This interactive lecture initiates a critical conversation on understanding different and relevant sets of data such as Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on gender equalities in higher education. The participants in the related research have chosen to join academia. The focus will be on early- and mid-career academics and full professors.

I will draw on the sociological and philosophical concepts and theories of critical feminists.

The audience will be invited to challenge their beliefs as we explore well-known phenomena through the fresh lens of unacknowledged and hidden forms of sexism and racism. Specific aspects of sexism and racism are elucidated through the exploration of the experience of women who have joined the academy.

We will uncover the true extent of the impact of discrimination on the well-being of women in higher education. We will also consider how women can deploy strategies to combat discrimination. They have the power to ‘flip the script and change the narrative’.

In spite of the impact of many “gender equity” programs that seek to increase the number of women in senior level academic roles, as well increase the rate of promotions, significant and unacceptable, inequities persist. Research indicates that implicit (unconscious) bias on both the structural and individual level is often the culprit.  For example, programs that successfully increase the number of women applicants and create objective rubrics that result in a more equitable slate of finalists, may not account for the implicit structural and individual biases that can impact the assessment of those finalists. A clear understanding of the potential structural and individual implicit bias at every stage of the hiring/promotion process, along with appropriate system change and targeted training can help to mitigate this bias and contribute to gender equity in the academy.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 787177.

This study, in the framework of CHANGE1 project, deals with gender-inclusive research and academia under the European Commission (EC) directorate of “science with and for society” (EC, 2020a, 2020b). Gender equality is considered a core value of the European Union. It is also argued that only if all talent and diversity is used, can we reach our full potential (EC, 2020c). Nevertheless, gender inequalities in science and research persist (EC, 2021). In the framework of CHANGE, gender barriers and biases were recurrently identified along research funding and research performing organizations in six investigated countries2. A most common bias is explicitly regarding meritocracy as a dominant assessment criterion, while implicitly perceiving gender equality as incompatible to academic excellence (Himi et al., 2022a). Our analysis sheds light on a unique group of higher education institutions in Israel – budgeted academic colleges. In addition to common shortcomings in academia in general, the gender gap in colleges is intensified due to structural inequalities between them and universities, resulting in motifs of isomorphism (cf. DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). The fact that academic promotion is mainly stipulated by ‘basic research productivity’, even in teaching-oriented institutions such as colleges, hinders many of their staff members, more often women, to be acknowledged and rewarded for their other substantial academic contributions (Himi et al., 2022b). The solution, in our opinion, should not solely depend on facilitating research to female researchers in colleges, hence perpetuating a single hegemonic standard of ‘meritocracy’. Rather, alternative and diverse career trajectories should be acknowledged and enabled for all academic staff members, with their multiple talents, assets, and scientific contributions.

1 ‘CHANGE – CHAlleNging Gender (In)Equality in science and research’ (2018-2022) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 787177. https://www.change-h2020.eu/

2 Austria, Germany, Israel, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 787177.

References:

DiMaggio, Paul J., and Walter W. Powell. 1983. “The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields“. American Sociological Review. 48: 147-160. https://doi: 10.2307/2095101.

European Commission. 2020a. Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Iagher, R., Monachello, R., Warin, C., Science with and for society in Horizon 2020 : achievements and recommendations for Horizon Europe. Delaney, N.(editor), Tornasi, Z.(editor), Publications Office. link

European Commission. 2020b. Gender equality in research and innovation – The Commission’s gender equality strategy. link

European Commission. 2020c. COM 152 – final communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025. Brussels. link

European Commission. 2021. Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. She figures 2021: gender in research and innovation: statistics and indicators. Publications Office, 2021. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/06090.

Himi, Hana; Ashkenazi, Maya; Baumert, Madlen & Haack, Janne. 2022a. CHANGE: Report on Strategic Actions to Improve Gender-Inclusive Research Programmes and Funding – Deliverable 5.3. DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/DX56U. link

Himi Hana, Maya Ashkenazi, Ina Ben Uri, Adi Binhas, Vered Shidlo-Hezroni. 2022b. Implementing GEPs in Diverse Academic Landscapes: The Israeli Case – Beit Berl Academic College (BBC). in Anita Tahler & Jennifer Dahmen-Adkins (eds.). The CHANGE handbook (temporary name). Horizon 2020-CHANGE. [An online handbook to be published in upcoming months].

