Gender inclusivity and equity in academic libraries: Insights from around the globe

Abstract

In order to draw attention to and learn about gender inclusivity and equity in the academic library workplace in a fluid non-binary gendered society, academic librarians and researchers from major world regions were invited to respond to the question: What are the three most significant issues that are impeding and the three most significant issues that are enhancing gender inclusivity/equity in your region? The regions included are Africa, Asia and Oceania, Europe, Latin American and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and North America.We chose to focus on gender as the understanding of the concept is evolving and gender has classified people in such a way to limit or deny opportunities and equal treatment. Gender has been used to reference three dimensions that include the physical (characteristics of the human body), identity (the internal sense of self, which has traditionally been categorized as binary [e.g., feminine, masculine] and now as nonbinary or ungendered), and sociocultural (how one presents oneself socially or culturally, conformity to gendered roles and expectations).