OpinionPolicy & ReformTop Stories
Assessing gender inequity in academia for International Women’s Day: opinion
Our recent critical review noted that gender inequity in academia exists across all traditional academic benchmarks, including grants and funding, publishing and citations, service, opportunities to attend professional development and conferences, and leadership opportunities. And, gender discrepancies result in a lack of representation of women in senior-level positions, increase burden and stress, and burnout.
Please login below to view content or subscribe now.
Dear Team, I read with interest your article on the gender inequity in university. However, I don’t believe the article goes far enough in its analysis. These aspects of gender inequity are well established and researched across a wide range of industries and while it is distressing that it is also applicable in academia, it is not really unexpected.
However, the significant elephant in the fridge that has not been mentioned here, is the use of bullying, harassment and intimidation that is also at play in academia. Having worked in the industry for over 20 years myself (I am female) I have been subject to each of these situations myself and this is arising from both men and women colleagues. It is not only my own experiences, but a number of my female colleagues have also experienced these issues and many of them have left the sector as a result.
When taken in context of the current Australian parliament challenges for women and the resulting debates that are taking place, it seems that the research into gender equity in higher education, should necessarily include these challenges as central to this debate, and as central to potential strategies for moving forward.