Our paper claims that gender equity and diversity in academia are neither competing nor complementing goals but are rather inseparably intertwined. Whilst the current discourse on gender equity in academia focuses mainly on women who have already entered the academic world and the mechanisms that obstruct their advancement and grasp of power within the system, the current discourse relating to diversity in academia focuses mainly on the mechanisms of power that prevent diverse groups from entering the academic sphere. We claim that applying the intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, 1989) to the study of inequalities within academia, especially regarding the academic staff, will enable researchers as well as
policy-making officials, to fully unveil the diverse power mechanisms and obstructions that prevent the realization of true and long-lasting equality in academic institutions.
The paper will present preliminary research findings of our research of inequality among tenured Israeli academic staff, via process mining. The application of the methodology of process mining (van der Aalst, 2016) for mapping the composition of the academic staff and their promotion process according to intersections of gender, ethnicity, and nationality, is to the best of our knowledge unique and exemplifies the exciting possibilities of digital humanities – a field meagerly plowed until now in the Israeli context. As our former research has proven (Gigi, Nagar-Ron, Yehuda and Razi, 2020), intersectional analysis of the axes of gender, ethnicity, and nationality among academic staff exposes the ethno-gendered and the national-gendered nature of inequality, both in terms of representation and advancement in the academic track, as well as the differences between first tier academic institutions (universities) and second tier ones (colleges).

Israeli academia is conspicuously stratified, especially with regard to the hegemonic universities versus the marginalized colleges. Profound gaps, based on working conditions, salaries, professional-social status etc., characterize the academic institutionalized structure. The established dominance of hegemonic groups is preserved in the academia to Jewish-Ashkenazi men and women, followed by Mizrachi men and women, while only a few Arab men and fewer Arab women are at the bottom of the social ladder (Blachman, 2008). It is suggested, therefore, that colleges serve as “a reservoir” of academic positions for compensating women from the hegemonic ranks and Arab men and women.

Relating to female college scholars I shall elaborate on their significant impact on academic social research albeit their inferior academic status. The anthropological research in Israel will be used as a case study for delving into these issues. I shall argue that the anthropological research in colleges, especially women’s studies, have challenged the hegemonic academic establishment. It will be illustrated how women anthropologists in colleges contributed significantly to the development of the research in their discipline, with regard to historical perspectives (ex. Abuhav, 2010), to critical approaches (ex. Greenberg, 1982; 1989; 1999; Hertzog, 1991; 1998; 2004;), to studies on educational issues (ex., Furman, 1994) and to research on gender topics (Katzir, 1984; Hertzog, 2001; 2005; 2010). They had far reaching impact on subjects and contents of social and anthropological research in Israel. Social issues like women’s position in new comers’ and immigrants’ groups, violence against women, women’s situation in the labor market, the expansion of higher education in marginalized groups, gained growing exposure thanks to research carried out in the academic “periphery”, no less than in the universities.

The presentation focuses on the quest for gender equity at the University of Haifa. To optimize the promotion of gender parity, the gender equity unit not only collected the data and information on gender equality required by the national Equator Plan, but also initiated segmenting faculties to reveal where gender parity lacks. The presentation will describe the process, the gained insights, and the following strategy.

Although there is a vast literature on the impact of organisational culture for career progress in the corporate world, academic culture has been put under scrutiny relative recently. While the percentage of doctoral graduates is gender-balanced in the European Union (EU)-27 and Associated Countries, women are mostly absent in academic leadership positions. Using a feminist cross-country research approach, this paper aims to explore the linkages between academic culture and underrepresentation of women in senior academic roles. Through rethinking and applying Acker’s theory of gendered organisations, we will examine the underlying organisational gendered systems and structures in academia. Intersectionality framework will also be applied to consider the multiple aspects of oppression and privilege including gender, race and age. Primary data will be collected including senior academics such as head of departments, deans as well as early career researchers by means of semi-structured interviews in three or more universities including Turkey, France and the Netherlands. In addition, secondary data will be collected including national and international statistics, gender equality policies of the universities as well as policy briefs of the European Union. As part of this research the ‘Plan S’ Policy of the EU has also been reviewed as a novel strategy to combat competition in the academia.

In Germany, it is a legal requirement for universities to develop gender equality policies. This requirement is derived from international law at the global level (a.o. CEDAW) and the EU level (a.o. Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, various directives). At the national level, the legal frame consists of the Framework Act for Higher Education (§3 on Equal Rights) and the General Equal Treatment Act. Laws at the level of the federal states define the tasks of universities in more detail. This includes among other things the development, review and updating of equality plans (every 3-5 years). The aim of the law is also to improve the compatibility of work and family life for women and men.

For a deeper understanding of the conditions under which the implementation of gender equality policies takes place in Germany, it is important to know that research funding at the national and supranational levels (the EU) is only approved, if the legal frameworks are adhered to. Compliance with gender equality standards and the concrete use of gender equality instruments must be proven by the universities (e.g. by means of the equality plans). However, this takes on problematic features in the context of neoliberal policies: compliance with gender equality standards then becomes the object of marketization and competition for

research funding.

