Gender Equality in Academia: Intentions and Consequences

Abstract

Gender inequality persists in academia. This review article examines how universities around the world act on gender inequalities through gender equality measures. The analytical hypothesis is that gender equality measures are a response to how problems of inequality are understood and, as such, they also reveal why inequalities are sustained in academia. A wide variety of approaches are in use, but this article focuses on three of the most common: gender mainstreaming, affirmative action, and mentoring programs. The review recognized a global pattern of gender discrimination in academia as well as differences between countries and disciplines. The article departs from a critical gender-equality approach provided by current feminist research. It concludes that gender equality measures focus mainly on women and men, ignoring intersecting categories of discrimination, and that weaknesses in implementing meritocratic practices play a key role in upholding inequalities. The article suggests that critical feminist knowledge can help lead the way toward more challenging perspectives on gender equality in academia, in which relations of power, local and national contextualizations, as well as intersecting categories of discrimination can be made visible.