Abstract
This article is focused on gender mainstreaming at Swedish universities in the period from 2016–2019. Our research questions are: (a) In what form was gender mainstreaming introduced and did the form itself affect scholar’s academic rights? (b) Was the process in question compatible with international standards of institutional autonomy? (c) What effect did gender mainstreaming have on scholars’ ability to exercise their academic rights in accordance with international standards? Using the UNESCO Recommendations Concerning the Status of Higher-education Teaching Personnel (1997) as our international standard, we conclude that gender mainstreaming was introduced as a form of identity politics though government action and de facto supervision; that the latter was problematic from the perspective of institutional autonomy; that the choice of gender studies as a preferred scientific framework for university policy had a chilling effect on inquiry and free speech in other areas of research; and, finally, that gender mainstreaming led to violations of some scholars’ individual rights. The findings may be taken into account in evaluations of the outcome of gender mainstreaming at Swedish universities, all things considered.
Highlights
As commonly understood, academic freedom is the freedom that researchers at institutions of higher learning have to pursue their own research questions in whatever direction they take them and communicate the results to whomever they want, provided they adhere to strict scientific and ethical standards
Our specific research questions are: (a) In what form was gender mainstreaming introduced and did the form itself have consequences for scholars’ academic rights relative to an international standard? (b) Was the process in question compatible with an international standard of institutional autonomy, a key ingredient in the concept of academic freedom aimed at protecting the political independence of universities? (c) What effect did gender mainstreaming, once introduced, have on scholars’ ability to exercise their academic rights in accordance with an international standard?
Why did the Vice Chancellors of Swedish universities not generally reject gender mainstreaming in the radical form promoted by the Secretariat, given that the risks in relation to academic freedom could hardly have gone unnoticed? One factor is that contrary to the practice in many other European countries, Swedish Vice Chancellors and the Chairman and external members of the university board are appointed by the government [44]
Summary
Academic freedom is the freedom that researchers at institutions of higher learning have to pursue their own research questions in whatever direction they take them and communicate the results to whomever they want, provided they adhere to strict scientific and ethical standards. The authors do not relate their findings to particular academic principles relative to an international standard of academic freedom and university governance. Our specific research questions are: (a) In what form was gender mainstreaming introduced and did the form itself have consequences for scholars’ academic rights relative to an international standard? (b) Was the process in question compatible with an international standard of institutional autonomy, a key ingredient in the concept of academic freedom aimed at protecting the political independence of universities? (c) What effect did gender mainstreaming, once introduced, have on scholars’ ability to exercise their academic rights in accordance with an international standard?. How gender mainstreaming was introduced at Swedish universities as a particular kind of identity politics is the topic of Section 4.
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