In my presentation, I will use the case of one particular university (in North Rhine-Westfalia) as an example to show how individual actors in the central university body (the university senate) tried to bring down crucial instruments of gender equality policy by means of an organized counter-politics. The occasion was the upcoming adoption of the revised Equality Plan (this includes, for example, establishing new ratios for hiring at all levels, from research assistants and associates to secretaries and professors). My assumption is that this is no unfortunate exception, but it mirrors the existence of right-wing anti-equality actors in all spheres of life; including academia. The goal of these anti-equality actors was, among other

things, to portray gender equality policies as exaggerated and outdated. However, the antigender actors questioned not only the relevance of gender policy instruments, but also their legitimacy. This case mirrors a general growing common sense against gender equality policies in Germany and other European contexts.

The talk gives a short insight into the legal-cultural framework of gender equality standards in academia. Primarily, the contestations of gender equality instruments in the selected case are outlined and examined to determine the extent to which they are right-wing populist and how neoliberal policies play into their hands.

Gender equality has come a long way since International Women’s Day was founded more than 100 years ago. There are more women with access to education, and in senior leadership positions, and there is greater equality in civil and political rights in general. But there is still far to go. Women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence. Universities hold a unique position in society that makes them critical actors for change in this area. That was finally recognized and at the University of Sarajevo (UNSA) as one of the largest and the oldest university in Bosnia and Herzegovina so the concept of gender mainstreaming came to agenda at the beginning of 2022.

This paper will investigate how University of Sarajevo conceptualized and organized the gender mainstream in their operations. The analysis will be based on data analysis and interviews with people at UNSA responsible for, or participating in, the development of gender mainstreaming plan and gender mainstreaming programmes. Starting with the organizational translation theory as a framework the paper will explore how these gender mainstreaming processes were organized, who was invited to participate in the process and how the carriers of the process translated gender mainstreaming as a strategy, into practical terms that fit to the University context. The ultimate question that the paper will try to answer is, were gender mainstreaming programmes simply integrated or they were translated in a transformative manner.

In my paper, I will focus on the difficult and often delayed academic career of women in Italy, starting with a general survey on the representation of women in Italian academia and the significant numerical difference between men and women at the top of their careers. Indeed, the academic scientific context is not free from gender bias that will be analysed and explained also in relation to the metaphorical concepts of glass ceilings and of sticky floors. Subsequently, I will focus my analysis on the numerical data relating to scientific and humanistic faculties-highlighting significant differences and discrepancies-and will then move on to the situation of the University of Verona and the Department of Languages and Literature in which I work. The final part of the reflection will focus on the gender policies implemented by the University and the Department and represented by a series of initiatives, university committees and tools targeting all components of the university community (students, administrative and teaching staff).

I will draw from my origins and from my story from the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) of the Council for Higher Education (CHE) about the challenges of Arab faculty women who peruse an academic career. I will also draw possible solutions for the challenges who are specific for Arab faculty in STEM.

This study examines perceptions of PhD and postdoctoral female physics students, from all faculties in Israel, regarding their decision whether to pursue an academic career.

In spite of ongoing efforts to enhance gender equality in science in the academy, women constitute a scarce minority of the faculty staff in math intensive fields worldwide and the barriers for change are persistent. In Israel the gender imbalance is extremely severe, as women constitute up to 20% of the academic staff in math intensive fields and only 6% in physics. Our aim is to explore the reasons for this gender imbalance and find new avenues to enhance diversity in physics.

The research is based on mixed method methodologies, including a representative survey of all physics PhD students in Israel (n=267) male and female, as well as face to face in-depth interviews with 38 female PhD and postdoctoral students.

The research findings add to the common perspective in the literature, the understanding that women are considering academic careers, as a “deal” that has not only occupational- career wise components and personal-family components, but also economic considerations, which are less studied.

Through the women stories, we reveal the multiple and hidden ways in which gender operates as a power structure within the field of physics, inside the family and in the labor market. We discuss how this power structure influences the women decision making regarding their career, and shapes the “deal” that physics as a male-centric environment offers to these talented young women.

One of the research questions that has yet to be adequately addressed is the ability to empower women academicians in scientific and technological fields by increasing their social capital through group meetings and familiarity with social networks.

The study examined the potential to expand women’s social connections and their ability to promote themselves in the academic world through mixed methods action research, which included two rounds of interviews with PhD and postdoc women scientists; 33 women responded to an initial questionnaire and 15 participated in an extended series of 12 meetings workshops on the use of social media tools as a means of advancing their ability to present themselves publicly. The workshop meetings also provided an opportunity for participants to share their thoughts and experiences in a group setting; they were followed by a group interview, a questionnaire, and personal interviews with the participants.

The findings indicate that the participants established a mutual relational framework, strengthened their network of information and professional connections, and increased their sense of agency and ownership of their knowledge. They gained confidence in their ability to speak up; most increased their activity on social media; and some reported that they allowed themselves to participate in international conferences and other ventures born of a sense of security and ability acquired within the group.