Gender disparities among students at Jordanian universities during COVID-19

Abstract

This study aims to show how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the online learning process at Jordanian universities from a gender-based perspective. In Jordan, the government has taken various measures to contain the spread of the pandemic in the country by locking down schools and higher education institutions and replacing face-to-face lectures with online learning. To this end, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to students from Jordanian universities to evaluate whether family support, technology use, and stress and depression during online learning are influenced by gender differences. The findings reveal that gender disparities were present and significant. Utilizing the gender structure theory and the intersectional theory as incorporated with branches of feminist theories, the study underscores reasons that are conducive to the persistence of gender disparities mostly in favor of men at Jordanian universities. In the process, we recommend culturally specific remedial approaches that have the potential to reduce this gender gap.