there is evidence of differential outcomes for women and men (Bugan, 2020; Czerniewicz, et al., 2020; IESAL/UNESCO, 2021). Overall, the negative effects on students, especially female students, in terms of enrolment, mobility, dropout rates, academic performance, etc., are evident. Many students have had to take care of children at home and do more housework, leaving them with little time to study. More importantly, there has been an increase in domestic violence worldwide, which has undoubtedly affected academic performance. 

 

For teachers, it has meant an increase in teaching commitments, as they have had to face the challenge of teaching face-to-face and/or online classes, depending on each circumstance. And as for research activity, it has led to the cancellation of countless international trips and the cancellation and postponement of congresses and scientific meetings. The impact has been greater on female researchers, as their research outputs declined significantly during lockdown, in contrast to the situation for male researchers (Marioni et al., 2020). 

 

In short, female researchers have suffered more than their male colleagues from the burdens caused by the closure of schools and elderly care facilities and the lack of support in household chores, inter alia.

This special issue therefore seeks to publish research papers that address gender inequalities in the field of higher education. Proposals on equality policies currently being implemented in Atlantic and African universities will be particularly welcome, with a view to exploring and seeking answers to questions such as: what research experiences have been developed in different contexts around the world; what kind of methodologies have been applied; what participatory processes have been carried out; what kind of measures or policies have been implemented; what analysis has been carried out on issues such as work-life balance and sexual and sexist harassment; are there styles of university governance that influence equality policies beyond political discourse; have similarities and/or differences been identified depending on cultural, religious, economic, etc. contexts; have there been local experiences that have strengthened the role of universities in specific geographical contexts; what is the relationship between the development of equality policies in universities and democratic governance and the development of public policies in the states concerned?

 

All these questions prompt an interest in learning about perspectives, approaches and research that have addressed these issues. We therefore encourage you to contribute your work to this monograph. 

References

Bendels, Michael et al. (2018). “Gender disparities in high-quality research revealed by Nature Index journals”. PLoS ONE, 13(1). Retrieved 13 July 2023 from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189136.

 Bugan, Daniel. “New Study Probes COVID-19 Impact on Women.” Stellenbosch University, 30 September 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2023 from http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=7711.

Czernowitz, Laura y et al. “A Wake-Up Call: Equity, Inequality and Covid-19 Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning.” Postdigital Science and Education, 23 September 2020, 1–22. Retrieved 13 July 2023 from https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020- 00187-4.

 GEM. (2021).  #HerEducationOurFuture. Released at the 2021 Generation Equality Forum. An unfulfilled promise: 12 years of education for every girl. UNESCO DOC Biblioteca Digital. Retrieved 13 July 2023 from

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377997/PDF/377997eng.pdf.multi

IESALC/UNESCO. (2021). IESALC/UNESCO (8 March 2021). Mujeres en la educación superior: ¿la ventaja femenina ha puesto fin a las desigualdades de género?  Retrieved 10 July 2023 from https://www.iesalc.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Las-mujeres-en-la-educacio%CC%81n-superior_12-03-21.pdf

Marinoni, Giorgio, Hilligje van’t Land and Trine Jensen. “The Impact of COVID-19 On Higher Education Around The World. International Association of Universities”, May 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2023 from https://www.iau-aiu.net/IMG/pdf/iau_covid19_ and_he_survey_report_final_may_2020.pdf.

Martínez Usarralde, María Jesús. (2015). Equidad de género en las agendas supranacionales. evidencias educativas desde una lectura comparada. Revista BORDÓN, volumen 67. Nº 1. Retrieved 13 July 2023 from https://roderic.uv.es/bitstream/handle/10550/53935/100862.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

OCDE (OECD). (2020). Education at a Glance 2020: OECD Indicators. OECD: Paris. Retrieved 13 July 2023 fromhttps://doi.org/10.1787/69096873-en.

ONU Mujeres. (2019). El progreso de las mujeres en el mundo 2019-2020. Familias en un mundo cambiante. Estados Unidos, ONU. Retrieved 13 July 2023 from

https://www.refworld.org.es/pdfid/5d127c654.pdf

Scarpino, Pascual and Maria Cecilia Johnson, (2021). “El lugar que nos venimos ganando: Narrativas y resistencias contra las violencias homo-lesbo-trans-bi/odiantes en la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina”. Revista de Investigaciones Feministas 12 (2), 413-424.

UNESCO. (2019). Informe de seguimiento de la educación en el mundo 2019. Informe sobre género. Construyendo puentes para la igualdad de género. Digital Library: UNESCO. Global Education Monitoring Report.  Retrieved 13 July 2023 from https://es.unesco.org/gem-report/node/2829

UNESCO. (2020). Informe de seguimiento de la educación en el mundo, 2020.  Inclusión y educación - todos y todas sin excepción. Digital Library: UNESCO. Global Education Monitoring Report.  Retrieved 13 July 2023 from https://es.unesco.org/gem-report/report/2020/inclusion

UNIFEM (2021). Áreas prioritarias. Retrieved 13 July 2023 from https://ecuador.unwomen.org/es/conozcanos/acerca-de-onu-mujeres